Bosnian Army Ex-Officer Convicted over Croat Civilians’ Killings

The Bosnian state court in Sarajevo on Monday found Enver Buza, the former commander of the Bosnian Army's Independent Prozor Battalion, guilty of contravening provisions of international humanitarian law on the protection of civilians during wartime, and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

The court found that Buza controlled a military unit whose members carried out an attack on the Bosnian village of Uzdol in early morning of September 14, 1993, when 27 Croat civilians, the youngest of whom was just ten years old, were killed in a "cruel and brutal manner".

"It has been established that units of the Independent Battalion under Buza's control, as well as some members of the police force, who were also under the defendant's control, carried out the attack… The chamber can only conclude that the victims were civilians who were not taking part in combat activities," said presiding judge Zeljka Marenic.

The court found that Buza was adequately informed about the crime, which obliged him to conduct a thorough investigation, but that it was apparent from the evidence that this was not done, and that the intention was to cover up the crime.

"The evidence implies that the defendant gave no written or oral order to his assistant to conduct an investigation, and no statements were taken from those involved. The chamber determined that there was obstruction on the part of Buza, because he turned a blind eye to the issue of an investigation," the verdict said.

Judge Marenic said that on the basis of the evidence, it was established that there was no shooting from inside the houses in the village. Most of the victims were shot at close range, among them three children.

"The chamber determined that Buza had information that enabled him to...