Mokronoge massacre

The Mokronoge massacre was the mass killing of nine Bosniak civilians, in the Duvno Valley village of Mokronoge, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was committed on 10 August 1993 by Croatian Defence Forces (HVO) soldiers during the Bosnian War.[1][2] In November 1999, Zagreb District Court found Ivan Baković guilty in absentia and sentenced him to 15 year imprisonment.[3] After Ivan Baković was arrested, he was also tried in the Cantonal Court in Livno and found guilty of war crimes committed against the civilian population. In 2004, he was sentenced to 15 year imprisonment.[4][5]

Mokronoge massacre
Part of Bosnian War
LocationMokronoge near Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Date10 August 1993 (Central European Time)
TargetBosniaks
Attack type
Mass Killing
Deaths9
PerpetratorsCroatian Defence Council (HVO)

Massacre

The explanation of the verdict of the Zagreb District Court, with Ranko Marijan as a presiding judge, stated that Ivan Baković, also known as Ikač, appeared together with at least one unidentified person on 10 August 1993 in the village of Mokronoge, at the doorstep of the Bešlaga family's house. Armed with an automatic and a machine-gun and wearing fatigues, they entered the house and aimed their weapons at Husein, Emir, Subha, Emira and Dika Bešlaga, Ibrahim, Muharem and Mustafa Tiro, as well as at Sinha Đuliman. He ordered them to get out of the house. Together with his accessory, holding the victims at gun-point, he took them to a nearby forest, some 500 meters away and ordered them to lie on the ground, face down. Then, the two assailants fired at least 33 shots from the automatic gun and 51 shots from the machine-gun. All nine victims were killed on the spot.

During the presentation of evidence before the Court, the most relevant was the shocking testimony of minor Amela Bešlaga, who recognized the murderer on the night he came to their house. Baković had been her father's best man at his wedding. When Baković ordered them to lie down, her mother implored him: "Don't do that brother Ivan. Your dad was a good man". Baković replied: "He might have been good, but I am an Ustaša", and took them out of the house.[6]

References
  1. Horvat, Domagoj (7 March 1995). "The Secret of Mitigated Crimes". Feral Tribune.
  2. Lawson, Edward (1996). "Human rights violations by Bosnian Croat Forces". Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1-56032-362-0.
  3. Dujmović, Daniela (22 November 1999). "U "slučaju Mokronoge" sud je bio vezan činjenicama iz optužnice". Vjesnik.
  4. Mamic, Drazen. "Bakovic gets 15 years". Vecernji List.
  5. Mioc, Frano. "15 years of prison for murder of nine Bosniaks". Slobodna Dalmacija.
  6. Vrebac, Nedzad (8 December 1999). "Politicized Court Trials". Nezavisne Novine.

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