The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina pronounced today its first-instance verdict in the case concerning crimes committed against Bosniak civilians in the village of Novoseoci, in the municipality of Sokolac, during 1992. Six persons were sentenced to a total of 83 years in prison for crimes against humanity, while two of the accused were acquitted.
Momčilo Pajic received the harshest sentence: 20 years in prison. The court sentenced Miladin Gasevic to 15 years, while Branislav Kezunovic, Zeljko Gasevic, Jadranko Suka, and Nikola Koprivica each received 12 years in prison.
At the time when the crimes were committed, Pajic served as the commander of the Military Police Company of the Second Romanija Motorized Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), while Gasevic served as the deputy commander of the Reconnaissance Company. Kezunovic, Zeljko Gasevic, and Suka were members of the Reconnaissance Company, and Koprivica was a member of the Military Police Company of the same brigade.
According to the established factual findings in the conviction part of the verdicts, the accused participated in the ethnic cleansing of the village of Novoseoci, which before the war was inhabited exclusively by a Bosniak population.
The crimes were committed from mid-May until at least the end of September 1992, as part of a widespread and systematic attack by military formations of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, later the Army of Republika Srpska, against the Bosniak civil population of the Sokolac municipality.
The court confirmed that the accused, aware of the widespread attack against civilians and its goals, participated in the forced expulsion of the population of Novoseoci. Following the unlawful deprivation of liberty of the villagers, women and children were deported by bus to the territory controlled by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the men were detained and separated from the rest of the civilians.
The Bosniak men were then escorted to the landfill at Ivan Polje, where the accused, according to the verdict, knew they were being taken to a place where they would be killed. At that location, they participated in their execution by firing automatic weapons.
All 44 civilians who were transported to Ivan Polje were killed. Their remains were subsequently found, with the exception of the body of one victim, which has not been found to this day.
The six men were convicted of crimes against humanity, committed as part of the ethnic cleansing, specifically for murders and deportation or forcible transfer of the population. The verdict was rendered pursuant to the provisions of Article 172 of the Criminal Code of BiH, in conjunction with Articles 180 and 29 of the same code.
Two of the Accused Acquitted
Unlike the six convicted men, the Court of BiH acquitted Dragomir Obradovic and Aleksa Gordic of charges of crimes against humanity.
The acquittal was issued pursuant to Article 284, Paragraph 1, Item c) of the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH, because, as stated, it was not proven that Obradovic and Gordic committed the criminal offenses with which they were charged. Gordic was also charged in connection with the provision on aiding and abetting a criminal offense under Article 31 of the Criminal Code of BiH.
Detention Ordered for the Convicted
Following the pronouncement of the first-instance verdict, the Court of BiH made a decision on ordering custody for the six convicted individuals – Momčilo Pajić, Miladin Gašević, Branislav Kezunović, Željko Gašević, Jadranko Šuka, and Nikola Koprivica.
Custody was ordered pursuant to Article 138 of the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH and may last for a maximum of nine months from the delay of deprivation of liberty, or until a new decision by the Court is made.
The time spent in custody from September 16 to November 19, 2020, will be credited toward the sentences of Pajić, Gašević, Kezunović, Željko Gašević, and Šuka. More specifically, Pajić is credited with custody from September 16 to November 5, 2020.
Regarding Nikola Koprivica, the time spent in custody from April 4 to April 26, 2022, will be credited toward his sentence. This is a first-instance verdict, against which an appeal may be filed in accordance with the law.
