Bosnian state court

More than a year has passed since large-scale trials for crimes committed during the war in Bosnia were put on hold at the state court in Sarajevo due to safety measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic, and there is no indication of when they might resume, BIRN has learned.

The Bosnian state court on Friday rejected the indictment charging Adem Kostjerevac with wartime rape because he was not questioned in accordance with the law during the investigation.

Mustafa Djelilovic, a senior wartime figure in Bosnia's Hadzici municipality who was being retried for war crimes after his initial conviction was overturned, has died, his defence lawyer told BIRN on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, he passed away on the way to hospital last night," said lawyer Edina Residovic.

Vuk Ratkovic, a former member of the Bosnian Serb Army's Visegrad Brigade, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for raping a woman several times during the war, has died, his defence lawyer told BIRN on Monday.

"He died and was buried yesterday at a cemetery in Visegrad," said lawyer Zorana Carkic.

After a marathon six-year trial, the Bosnian state court on Thursday found former fighters Edhem Godinjak, Medaris Saric and Mirko Bunoza not guilty of war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war.

Interpol has published a 'red notice' calling for the arrest of Mladen Mitrovic, describing him as a 59-year-old Bosnian citizen who is wanted for crimes against humanity.

The Bosnian state court on Thursday confirmed an indictment charging Radomir Nedic and Ratko Djurkovic with committing crimes against humanity in the Ugljevik area in 1992.

The court had initially refused to confirm the charges last month, but then the prosecution filed a new indictment with new evidence and a revised description of the alleged facts of the case.

Ravna Gora Movement members Dusan Sladojevic, alias Krvce and Cica, Slavko Aleksic, alias Vojvoda, and Risto Lecic pleaded not guilty at the Bosnian state court on Monday to charges of inciting ethnic, racial and religious hatred, discord and intolerance at gatherings in the town of Visegrad and the nearby village of Dobrunska Rijeka in March 2019.

In closing arguments at the Bosnian state court on Tuesday, ex-soldier Adem Kostjerevac's defence said that the charges should be dismissed due to procedural errors or the defendant should be acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

The Bosnian state court on Friday confirmed an indictment charging Zoran Malinic, a Serbian citizen who lives in Belgrade, with assisting in the commission of genocide when he was the commander of the military police battalion of the 65th Motorised Protection Regiment of the Bosnian Serb Army's Main Headquarters.