The Association for Social Research and Communication (UDIK) reminds the public of the war crimes that took place in the area of the Bugojno municipality, which was the scene of armed conflicts primarily for the Bosniak and Croatian population, but a certain number of persons of Serbian ethnicity were also killed in that area.
July 1993 was a particularly difficult month for the local population. Among the numerous crimes committed in this place are those in the camp for Croats formed at the “Iskra” stadium, which was under the control of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the murders of Bosniaks from the village of Vrbanja by members of the Croatian Defense Council.
On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary, UDIK presents a series of three publications documenting trials for war crimes committed in the area of Bugojno. The first publication documents four cases conducted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which sentenced Alija Osmić to three years in prison for war crimes against prisoners of war, and Osman Šega to five years in prison for war crimes against civilians. After consideration and acceptance of the plea agreement, Enes Handžić was sentenced to eight years in prison, and Slavko Šakić to eight years and six months in prison. The other two publications document the trial that took place from 2008 to 2014 before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Nisvet Gasal, Senad Dautović and Musajb Kukavica. Gasal and Kukavica were sentenced to four years in prison each, and Senad Dautović was sentenced to seven years in prison.
These publications also document a list of verified missing persons from the Bugojno area from the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a review of the war victims of Bugojno written by Emza Fazlić from the Institute.
According to the Institute, about fifty exhumations were carried out in the Bugojno area. Most of them were carried out in the period from 1996 to 2000, when the victims were identified through the DNA method. So far, fifty-six victims have been found and identified, while the remains of forty-three people are still being searched for. The youngest person from the area of Bugojno is nineteen-year-old Jozo Lučić, while the oldest victim is Sekula Nikšić, who was eighty-seven years old at the time of the murder. Their remains have not yet been found, it was stated in the press release.
