Aleksandar Velimirovic, whose former name was Ljubisa Bozic, from Banja Luka, claims that he formed the “Owl” detachment in Ukraine, a unit that is fighting on the Russian side against Ukrainian forces in the east of the country.
Who is Velimirovic?
Velimirovic was convicted in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for kidnapping in 2010. He was also detained in Banja Luka in 2016 for insulting worshipers in front of a mosque, for which he was fined.
After Velimirovic said in an interview that he was in Ukraine, and then publicly announced on social media that he was fighting on the side of Russia, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH said that they were working on several cases related to people going to foreign battlefields, but they could not provide more information about Velimirovic.
About the alleged Serbian-Russian detachment “Owl”
“I am forming a Serbian-Russian battalion,” wrote Velimirovic in a message on Telegram in October.
He also wrote that the detachment is called “Owl”, as well as that there are already a hundred trained soldiers.
“In the event of a clash, my guys will be in Kosovo within 24 hours, ready to fight the Albanian mafia,” wrote Velimirovic after the attack on the police in Banjska, in the north of Kosovo.
Prosecution of persons who are at war or have been at war in Ukraine
Joining foreign military and paramilitary formations has been a punishable offense in BiH since 2014. The prescribed penalties of the Criminal Code vary depending on the qualifications and can range from three months to ten years in prison.
Citizens who mostly went to Syria and Iraq and joined terrorist organizations “Islamic State” and branches of Al-Qaeda were prosecuted and punished in BiH under this article of the law.
Gavrilo Stevic was prosecuted on suspicion of having fought in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015.
The court of BiH acquitted Stevic of the charge that in Rostov, Lugansk region, as a volunteer, together with other persons from BiH and Serbia, he became a member of the paramilitary formation Detachment – unit “Jovan Sevic” which acted against the legitimate forces of Ukraine, Radio Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
