On 2 September 2022 the Court of BiH delivered an Appeals Judgment in the case of Predrag Bastah, dismissing as ill-founded the appeal filed by defense counsel for the accused Predrag Bastah and upholding the Trial Judgment of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina No. S1 1 K 024549 20 Kri dated 22 March 2022.
The Trial Judgment had found the accused Predrag Bastah guilty of the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172(1)h) as read with Subparagraph a) CCBiH. Pursuant to Article 55(1) and Article 53(1) CC BiH, the accused Predrag Bastah was sentenced for the foregoing offense to 20 (twenty) years of imprisonment, in addition to the previous sentence of 22 (twenty-two) years of long-term imprisonment, imposed by a final judgment of the Court of BiH No. X-KR-05/122 dated 4 February 2010, so that, pursuant to Article 53(2)a) CC BiH, the accused received a compound sentence of 35 (thirty-five) years of long-term imprisonment. Pursuant to Articles 55(1) and 56 CC BiH, the time the accused spent serving his previous sentence of imprisonment shall be credited towards the newly imposed sentence, as well as the time spent in pre-trial custody in the case of Court of BiH No. X-KR-05/122, running from 28 January 2008 onwards.
The Court dismissed the charges against the accused Predrag Bastah that by the acts described in that part of the judgment he committed the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172(1)h) as read with Subparagraph a) CC BiH, all in conjunction with Articles 29 and 180(1) of the Code.
The accused Predrag Bastah has been found guilty that between 21 April 1992 and late September 1992, in the framework of a widespread and systematic attack launched by military, para-military and police forces of the Serb Republic of BiH, targeting Bosniak civilian and other non-Serb population of the Vlasenica municipality, knowing of the attack and that his acts form a part thereof, as a member of the reserve units of the RS MUP, SJB Vlasenica, he committed persecution of the Bosniak civilian population on political, ethnic and religious grounds, participating in the common design and its contribution to achieving the common objective of depriving the lives of other persons (killings).
No appeal lies from this Judgment.
