The retrial of Ramiz Duraković for crimes committed in the Čajniče area in 1993 is scheduled to begin on Thursday, May 7, it was confirmed to Detektor.
Attorney Denis Ajkić told Detektor that the Appellate Council of the State Court will then decide how the proceedings will proceed.
The Appellate Council recently overturned the first-instance verdict that sentenced Duraković to three years in prison as commander of the 43rd Drina Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and ordered a new trial.
In that verdict, Duraković was found guilty of failing to take measures to punish the perpetrators after members of the 43rd Drina Brigade attacked positions of the Army of Republika Srpska in the Pisanica area and the village of Šapići on February 14, 1993, where there were no military targets. On that occasion, a Serb civilian, Darinka Pjević, was killed in Šapići, and the houses of Rajko and Miloš Pjević were set on fire.
In early March of this year, the defense filed an appeal, stating that Duraković was convicted based on assumptions, not proven facts. The BiH Prosecutor’s Office also filed an appeal, requesting a harsher sentence for the accused, and the verdict was overturned.
