In the criminal case against the accused Kahro Vejzović, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Court of BiH/Court), having held the trial, delivered a second-instance Judgment on 16 May 2019 finding the accused Kahro Vejzović guilty of the criminal offense of War Crime against the Civilian Population in violation of Article 142 paragraph 1 as read with Article 22 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (CC SFRY) that was adopted on the basis of the Law on the Application of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the CC SFRY.
The accused was found guilty because he, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the armed conflict between the Army of the Republika Srpska and the Territorial Defense of BiH, in his capacity as active-duty police officer at the Lukavac SJB /Public Security Station/ who was reassigned to the Stupari PS /Police Station/ in the same capacity in the period from 19 May to 13 August 1992 (in terms of organization, Stupari PS belonged to Kladanj SJB), acting in violation of Article 3(1)(a) and (c) and Article 147 of the IV Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, alone or in concert with other members of the Stupari PS, interrogated male civilians of Serbian ethnicity starting from June 1992. Those civilians as well as their family members were unlawfully detained by members of the Stupari PS from the end of May 1992 until 21 July 1993 in the apartments of the buildings where educational workers lived and in the building of the old commune office in the close vicinity of the Petar Marković Elementary School in Stupari, municipality of Kladanj. The interrogation was conducted on the premises of the buildings where educational workers lived, the old commune office, the elementary school in Stupari, the Stupari PS and, on occasion, at various locations in villages belonging to the Stupari Local Commune (Olovci and Lupoglavo). During the interrogation of the civilians the accused intentionally inflicted on them severe physical or mental pain and suffering (torture), violation of bodily integrity and health.
The Court sentenced the accused Kahro Vejzović to six (6) years’ imprisonment.
Pursuant to Article 50(1) of the CC SFRY, the time that the accused Kahro Vejzović spent in pretrial custody from 22 February until 22 April 2013 shall be credited towards the imposed sentence of imprisonment.
Pursuant to Article 188(4) and Article 189(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CPC BiH), the accused is relieved of the duty to pay costs of the criminal proceedings.
Pursuant to Article 198(2) of the CPC BiH, the injured parties are instructed to take civil action to pursue their claims under property law.
