FIRST-INSTANCE JUDGMENT AGAINST DURAKOVIĆ FOR CRIMES AGAINST SERBS IN ČAJNIČE OVERTURNED

SARAJEVO, APRIL 13 /SRNA/ – The Appeals Division Panel of the Court of BiH has overturned the first-instance judgment against former commander of the 43rd Drina Brigade of the so-called Army of BiH, Ramiz Duraković, by which he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for crimes against Serb civilians committed in 1993 in the Čajniče area, this judicial institution told SRNA.

The Panel accepted the appeal of Duraković’s defence team against the first-instance judgment. By the same ruling issued on March 30, it was ordered that a hearing be held before the Appeals Division Panel of the Court of BiH. At the same time, the Appeals Division Panel of the Court of BiH issued a decision extending Duraković’s detention, which may last until the conclusion of the retrial, no longer than one year, i.e., until March 30, 2027. Duraković was found guilty in the first-instance judgment from October 2025 because he failed to take measures to punish the perpetrators after members of the 43rd Drina Brigade of the so-called Army of BiH attacked positions of the Republika Srpska Army on February 14, 1993, in the Pisanica area and the village of Šapići, where there were no military targets. During the attack in Šapići, civilian Darinka Pjević was killed, and the homes of Rajko and Miloš Pjević were burned. The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH appealed the first-instance judgment seeking a harsher sentence. It is currently unknown when the Appeals hearing will be held.