Six defendants plead not guilty to crimes in Sanski Most and Manjaca

The defendants, Drago Vujanic, Milan Ivanic, Mile Dosenovic, Jugoslav Rodic, Milorad Bilbija and Simo Simetic, are charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise involving the unlawful detention of several thousand Bosniak and other non-Serb civilians in camps, where they were subjected to physical and psychological abuse. At least 40 detainees died as a result, while more than 1,600 were forcibly transferred to the Manjaca military camp and subsequently deported outside the country.

On the occasion of today's hearing, the Sanski Most Camp Inmates Association and the Association of Camp Inmates of Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a peaceful gathering outside the Court of BiH in Sarajevo.

Sadmir Alibegovic of the Sanski Most Camp Inmates Association said he had known all the defendants from before the war and had considered some of them honourable men, but that their pleas of not guilty today had changed his opinion of them.

“In Sanski Most, 252 camp inmates were killed, out of a total of 758 civilians killed in the municipality. So far, we have not had a single serious indictment. There have only been sporadic cases every 10 or 15 years, and no one has been held accountable for command responsibility,” Alibegovic said.

Since the defendants in this case are standing trial while at liberty, Alibegovic expressed concern that they might leave Bosnia and Herzegovina and cross into Serbia before the verdict is delivered.

He appealed to the Prosecutor's Office of BiH to request the confiscation of their travel documents and require them to report regularly to the competent police stations in order to prevent them from fleeing the country.