The Higher Court in Belgrade has acquitted former commander of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Milenko Živanović of charges of war crimes against civilians committed in July 1995 in the Srebrenica safe zone.
The court concluded in its first-instance verdict that Živanović, although he issued orders to VRS units as a commander, did not order the forced displacement of the Bosniak population, but rather combat activities against enemy forces.
The prosecution, which had sought the statutory minimum of five years in prison, announced it would appeal the verdict.
Živanović was charged by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office on multiple counts, including orders from November 1992 and March 1995, which, according to the indictment, called for creating unbearable conditions for the civilian population in Srebrenica, Žepa and the surrounding area, in order to force them to move out. One of the counts of the indictment also related to his order in July 1995 to secure buses for the evacuation of civilians from the enclave.
NGOs, including the Humanitarian Law Center, criticized the work of the Prosecutor’s Office, emphasizing that insufficient evidence was provided about the consequences of the orders that Živanović signed. According to their interpretation, this allowed the defense to take control of the trial.
Živanović defended himself from freedom during the trial and did not give statements after the verdict was pronounced.
The indictment against Živanović was filed in Serbia in late 2021, shortly after the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina also charged him with crimes against humanity. Bosnia and Herzegovina charges him with organizing the blockade of the Srebrenica enclave, ordering artillery attacks, forcible deportations and the transport of captured men and boys, many of whom were later killed.
Živanović is one of a number of suspects who are not available to the BiH judiciary, because Serbia does not extradite its citizens.
Another Srebrenica-related trial is underway in Belgrade, the trial of eight members of the RS Special Police Brigade for the murder of 1,313 Bosniak civilians in a hangar in Kravica, which has been ongoing since 2016 and is still in the evidentiary phase, AA writes.
