NEARLY TWO MONTHS ON, REMAINS FROM LAV CEMETERY STILL NOT EXAMINED

SARAJEVO, SEPTEMBER 29 /SRNA/ - The forensic examination of the remains of at least seven people found at the Lav cemetery in Sarajevo has still not been carried out, the Missing Persons Institute of BiH told SRNA.

The Institute contacted the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the only authority empowered to issue orders for exhumations and related procedures, and was told that the forensic examination of the remains would be scheduled as soon as possible, once the responsible forensic expert becomes available. The remains of several people were found at the Lav cemetery in Sarajevo on August 5 and 6, in unmarked graves and in areas between burial plots. The remains were transferred to the memorial ossuary in Istočno Sarajevo, where a forensic examination is expected to be carried out and DNA analysis used to establish the identities of the missing persons. The Institute noted that, under the Prosecutor's Office order, the deadline for carrying out the forensic examination of the remains is 30 days. The exhumation process was led by an investigator from the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, acting on the instructions of the prosecutor handling the case. The exhumation also involved a forensic pathologist, representatives of the Missing Persons Institute of BiH, workers and machinery, as well as members of the Sarajevo Canton Interior Ministry, who secured the site.