Dragomir Kezunovic

The Appeals Court in Belgrade told BIRN that it has partially upheld an appeal from former Bosnian Serb Army soldier Dragomir Kezunovic and given him a lower sentence of five years in prison for crimes committed during the Bosnian war.

The War Crimes Section of the Higher Court in Belgrade has granted a request by the Bosnian Justice Ministry to recognise a verdict from the Bosnian state court convicting former military policeman Dragomir Kezunovic of committing crimes against humanity during the Bosnian war.

Under a first instance verdict in July last year, Dragan Marjanovic, Sasa Gavranovic, Vitomir Devic and Zoran Sljuka were each sentenced to 17 years in prison for the murders. Dragomir Kezunovic was sentenced to 14 years.

The Appeals Chamber revised the prison terms for Marjanovic to 14 years, and for Gavranovic, Devic and Sljuka to 15 years each.

Former Bosnian Serb military policemen Dragan Marjanovic, Sasa Gavranovic, Vitomir Devic, Zoran Sljuka and Dragomir Kezunovic launched an appeal against their convictions for crimes against humanity at the Bosnian state court in Sarajevo on Friday.

The men's defence lawyers called on the court's appeals chamber to acquit them or order a new trial.

The Bosnian state court has issued an international warrant for the arrest of former military policeman Dragomir Kezunovic, who was convicted of involvement in killing civilians in Bosnia but now lives in Serbia.