State Court of Bosnia My]) Herzegovina
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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE OF Bili SARAJEVO Number: KT-RZ 200/06 Court Number X-KRN-06/300 Sarajevo, 27 December 2006 STATE COURT OF BOSNIA MY]) HERZEGOVINA Pursuant to Articles 35 (2) (H), Article 226 (1) and Article 227 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH-CPC), I hereby issue this INDICTMENT AGAINST: VRACEVIC, Mirko, also known as "Srbin", son of Teodor, born on 15 March 1945 in Donji Smrtici; with indetification number 1503945150012, of Croat ethnicity, citizen of BiH, currently on pension, completed primary school; married; no previous convictions; no known pending criminal procedings; military service completed; arrested by SIP A on 19 December 2006 at 09:10; currently under house arrest pursuant to the decision of the Court of BiH n. X-KRN-06/300 issued by the Panel of the Court of BiH on the 22 December 2006. Because: During the period from July 1993 until March 1994, during an armed conflict between the HVO and the Army of BiH, Mirko Vracevic, also known as "Srbin", as member of the BijeJo Polje Battalion of the Second Brigade of the Hrvatsko Vijece Obrane (HVO), in which zone ofresponsibiJity village Vojno, municipality Mostar was located, and in his capacity as guard of the Vojno prison facility, planned, instigated, personally perpetrated, aided and abetted the commission of the attack on Bosniak civilians as part of a widespread or systematic attack on Bosnian Muslim civilian population of Mostar Municipality by members of the HVO military and police forces, which attack was committed pursuant to a state or organizational policy to commit such an attack, and knowing such attack, which were committed in furtherance of the system to maltreat and persecute Bosniaks in which Mirko Vracevic willfully and knowingly participated; during the attack 76 Bosniak women, children and elderly were unlawfully arrested, detained in inhumane conditions in houses, and other facilities in Vojno village, municipality PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/2447c9/ Mostar, while hundreds of Bosniak men who were taken from the Heliodrom camp for forced labor, were unlawfully detained in the prison facility in Vojno village, municipality Mostar, detained in brutal, degrading and inhumane conditions in a gatage and a cellar of a house physically and psychologically maltreated, tortured, subjected to daily beatings by guatds and soldiers, resulting to the death of 16 prisoners; as camp guard, Mirko Vracevic, was responsible for the lives and limbs and the safety of all the prisoners; had authority and control over the prisoners and had the duty to prevent hatm from being committed on them; Mirko Vracevic personally gave a substantial contribution to and furthered the functioning of Vojno prison facility's system of ill-treating and persecuting Bosnian Muslims by personally committing, or otherwise aiding and abetting the commission of various forms of physical, mental and sexual violence thereby creating an atmosphere of terror; contributed to the furtherance of the conditions of the facility which were brutal, barbatic and degrading, with prisoners detained without the basic necessities of life such as adequate food, clothing, shelter, drinking water, medical cate; detained in Unhygienic and cramped conditions; subjecting them to daily beatings, torture, harassment, humiliation, and psychological and sexual abuse; among others: 1. At the end of Alust 1993, on evening hours, Mirko Vracevic took out Protected witness from a house in which she was detained in Vojno camp and brought her to the command house; he handed her over to Marko Radic who then ordered her to go with Mirko Vracevic by telling her "do what you need to do"; after that Mirko Vracevic brought her to HVO member Mirko Bukara,; he told him "here, she comes" then Mirko Bukara by force forced protected witness.to have sex with him; 2. On an unknown date in September 1993, Mirko Vracevic, together with Mario Mihalj (deceased) and Dragan Sunjic, in Bubrani municipality Mostar, approximately half way to Heliodrom camp, municipality Mostat and Vojno camp, during the transport of fifty (50) prisoners from Heliodrom to be taken to Bijelo Polje to perform forced labour in Bijelo and while resting, Mirko Vracevic recognized a prisoner named Vracevic approached _ and told him "Have you come again? Tomorrow at 8 0' clock, you will dig a grave for yourself and I will come at 9 0' clock to execute you."; then Vracevic addressed Mario Mihalj and said "Commander, why wouldn't I kill him now" to which Mihalj replied "well, you coulct'; then Vracevic turned atound and asked prisoners "How do you, Muslims say 2 PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/2447c9/ grave who was tied next to replied "mezar", after that Vracevic turned around and said "that's right", then fired, at close range, his rifle to _head, inflicted an in and out injury on his head, which instantly caused t~ the bullet, exited the head of killed person hit prisoner--. in his chest and seriously injuring the latter; 3a. On an unknown date at the beginning of September 1993, in Vojno camp, Mirko Vracevi6 came to the house where protected witness. was detained, placed a knife under her throat and said: "dolyala si i Ii ptico " (the fox is brought to the furrier); that caused a tremendous fear and anxiety to the prisoner. 