Former Bosnian army commander Atif Dudakovic and 16 other soldiers pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that they were involved in war crimes allegedly committed in the north-western Krajina region during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

Bosnia's Prosecutor's Office filed the indictment on October 11, charging Dudakovic and others with crimes against humanity committed in the municipalities of Bosanski Petrovac, Kljuc, Bosanska Krupa, Sanski Most and war crimes committed against civilians in the northwestern municipalities of Bihac and Cazin.

The Bosnian state Court confirmed the indictment on October 24.

They are also charged with persecution and torturing of the Serb civilians and prisoners of war as well as the destruction of 38 Orthodox shrines, churches and other religious facilities.

Atif Dudakovic is a former general of then Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the Bosnian war, Dudakovic was in command of the Bihac enclave in the north-west of the country, which was surrounded and besieged from 1992 to 1995 by Bosnian Serb forces, Croatian Serb forces and Bosniak dissenters led by the Bosniak politician Fikret Abdic. During that time, Dudakovic commanded the 5th Corps.

After the war, he became the general commander of the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) entity, one of two semi-autonomous entities in Bosnia. The other entity is the Republika Srpska (RS).

Part of the indictment against Atif Dudakovic refers to the war crimes committed against Bosniak victims, members and supporters of the ‘People’s Defence of the Autonomous Region Western Bosnia,’ during clashes in the areas of Bihac and Cazin municipalities.

Dudakovic was apprehended in Bihac in April this year in a police operation carried out the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina.