Today, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a hearing on the proposal to order custody of six former members of the Republika Srpska Army who were arrested in Zvornik on the charge of having committed the crime of genocide in Orahovac near Srebrenica on July 13 and 14, 1995, by shooting and murder of about 800 victims of Bosniak nationality.
The seventh defendant, Sreten Milošević, was remanded in custody yesterday.
A hearing was held today for Lazar Ristić, Dragoj Ivanović, Mladen Mihajlović, Predrag Ristić, Stanoj and Milorad Birčaković.
Acting judge Zoran Božić announced that the Court will rule on the proposal of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina to order custody and prohibitive measures within the legal deadline.
The acting prosecutor stated that they stand by the allegations in the motion for custody, given that the investigation is in its final phase, that there is a danger of the suspects fleeing, and that the Prosecution believes that they have an interest in contacting the suspects and accomplices.
The defense of the accused rejected the allegations of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stressing that there is no formal basis for accepting the proposal.
Members of the Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) yesterday arrested seven people suspected of genocide in the area of Zvornik in connection with the criminal acts of individual and command responsibility and aiding and abetting prescribed by the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina previously told Detektor that they were former commanders and members of the Zvornik Brigade of the Army of the Republika Srpska.
The suspects are linked to the shooting and murder of around 800 victims of Bosniak nationality in the locality of Orahovac, and after the fall of the Srebrenica Protected Zone, the BiH Prosecutor’s Office stated.
Together with the Hague Tribunal, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the judiciary in Serbia and Croatia have so far sentenced a total of 54 people to five life sentences and 781 years in prison – for genocide, crimes against humanity and other crimes in Srebrenica during July 1995, according to Detektor.