3b. On an unknown date in September 1993, in Vojno camp, Mirko Vracevic entered into a room where female Bosniaks prisoners together with underage children were detained, he approached to a 17 -month old child, gave her a grenade and asked "does your father has such candy in a house", that caused a tremendous fear and anxiety to all the prisoners in the house; 4. On an unknown date in October 1993, in Vojno camp, while prisoners cleaned ~Vojno camp, Mirko Vracevic, approached an underage prisoner _ and told him that he would slit his throat as he did to his aunt, after that he hit him se~ a rifle butt all over his body, that caused severe body injuries to _ . 5. During the period from 7 September until the end of November 1993, in Vojno camp, Mirko vrace.viCseveral times, at evening hours, took out a prisoner protected witness from a room where she was detained to a house within the camp and forced her to have sex with him while using force and threatening her to kill her. 6a On an unknown date during the period from the end of August until the beginning of September 1993, Vracevic took from a garage located in Vojno camp in which Bosniaks were unlawfully detained, among 3 PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/2447c9/ them was an underage Mirko Vracevi6 came and took him from the garage and brought to a house close to the garage, where Mario Mihalj had his office, Mirko Vra~evic to Mario Mihalj; after that Mario Mihalj ordered the to take his clothes off to the waist, after that he hit him all over his wooden cornice and wooden axe handle, because of was all bloodied up and bruised, that caused Mario Mihalj ordered Mirko Vracevi6 to 6b. On an unknown date during the period from the end of August until the beginning of September 1993, Vracevic took from a garage located in Vojno c~osniaks were unlawfully detained, among them was underage_Mirko Vracevi6 came and took him from the garage and brought to a house close to the where Mario Mihalj had his office, Mirko Vracevi6 handed Mari~ had an electrical wire in his hand, he wire to-. fingers, subjected him to electrical while Mirko Vracevi6 poked his knife all over the body inflicting severe body injuries to him; 7. On an unknown date during the period from the end of fiU'l',"'" beginning of September 1993, Mirko Vracevic took a nri.<,nnler from a garage located in Vojno camp, and brought him to a house 910se to the garage, in which Mario Mihalj had his office, he handed him over to Mario Mihalj, who beat him for a while, which caused _ body to be all covered with blood, bruised and swollen; then Vracevi6 dragged the prisoner to the garage in such a bad condition that he could not walk on his own; 8. On an unknown date, at the beginning of September 1993, in Vojno camp, Mirko Vracevic took a prisoner protected witness.from the garage, brought him to a house near the garage, where Mario Mihalj and Dragan Sunjic waited, they placed the prisoner on a chair, tied his fingers up with electrical wires which was connected to a telephone, then Mario Mihalj started to turn around telephone handle what caused electrical current to go trough the body of prisoner. and the prisoner suffered tremendous pains, thereafter, while the prisoner was in semiconscious condition they dragged him to the garage; 9. During the period from July 1993 until March 1994, Mirko Vracevic, as a member of the HVO and in his capacity a camp guard of the Vojno prison facility, was responsible for planning, committing, instigating or otherwise aiding and abetting the unlawful detention of Bosniak civilian women, children 4 PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/2447c9/ and elderly in the Vojno prison facility, municipality of Mostar, which were committed in furtherance of the system to maltreat and persecute Bosniaks in which Mirko Vracevec and such as the unlawful arrest and det:enl:ign elderly woman 10. During the period from July 1993 until March 1994, Mirko Vracevi6, as member of the HVO and in his capacity as camp guard of the Vojno prison facility, is responsible for planning, committing, instigating, or otherwise aiding and abetting the unlawful deportation of Bosnian male from the HVO run Heliodrom camp and their unlawful detention in the premises of the Vojno prison facility, which were committed in furtherance of the system to maltreat.