Bosnian Serb Ex-Fighter’s Conviction for Mass Killing Upheld

The appeals chamber of the Bosnian state court has upheld the verdict convicting Radomir Susnjar of involvement in wartime crimes in the Visegrad area in June 1992, including the murder of 26 civilians - one of them a two-day-old baby - who were locked inside a house that was then burned.

Susnjar has been jailed for 20 years, his lawyer Dejan Bogdanovic confirmed to BIRN. "The defence's appeal has been rejected and the first-instance verdict confirmed," Bogdanovic said.

The first-instance verdict in October last year found that Susnjar, accompanied by fellow Bosnian Serb fighters Milan and Sredoje Lukic, attacked, inhumanely treated and robbed Bosniak civilians from the village of Koritnik who had been previously brought to a house in Pionirska Street in Visegrad on or about June 14, 1992.

Susnjar, who was armed with a knife while Milan and Sredoje Lukic had automatic rifles, searched the civilians in a brutal and humiliating manner, ordering them to take their clothes off, the verdict said.

According to the verdict, after the civilians had been searched, they were ordered to go out and walk to another house in Pionirska Street around 30 metres away.

Milan Lukic then threw an explosive device into the house, causing a fire, and Susnjar threw in a grenade. During this time, all three Serb fighters were shooting simultaneously, preventing the civilians from escaping.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, including a two-day-old baby. Five civilians managed to flee and save themselves.