DURAKOVIĆ'S ACQUITTAL - PROOF OF DOUBLE STANDARDS IN JUSTICE SYSTEM

ČAJNIČE, APRIL 16 /SRNA/ - The annulment of the first-instance verdict against the former commander of the 43rd Drina Brigade of the so-called Army of BiH, Ramiz Duraković, for crimes against Serb civilians in the area of Čajniče, is "another farce and a biased proceeding of the Court of BiH," the Čajniče Veterans' Organization told SRNA.

"Both the Veterans' Organization and the residents of Čajniče are outraged by the decision of the Appeals Chamber of the Court of BiH," says the Veterans' Organization. They remind that 11 Serb civilians were killed on February 14, 1993, under Duraković's command, including 14-year-old Željko Mašić, while a four-year-old girl, together with her mother, was taken to Goražde after being wounded. "Serb officers and soldiers received decades-long prison sentences for far less serious cases, while others received acquittals, which shows that the Court of BiH applies double standards," the Čajniče Veterans' Organization stated. The Appeals Chamber of the Court of BiH annulled the first-instance verdict against the former commander of the 43rd Drina Brigade of the so-called Army of BiH Ramiz Duraković, by which he had been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for crimes against Serb civilians committed in 1993 in the area of Čajniče.