Verdicts for war crimes against Serbs in Mostar, Dretelj

SARAJEVO - The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) passed a ruling on Tuesday sentencing four former members of the Croatian Armed Forces to a total of 24 years of prison for crimes committed against Serb civilians in prison camp Dretelj near Capljina and military clinic in Mostar back in 1992.

Ivan Zelenika was sentenced to six years of prison, Ivan Medic was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, Marina Grubisic Fejzic was sentenced to five years of prison and Edib Buljubasic was sentenced to six years of imprisonment, BIRN reported.

The war crime suspects were found guilty of participation in wide-ranging systematic attack on Serb civilians who were kept inmates in Mostar and Dretelj where they were beaten, sexually abused, tortured and forced to slave labour.

Deputy commander of the Dretelj prison camp Srecko Herceg was acquitted of responsibility for participation in the system of inmate abuse.

A total of 227 Serb civilians, 84 of them women, were illegally detained in the Dretelj prison camp, and many of them were executed, while the survivors suffered severe consequences to their health.