Akeljić Minet et al (Minet Akeljić, Šaban Haskić, Senad Bilal, Hazim Patković and Šemsudin Halilović)

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Year of the incident: 
1993
Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Akeljić, Minet
Role: 
Commander of the Military Police and the Battalion of the 325th Mountain Brigade of the Army BiH.
Convicted of: 
War crimes against civilian population in the form of inhumane treatment.
Factual basis: 
From July to September 1993 in the "Crna kuća" detention facility where 11 Croat civilians were imprisoned, Minet Akeljić physically and mentally abused some of them by issuing orders for taking out six civilians to the front line where they were exposed to the cross fire. Three of them had explosives strapped to their bodies making them fear for their lives. In addition, in the period from July to September 1993, he was present on a number of occasions when two civilians were made to beat each other with batons and then Hazim Patković and Senad Bilal beat them and Akeljić did not take any measures to prevent this.
Acquitted of: 
War crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilian population in the form of inhumane treatment. He was charged with taking one person out of the "Crna kuća" detention facility on an unspecified day between July and September 1993 and kicked him with his feet wearing army boots, his fists, baseball bat and a chair all over his body. In addition, Akeljić was acquitted of charges that between September and November he took out one person from the basement of Crna kuća and ordered him to go to the front line between Army RBiH and HVO. Explosives were strapped to his body making him afraid for his life.

First Instance Verdict

Date: 
02/10/2018
Court: 
Court of BiH, Criminal Division
Note: 
Sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.

Second Instance Verdict

Date: 
06/06/2019
Court: 
Court of BiH, Appellate Division
Note: 
First instance verdict confirmed.
Haskić, Šaban
Role: 
Member of the Military Police of the 1st Battalion of the 325th Mountain Brigade of Army R BiH.
Convicted of: 
War crimes against civilian population in the form of inhumane treatment.
Factual basis: 
From July to September 1993, Šaban Haskić physically and mentally abused some of the 11 Croat civilians kept in the "Crna kuća " detention facility by taking five civilians repeatedly out and beating them alone or with others. He ordered one civilian to pull grass in front of "Crna kuća", hitting him with the rifle butt in the shoulder, head, and back. He also took out one civilian out and ordered him to line up with others and fired shots in their direction, and then asked them if they got frightened by blanks, causing them to fear for their lives. In July 1993, together with Bilal, he ordered one of the civilians to take off his clothes, hitting him with a rubber baton repeatedly, and then they ordered another civilian to also take off hic clothes and perform oral sex on each other, and then pushed them both down the stairs into the basement of " Crna kuća" where they were detained.
Acquitted of: 
War crimes against civilian population in the form of violating bodily integrity. He was charged with taking one person from the "Crna kuća" detention facility in November 1993 and ordering him to clean the toilet, kicking him with his feet wearing army boots. In addition, Haskić was acquitted of charges for war crimes against prisoners of war. He was accused that he, together with Bilal, ordered one prisoner to take off his clothes and then poured cold water over him.

First Instance Verdict

Date: 
02/10/2018
Court: 
Court of BiH, Criminal Division
Note: 
He was convicted to seven years of imprisonment.

Second Instance Verdict

Date: 
06/06/2019
Court: 
Court of BiH, Appellate Division
Note: 
First instance verdict confirmed.
Bilal, Senad
Role: 
Member of Military Police of the 1st Battallion of the 325th Mountain Brigade of Army BiH.
Convicted of: 
War crimes against civilian population in the form of inhumane treatment.
Factual basis: 
From July to September 1993 in the "Crna kuća" detention facility where 11 Croat civilians were imprisoned, Senad Bilal physically and mentally abused some of them by repeatedly beating them in front of " Crna kuća", ordering them to slap each other, interrogating them on the HVO positions and when he was not satisfied with the answer, hitting them across their legs and backs. In July 1993, together with Haskić, he ordered one of the civilians to take off his clothes, hitting him with a rubber baton repeatedly, and then they ordered another civilian to also take off hic clothes and perform oral sex on each other, and then pushed them both down the stairs into the basement of " Crna kuća" where they were detained. In addition, from July to September 1993, Bilal, together with Patković, althernated in hitting one civilian they took out of “Crna kuća”. Then they ordered two civilians to beat each other and when they stopped, they continued beating them with batons and then ordered them to do pushups and squats hitting them across arms and lower bodies. They also repeatedly took out one civilian at night to dig trenches at the front line.
Acquitted of: 
Bilal was acquitted of charges for war crimes against prisoners of war in the form of inhumane treatment. He was accused that he, together with Haskić, ordered one prisoner to take his clothes off and then poured cold water over him.

First Instance Verdict

Date: 
02/10/2018
Court: 
Court of BiH, Criminal Division
Note: 
Sentenced to eight years of imprisonment.

Second Instance Verdict

Date: 
06/06/2019
Court: 
Court of BiH, Appellate Division
Note: 
First instance verdict confirmed.
Patković, Hazim
Role: 
Member of Military Police of the 1st Battalion of the 325th Mountain Brigade of Army RBiH.
Convicted of: 
War crimes against civilian population in the form of inhumane treatment.
Factual basis: 
From July to September 1993 in the "Crna kuća" detention facility where 11 Croat civilians were imprisoned, Patković physically and mentally abused some of them. Specifically, on an undetermined day, he ordered one civilian to bend into a kneeling position to clean his shoes, beating him with a rubber baton across the back. Also, from July to September 1993, he and Bilal alternated in hitting a civilian whom they took out of „Crna kuća“, then ordered two civilians to beat each other. When they stopped, they continued beating them with batons and then ordered them to do pushups and squats hitting them across their arms and lower body. They also repeatedly took out one civilian at night to dig trenches at the front line.
Acquitted of: 
Patković was acquitted of charges for war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians in the form of inhumane treatment. He was charged with repeatedly taking out one person from the “Crna kuća” detention facility and beating him with a baton all over his body.

First Instance Verdict

Date: 
02/10/2018
Court: 
Court of BiH, Criminal Division
Note: 
Sentenced to five years of imprisonment.

Second Instance Verdict

Date: 
06/06/2019
Court: 
Court of BiH, Appellate Division
Note: 
First instance verdict confirmed.
Đelilović, Šemsudin
Outcome: 
Role: 
Member of Military Police of the 1st Battalion of the 325th Mountain Brigade of Army RBiH.
Acquitted of: 
Đelilović was acquitted of charges for war crimes against civilian population in the form of inhumane treatment. He was charged with repeatedly hitting one civilian with a wooden stake on an unspecified day between July and September 1993, when the detainees were taken out to perform forced labour. He also lined up detainees dressed in white overalls and poured cold water over them. In addition, when Croat civilians, amongst whom there was an elderly woman, were brought there, he hit her and took her shoulder bag.

First Instance Verdict

Date: 
02/10/2018
Court: 
Court of BiH, Criminal Division
Note: 
Acquitted of all charges.

Second Instance Verdict

Date: 
06/06/2019
Court: 
Court of BiH, Appellate Division
Note: 
First instance verdict confirmed.