The Appellate Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) confirmed the first-instance verdict by which Ratko Djurkovic was acquitted of the crimes committed in July 1992 in the village of Tursunovo Brdo near Teocak.
The Court of BiH confirmed that the appeal of the State Prosecutor’s Office was rejected as unfounded, and the acquittal was confirmed by which Djurkovic was absolved of responsibility that, as the former commander of the First Battalion of the First Majevica Brigade of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS), he did not undertake activities that the perpetrators of the murders of four civilians and two prisoners of war in Tursunovo Brdo will be punished.
The Chairperson of the Judicial Council, Mira Smajlovic, in the explanation of the first-instance verdict, said that, after analyzing all the evidence, it was not established beyond a reasonable doubt that Djurkovic committed the criminal acts charged against him in the indictment.
In relation to the murders of civilians and prisoners, it was necessary, according to the Council’s conclusions, to determine who the perpetrators were, which unit they belonged to, while Djurkovic did not have effective control over the units ”Mando’s lions” (“Mandini lavovi”), “Profini”, “Vod iz Trnova“ (”Trnovo Platoon”), ”Vod iz Mauzerove garde” (“A platoon from the Mauzer‘s Guard”), and over a unit from the Public Security Station (SJB) Ugljevik, because the material evidence does not show that they were subordinate to the First Battalion of the First Majevica Brigade of the VRS.
The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH filed a timely appeal against the aforementioned verdict due to significant violations of the provisions of the criminal procedure, as well as due to wrongly and incompletely established factual situation, with a proposal that the Appellate Panel of the Court of BiH should consider the appeal, cancel the verdict and order the trial to be held.
The defense attorney of the accused, lawyer Milenko Zelenovic, submitted a response to the appeal of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, with a proposal to reject it as unfounded, and confirm the first-instance verdict.
The indictment against Djurkovic also included Radomir Nedic, the former commander of the First Majevica Brigade, in relation to whom the proceedings were separated due to his health.
No appeal is allowed against this verdict, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
