Without directly mentioning the indictment against the Croatian pilots, Dodik posted a tweet clearly alluding to the attempt to prosecute them, saying that “a war crime against innocent Serb civilians, children, women and older persons” was committed on 7 and 8 August 1995 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dodik wrote that the Bosnian Serb entity supported Serbia’s War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office and the indictment filed “against the perpetrators of that crime. For the sake of a better and more peaceful future of the region’s countries, everyone should answer for what they did during the last war, just as we should nurture the culture of remembrance.”
Serbia’s War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office has indicted retired Croatian Air Force pilots Danijel Borović, Željko Jelinić, Zdenko Radulj and Vladimir Mikac for war crimes against Serb civilians during Operation Storm.
They are accused of shelling a column of refugees near Bosanski Petrovac and Bosanski Novi, BiH. The indictment contends that 13 persons were killed, including six children, and that 24 persons were wounded.
The Prosecutor’s Office recommended the Croatian pilots be tried in absentia. It decided to indict them even though the alleged crime was committed in another state, citing universal jurisdiction for war crimes.
