Bosnian Court Convicts and Sentences Former Commander

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosnia's war crimes court today found a Bosnian Muslim ex-police commander guilty of eleven counts of violations of the laws and practices of warfare.  He has been sentenced to eleven years of imprisonment.

Zijad Kurtovic, former commander of the Military Police Squad with Dreznica Independent Battalion of the Bosnian army, was charged with crimes committed against Croatian soldiers and civilians detained in the All Saints church in Donja Dreznica during October 1993.  He was indicted for the crimes themselves, and not for his commanding role.

Kurtovic's indictment included allegations that he tortured and sexually abused civilians and war prisoners in the village of Donja Dreznica and used Croats as human shields between the Bosnian Army and the Bosnian Croat Militia (HVO).  The indictment also alleged that while detaining the prisoners in the local Roman Catholic Church he beat the detainees with iron bats, crosses, and statues of Saints, and forced them to eat pages from the Bible and other religious books.

The Trial Chamber of the Bosnian war crimes court considered the "extreme brutality and callousness" as a mitigating circumstance becuase the detainees were "exposed to extreme humiliation in a religious object." 

According to BalkanInsight, prior to the pronouncement of the verdict, Prosecutor Vesna Tancica called for a verdict of guilty and asked that a sentence be announced, "which will, at least to some extent, represent a satisfaction to the victims and ease their emotional scars."

For more information, please see:

BalkanInsight - Bosniak Jailed 11 Years for War Crimes - 30 April 2008

Earthtimes - Bosnian Muslim war criminal Zijad Kurtovic jailed for 11 years - 30 April 2008

Reuters - Court jails Bosnian Muslim over war crimes - 30 April 2008