Another disturbing story uncovered during the investigation into the war crime known as ‘Sarajevo Safari’ was published on March 30 by Corriere della Sera.
The story concerns a hunter from Liguria, now a 70-year-old man living in the Alessandria area, who was interviewed by the Prosecutor’s Office in Milan, which is leading the investigationinto ‘Sarajevo Safari.’ The events took place during the siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1996, when wealthy foreign nationals paid to shoot at civilians with sniper rifles in the besieged city. There was even a gruesome price list. These activities were carried out from fortified positions of the so-called Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) on the hills surrounding Sarajevo.
“I went there because I hated Muslims”
The ‘hunter’ stated: “We would take off from small airports on the Adriatic coast and land in Macedonia or Montenegro. There were English, French, Germans, and former members of the Folgore Brigade (Italian paratrooper brigade).”
“I wanted to go there because I sympathized with the far right, and I knew people from Milan who flew on charter flights. I went because I hated Muslims,” said this man, the first Italian to confirm that he was in Bosnia and Herzegovina and killed people.
His testimony was collected by the Italian press, who met him in the forests of his province. In a report broadcast on RAI, his face is not visible.
“I went there for ideological reasons,” he says. “I joined the Serbian paramilitary formation. There were procedures: you would take off from small airports on the Adriatic coast, then land in Macedonia or Montenegro. I paid for transport; the pilot who operated the small aircraft was a true mercenary. He risked his license by organizing unauthorized flights 50 meters above the Adriatic.”
The former hunter denies participating in human safaris or being in Sarajevo, but admits he was among the “volunteers” who fought alongside the aggressors: “There were foreigners – English, French, and Germans. Some came from Milan for fun. The Serbs were very happy to use Europeans trained for long-range shooting, because they did not have the technical or operational training for specific tasks. There were also many former members of the Folgore who went there, either on temporary leave or already discharged,” he adds.
‘I Have Nightmares’
The Milan Prosecutor’s Office suspects that the tours – two-day or three-day trips, often on weekends – were organized by the special security agency and that the price list varied depending on the targets.
“I used hunting rifles that were available there, but I managed to get both a TRG sniper rifle and a Dragunov sniper rifle, my favorite. The most disturbing things I remember are the people dying, the amputees with unstoppable bleeding… I still have nightmares,” he said.
As is known, the story was rescued from oblivion by the 2022 documentary “Sarajevo Safari” by Miran Zupanič. Italian writer and publisher Ezio Gavazzeni began his own investigation in Milan. The evidence he collected led Milan Prosecutor Alessandro Gobis to open an official investigation in September 2025 for “criminal offense of multiple murder with elements of cruelty and base motives” against unidentified persons. Recently in Milan, Gavazzeni’s book “Cecchini del weekend – L’inchiestasui safari umani a Sarajevo (Weekend Snipers – An Investigation into the Human Safari in Sarajevo)” was promoted, which explained many aspects of the case. On this occasion, Edin Subašić spoke with the author for the Radiosarajevo.ba portal. Subašić is a former Bosnian military intelligence officer who first uncovered the ‘Sarajevo Safari’ case and is currently collaborating with Gavazzeni on the investigation.
