Gorazde

The court decision comes after Petkovic, who is now in Serbia, was due to enter his plea on June 16, but failed to appear in court. The State Court said that he had also failed to attend an earlier hearing on March 10 this year.

A former senior Police Administration official in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Edin Vranj was arrested in Serbia on Sunday on suspicion of committing war crimes against prisoners of war during the Bosnian conflict.

President Vucic said after the meeting that Serbia would send hundreds of thousands of protective masks, gloves and new respirators to Republika Srpska.

In its closing statement at the state court in Sarajevo on Thursday, the prosecution said it had proved that former police officers Ibro Merkez, Predrag Bogunic and Esef Huric were guilty of unlawful detention, murder, inhumane treatment and the deprivation of the right to a fair trial between July 1992 and February 1993.

The Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency on Tuesday arrested Ibro Merkez, Esef Huric and Ahmed Sejdic in Sarajevo and Gorazde on suspicion that as wartime members of the Bosnian police and military, they took part in crimes against Serb civilians.