prijava
SARAJEVO, December 3 (FENA) - The first-instance chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sentenced Radovan Paprica and Slavko Ognjenović to eight years in prison each for the crime of rape in Miljevina, near Foča, in 1992.
The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sentenced two Bosnian Serbs to eight years each in prison for raping a Bosniak woman near Foča in 1992.
Radovan Paprica, known as Papro, and Slavko Ognjenović, known as Mačak, were found guilty of crimes against humanity committed within a widespread and systematic attack by the military, paramilitary and police forces of Republika Srpska (RS).
The Court also ordered the defendants to pay 37,000 KM (roughly19,000 euros) to the woman as compensation for her mental anguish and impaired ability to lead a normal life.
Paprica and Ognjenović failed to appear at the sentencing. Defence lawyer Anja Loga said they "had headed to the court to hear the verdict but then returned due to ice on the road."
The Trial Chamber determined that, as members of military units of Republika Srpska, Paprica and Ognjenović raped a female Bosniak in the village of Stara Kolonija, Miljevina, on June 9, 1992.
The verdict stated that Ognjenović, accompanied by a person called Neđo, took the injured party, witness A-1, from one of the barracks in Stara Kolonija, to an empty apartment. Ognjenović then left the apartment, while Nedjo raped A-1, after which he left the place and Ognjenovic re-entered.
The Chamber determined that he then tore off the injured party’s underwear, pushed her on to a sofa and also committed rape, slapping her in the face several times. It is further stated that Ognjenović threatened the woman, saying he would kill her and her children if she told anyone about it.
The verdict further states that A-1 then went out to the hallway, where she met Paprica, who ordered her to go back to the apartment and also raped her. He then told her not to go anywhere, as he would come back again, but she jumped out of a window.
In the Chamber’s opinion, the evidence presented by the defence for Ognjenović on the suffering of the Serb people in the villages in Miljevina’s surroundings indicated that these were isolated rather than systematic attacks.
Judge Šaban Maksumić said the Chamber based its conclusions about the defendants’ responsibility for the rape primarily on the injured party’s own convincing testimony, which was supported by the testimonies of by two witnesses, who had certain information about what had happened to her.
The Chamber said the defence had failed to undermine her credibility, and while there were some inconsistencies in her testimony, they concerned only peripheral issues. Maksumic said the defence had failed to cast doubt on her claim that the defendants were the persons who, A-1 said, raped her.
The Chamber did not accept an alibi that some witnesses offered for Ognjenović, claiming their testimonies were directed towards helping him.
Maksumić said that in the sentencing, he took into account the court’s practices and the circumstances under which the crime was committed, as well as mitigating circumstances. The defendants have been banned from travelling. The parties may appeal the verdict with the Appeals Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BIRN reports.
(FENA) S. R.
