The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will announce tomorrow, 22 November 2023, the first instance judgment in the case of Ranko Balaban and others at 13:00 hrs in courtroom 4.

The accused Ranko Balaban, Rajko Karlica, Milenko Brčin, Mirko Odžić, Milenko Babić, Ratko Goronja, Nikola Reljić, Dragan Baltić, Ranko Baltić and Miroslav Kapetanović have been charged under the indictment of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office with the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172(1)  h) in connection with sub-paragraphs a), d), f) and k), as read with Article 29 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC BiH), all as read with Article 180(1) of the CC BiH.

The indictment, inter alia, alleges that, during the period between early May 1992 and at least September 1992, within a widespread and systematic attack   of the Serb forces formations of the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, subsequently the Army of Republika Srpska, launched against the non-Serb civilian population in the territory of the Bosanski Novi municipality, the accused Ranko Balaban, Rajko Karlica, Milenko Brčin, Mirko Odžić, Milenko Babić, Ratko Goronja, Nikola Reljić, Dragan Baltić, Ranko Baltić and Miroslav Kapetanović, as members of the Serb armed forces, being aware of such attack and knowing that their acts formed a part of that attack, participated in the persecution of the non-Serb civilian population of the Bosanski Novi municipality on ethnic and religious grounds, specifically by: murder, forcible relocation of the population, torture, and  other inhuman acts of similar nature committed with the intent to inflict serious suffering.