Bosnia Urged to Convict Serb Battalion Commander of Genocide

In its closing statement on Wednesday, the prosecution called on the state court in Sarajevo to convict Srecko Acimovic of genocide and give him a sentence as close to the maximum as possible.

The prosecution said that it had proved that Acimovic, in his capacity as commander of the Second Battalion of the Bosnian Serb Army's Zvornik Brigade, made manpower and resources available for the commission of genocide in July 1995.

Prosecutor Ibro Bulic cited testimony by witnesses who said they saw Acimovic in front of a school building in the village of Rocevic near Zvornik on July 14, 1995, when Bosniak prisoners from Srebrenica were taken there.

According to prosecutor Bulic, the defendant was aware that the prisoners were then assaulted, and saw blood and several bodies.

Bulic said the men were then transported from the school to a gravel factory - a location selected by the defendant - where at least 818 Bosniak captives were executed.

The prosecutor cited testimony by witnesses who were at the gravel factory when the captives were killed. He said that the defendant issued an order to buy sandwiches and juice for the Bosnian Serb Army soldiers.

"The defendant abused his senior position. He had the power to stop the killing operation in which his subordinates participated," Bulic said.

Some 8,000 Bosniaks from Srebrenica were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, in massacres that international courts have classified as genocide.

The defence will present its closing statement on April 8.