Bosnian Serb Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Persecuting Civilians

Courtroom of the Court of BiH. Photo: BIRN BiH

Ratko Djurkovic told the Bosnian state court on Tuesday that he was innocent of persecuting Bosniak civilians on ethnic and religious grounds in the Ugljevik area from April 1992 to the end of October that year.

“I plead not guilty,” Djurkovic said.

The indictment claims that he failed to prevent a crime being committed against civilians and prisoners of war in the village of Tursunovo Brdo, near Ugljevik, in July 1992, and failed to undertake activities to punish the crime perpetrators.

Djurkovic, wartime commander of the First Battalion of the Bosnian Serb Army’s First Majevica Brigade, was charged alongside Radomir Nedic, who was the overall commander of the First Majevica Brigade.

They were indicted for committing a crime against humanity and a war crime against prisoners of war.

The indictment alleges that Djurkovic and Nedic committed the crimes as part of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population by Bosnian Serb military, police and paramilitary forces.

“Knowing of that attack and that their actions formed part of the attack, they participated in the persecution of the Bosniak civilian population on ethnic and religious grounds in conjunction with murders and forcible resettlement of the population, unlawful and arbitrary destruction of property not justified by military needs, and violated the rules pertaining to prisoners of war in connection with murders,” the indictment says.

However, the court ruled in April that Nedic is incapable of standing trial because of poor health.