The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered the detention of Ramiz Duraković, who is suspected of war crimes against Serbian civilians in the area of Čajnič, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.
The measure of detention was proposed due to the danger of escape, because the judicial and police agencies of Bosnia and Herzegovina had been looking for Duraković, who had lived abroad for several years.
In addition, Duraković also has German citizenship, and by leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina, he would become unavailable to the judicial institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Duraković, who was arrested at the Uvac Border Crossing, is under investigation by the BiH Prosecutor’s Office on suspicion that during the war in BiH, in his capacity as the commander of the BiH Army, he acted contrary to the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Civilians during War.
He is suspected that on February 14, 1993, as the commander of the 43rd Drina Brigade of the Army of BiH, which entered the area under the control of the Army of the Republika Srpska through the territory of Montenegro, he participated in the attack on the villages of Šapiće, Trpinje and Troyan, which were inhabited by population of Serbian nationality.
In these villages, members of the 43rd Drina Brigade killed 11 civilians, among whom were elderly men and women, as well as one child.
The oldest victim was 73, and the youngest 14. Also, during the attack, they wounded five civilians of Serbian nationality, including two minors.
After the attack, members of the 43rd Drina Brigade, together with the suspect Duraković, returned to the area of the municipality of Goražde.
The suspect, as a superior, failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of the crime.
The suspect is charged with the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population.
