Bruno Stojić, a former official convicted in The Hague for war crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is being released today. His lawyer Senka Nožica confirmed this information to the Bljesak.info portal.
Stojić was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a final decision, and he served the sentence in Austria, according to the decision of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. He is part of a group of former HVO leaders who were sentenced to a total of 111 years in prison for crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Jadranko Prlić, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Ćorić and Berislav Pušić.
As a reminder, Stojić submitted his third request for early release to the ICC in January 2025. In his request, he emphasized that he had regularly attended all available rehabilitation and counseling programs, thus proving his commitment to the resocialization process.
A psychologist who monitored his rehabilitation in November 2024 confirmed that Stojić had successfully completed the program, fully accepting personal responsibility – not only for the crimes detailed in the verdicts, but also for the broader context of the joint criminal enterprise, the existence of which was clearly established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
In his request for early release, Stojić reiterated his promise not to have any contact with or attempt in any way to harm, intimidate or interfere with the victims and witnesses involved in his case or other cases before the Hague Tribunal or the Mechanism. This promise also applies to their families.
The decision on his early release was made after a careful assessment of his conduct while serving his sentence, taking into account his attendance at rehabilitation programs and his willingness to take responsibility for the crimes committed.
