In the criminal case against the accused Goran Sarić, the Appellate Division Panel of Section I for War Crimes at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered a judgment dismissing as ill-founded the appeal filed by the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and upholding the trial judgement by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina No. S1 1 K 007949 13 Kri of 16 February 2018.
The trial judgment of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, S1 1 K 007949 13 Kri of 16 February 2018, pursuant to Article 284, Subparagraph c), of the CPC BiH, acquitted the accused Goran Sarić of the charges that he committed the criminal offense of Genocide under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC BiH), as read with Article 180(1) and Article 31 of the same Code. Pursuant to Article 188(4) and Article 189(1) of the CPC BiH, the accused is relieved of the obligation to reimburse the costs of criminal proceedings.
By the same judgment, pursuant to Article 198, Paragraphs 2 and 3, of the CPC BiH, the aggrieved parties were advised to pursue their compensation claims in civil proceedings.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina timely appealed the trial judgment, on the grounds of essential violation of criminal procedure, incorrectly and incompletely established facts, and violation of the Criminal Code, moving the Appellate Panel to grant the appeal, overturn the judgment and order a retrial, at which all violations of criminal procedure would be rectified, and the evidence due to which facts were established incorrectly and incompletely re-adduced, after which the court will, by way of proper application of the law, find the accused Goran Sarić guilty of the criminal offense of Genocide under Article 171, Subparagraphs a) and b), of the CC BiH, as read with Article 180(1) and Article 31, of the same Code, and sentence him in accordance with the law.
Defense counsel filed timely responses to the Prosecutor’s appeal, moving the Appellate Panel to dismiss it as ill-founded, and uphold the trial judgment in its entirety.
Pursuant to Article 304(4) of the CPC BiH, on 24 October 2018 the Appellate Panel held a session, at the which the Prosecutor said he fully stood by his appeal, reiterating his position that the judgment should be overturned and a retrial ordered before the Appellate Panel. Defense counsel for the accused Sarić also said he stood by his arguments presented in his written response to Prosecutor’s appeal.
