Bosnian Army Ex-Officer Convicted of Torturing, Killing Civilian

The Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has confirmed a first-instance verdict sentencing Hajriz Doglod to six-and-a-half years in prison for crimes against the civilian population in the Vitez area in 1993.

Doglod was found guilty, as deputy commander of the Bosnian Army's Independent Reconnaissance Battalion, of torturing and then shooting dead Tomislav Trogrlic in the village of Dubravica, near Vitez. Trogrlic had been previously wounded by unknown soldiers.

In December 2020 the Novi Travnik Cantonal Court sentenced Doglod to seven years, but the Supreme Court of the Federation entity then quashed the verdict in June 2021 and referred the case back for a retrial.

Doglod's lawyer Ramo Ajkic confirmed to BIRN that the verdict has now been upheld by the Federation entity's Supreme Court and said he will file an appeal to the state-level Constitutional Court.

Ajkic said the defence will appeal "because we consider that the right to a fair trial was infringed as the verdict is based on unlawful evidence, given that some pieces of evidence were not obtained in accordance with an order by the court and prosecution.

"It has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt that he committed a war crime against the civilian population," Ajkic added.