Skip to main content

COURT PASSES FIRST INSTANCE JUDGMENT IN THE LUŠCI PALANKA CASE

On 2 February 2021, pursuant to the War Crimes Prosecutor's indictment KTO. no.1/17, the Higher Court in Belgrade - War Crimes Department pronounced a first instance judgment in the Lušci Palanka case. Defendant Milorad Jovanović was found guilty of the criminal offence under article 142(1) (war crime against civilian population) of the FRY Criminal Act and sentenced to 9 (nine) years in prison.  

The case addresses the incidents which occurred in Lušci Palanka, Sanski Most area, BH in the period June-July 1992. At the time serving as a reserve police officer of the BH Serbian Republic's Ministry of the Interior, defendant Jovanović committed war crimes against Muslim civilians confined in the local museum building. The defendant engaged in campaigns of terror against the inmates, subjecting them to torture, inhumane treatment and heavy beatings. A number of inmates sustained grave bodily injuries and one died in the process.