On Tuesday, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) pronounced and publicly announced the first-instance verdict in the Predrag Bastah case, finding the accused guilty of committing crimes against humanity in 1992.
In accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code of BiH, the accused was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the mentioned crime, while the previously imposed sentence of long-term imprisonment of 22 years was imposed by a final judgment of the Court of BiH, from February 4th, 2010, so the accused was sentenced to a single term of long-term imprisonment of 35 years, the Court of BiH announced.
The time spent on serving the sentence according to the previous final verdict shall be included in the sentence imposed on the accused, as well as the time spent in custody.
Bastah was found guilty of persecuting Bosniak civilians on political, national, and religious grounds, participating in a joint plan and contributing to the common goal of depriving others person of life (murders), in the period from April 21st, 1992 to the end of September 1992, as part of a widespread and systematic attack by the military, paramilitary, and police forces of the Serb Republic of BiH against Bosniak civilians and other non-Serbs in Vlasenica municipality, knowing for such an attack and that his actions are part of that attack, as a member of the Republika Srpska (RS) Ministry of Internal Affairs reserve, Public Security Service (SJB) Vlasenica.
The charge against the accused was rejected in the part relating to persons covered by a previous final verdict, as indicated in the operative part of the verdict, which is related to committing the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity, the Court stated.
It is possible to file an appeal against this verdict to the panel of the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH within 15 days from the receipt of its written copy.
E.Dz.
