Persons indicted

Defendant:
1

Rank(s) of person(s) indicted

middle police officer

Indictment date

11/09/2007

Case stage

finally resolved

Duration of proceedings since trial commencement

8 years

Witnesses examined

110

Date and outcome of the first instance verdict

09/28/2009

12 years in prison

Date and outcome of decision on appeal

10/11/2010

lower court’s judgment abolished and new trial ordered

Date and outcome of verdict in new trial

12/02/2013

Judgment after new trial:
In its decision of 2 December 2013, the court sentenced the defendant to 12 years in prison.
In the course of repeated proceedings, the court found that the Tuzla authorities had deliberately broken the BH - FRY written agreement on the Yugoslav forces' peaceful withdrawal to the FRY territory. A previously devised “perfidious plan“ resulted in the attack on the withdrawing FRY forces in which 51 Yugoslav soldiers were killed and at least 50 wounded. The court established that defendant AA had been aware of the plan and involved in its realization.

Additional info

Appellate proceedings

12/02/2015

On 2 April 2015, the Appellate Court in Belgrade deliberated on the Tuzla Convoy case in an open session. The Judge-rapporteur presented the first instance judgment, whereupon the defence presented its appeal allegations. The prosecution - which had not appealed the judgment - only presented its submission to the defence allegations.

Appellate Court’s decision

12/02/2015

On 4 March 2016, the Appellate Court in Belgrade announced its decision to finally release AA, a BH police officer, from war crime charges, thereby altering the lower court’s decision in this case. Pursuant to the first instance judgment rendered before the Belgrade Higher Court’s War Crimes Department, defendant AA had been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In the reasoning part of its decision, the Appellate Court pointed out that the first instance judgment had to be abolished due to erroneous and incomplete determination of facts. As the first instance judgment in this case had already been abolished at an earlier point, the Appellate Court was under the obligation to independently resolve the case.

Criminal offence

use of impermissible means of combat under art. 148 (2) re (1) of the SFRY Criminal Act

Background facts

The indictment addressed the attack launched against the forces of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) in the course of their withdrawal from Tuzla, BH on 15 May 1992. According to the indictment allegations, the BH and Yugoslav armed forces had previously signed an agreement on the JNA peaceful withdrawal from Tuzla. As a member of the BH forces, AA received the attack order from his superior commander and personally transmitted the same through radio links.
The case addressed the attack on the JNA convoy departing from Tuzla on 15 May 1992. The court established that, notwithstanding the existence of a BH –JNA agreement on the JNA convoy’s undisturbed withdrawal, AA, a soldier of the BH Army at the relevant time, had acted in compliance with orders received from his superior and personally commanded the attack on the JNA convoy.

Procedural remarks

This case, originally opened by the Military Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, was referred to the OWCP competence in 2004.