The Sarajevo Cantonal Court sentenced Veljko Papic to a two-year prison sentence for the crimes against Sarajevo civilians in neighbourhoods of Grbavica and Kovacici during 1993 and 1994, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) reported Friday.

In their earlier reports, the BIRN wrote about Papic as one of the founders and vice presidents of the Ravna Gora-Romanija movement from the Sarajevo suburb Sokolac.

The Cantonal Court found him guilty for actions he committed as the commander of the third company of the First Battalion within the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS).

He was found guilty for the orders he made, forcing non-Serb civilians and members of the labour platoon to labour repeatedly exposing them to life-threatening danger.

The victims did not dare refuse his tasks fearing for their own and the lives of their family who would have been killed otherwise, the verdict states.

Papic had the possibility to appeal the verdict as this is only the first instance decision.