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Sasa Cvetkovic (standing) in court. Archive photo: Bosnian state court.

The state court in Sarajevo on Friday found Sasa Cvetkovic guilty in a first-instance verdict of the murder of two elderly Roma civilians in the village of Kolonija, near Srebrenica, and the rape of two women in Bratunac, in June 1992.

“Alaga and Mejra Halilovic were disabled elderly Roma civilians who lived in Kolonija. They were at their house, unarmed and not members of any military formation,” said presiding judge Stanisa Gluhajic.

He added that one of the rape victims was a minor, while the other was under 20 years old, and that the court found it indisputable that they were civilians and did not participate in hostilities.

Judge Gluhajic said that although there was no evidence that the defendant was member of the military, the witnesses’ testimonies suggested he was uniformed and armed with an automatic rifle.

Gluhajic said that one witness said he saw Cvetkovic shoot at Alaga Halilovic with an automatic rifle and then at Mejra Halilovic, who was bedridden. Evidence suggested that the bodies of the two women have never been found, he added.

The judge said that the court determined that Cvetkovic raped the two civilians, who knew the defendant, based on the testimonies they gave. He said that the women described the crime in a clear, detailed and convincing manner.

Gluhajic said the court had not accepted the defendant’s claim that he was not present in Bratunac at the time, because it was in contradiction to testimony given by other witnesses.

“As for the mitigating circumstances, the chamber considered the fact that he committed the crime as a young adult, as well as the fact that he had not been sentenced before and is a family man,” he said.

He said that the court also took into account as aggravating circumstances “the facts that he committed the crime against elderly and disabled civilians and that one of the raped persons was a minor, less than 16 years old when the crime was committed”.

Cvetkovic was ordered to pay one of the rape victims 7,670 euros for the pain and suffering she endured, while the second victim was advised to file a civil suit for compensation.

The defendant did not attend the hearing for health reasons.

The verdict can be appealed.