Sentences for crimes against humanity
Bosnia’s state court sentenced six former Second Romanija Brigade members to a total of 83 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed near Sokolac in 1992. Momcilo Pajic, the former commander of the Military Police, received 20 years, while Miladin Gasevic, the deputy commander of the Reconnaissance Company, received 15 years. Branislav Kezunovic, Zeljko Gasevic, Jadranko Suka, and Nikola Koprivica each received 12 years. The court ordered the detention of Pajic, Kezunovic, Gasevic, and Suka, although Miladin Gasevic and Suka did not appear at the hearing. The chamber concluded the aim of the action in Novoseoci village was the ethnic cleansing of the population. The defendants knew about the systematic attack on the Bosniak civilian population that lasted from May to September 1992. On the night of September 21 and 22, 1992, members of the brigade deployed around the village. Radislav Krstic, the commander of the brigade, ordered Pajic to implement a plan to kill the men and deport the women and children. The trial, which began in May 2021, saw proceedings against Milan Tupajic and Momir Kezunovic suspended due to their deaths.
The Ivan Polje execution
The group selected to liquidate the village men included Miladin Gasevic, Zeljko Gasevic, Momir Kezunovic, Branislav Kezunovic, Jadranko Suka, and Nikola Koprivica. These men entered vehicles knowing they were being taken to kill people. The group led by Miladin Gasevic transported the men in two trucks to Ivan Polje, where they killed 44 men at a sinkhole by firing 178 shots from automatic weapons. The court used statements from protected witnesses N-2 and N-3 to guide the verdict, despite these witnesses later denying they were at the location. While women and children were taken to Sarajevo by bus, the men were detained under the false promise that they would be designated for exchange. In Novoseoci, Slavisa Cvijetic killed an elderly woman named Devla Karic who was looking for her husband. The remains of the 44 men were found in 2000 covered in garbage and the ruins of the Novoseoci mosque. The court acquitted former Sokolac Police Station commander Dragomir Obradovic and Aleksa Gordic because the prosecution did not prove a joint criminal enterprise or specific actions by Gordic. The chamber found no special mitigating circumstances for the sentences.
