Trial Judgment upheld in Milan Đokić et al.

11.03.2024, 14:40

On 5 February 2024 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sent out the Appeals Judgment in the case of Milan Đokić et al., refusing as ill-founded the appeal filed by the BiH Prosecutor's Office and the appeals filed by defense counsel for the accused Milan Đokić, Branislav Trišić, Zoran Tanasić, Žarko Milanović and Mladen Krajišnik, so that the Trial Judgment of the Court of BiH dated 8 June 2023, was upheld.

The Trial Judgment of 8 June 2023 found the accused Milan Đokić, Branislav Trišić, Zoran Tanasić, Žarko Milanović and Mladen Krajišnik guilty that by the acts described in the convicting part of the Judgment they committed the criminal offense of War Crimes against Civilians under Article 142 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, which was adopted based on the Law on the Application of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Criminal Code of SFRY.

 

The Court imposed on the accused the prison sentences as follows:

 

  • Milan Đokić and Branislav Trišićthree (3) years of imprisonment each;
  • Zoran Tanasić, Žarko Milanović and Mladen Krajišniktwo (2) years of imprisonment each.

 

Conversely, the same Judgment acquitted the accused Milan Đokić, Zoran Tanasić, Savo Mršić, Žarko Milanović, Milivoje Čobić and Milan Marković of certain charges, for it was not proven that by the acts described in the acquitting part of the Judgment they committed the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172(1)h), as read with Subparagraph f), of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC BiH), all in conjunction with Articles 31 and 180(1) of the same Code.

 

The accused have been found guilty that, during the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, between the second half of September 1992 and first half of 1994, they, namely Milan Đokić, as Commander of the (SOM) Janja Police Station, which was organizationally part of the CSB Bijeljina; Branislav Trišić, as an operative officer at the National Security Service at the CSB Bijeljina; and Zoran Tanasić, Žarko Milanović and Mladen Krajišnik as members – police officers of the SOM Janja/SM Janja, proceeded in violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, in the manner that Milan Đokić aided and abetted in the torture of Bosniak civilians, while Branislav Trišić, Zoran Tanasić, Žarko Milanović and Mladen Krajišnik tortured the Bosniak civilians.

 

No appeal lies from this Judgment.