Mokronoge massacre

Mokronoge massacre
Location	Mokronoge near Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Date	10 August 1993 (Central European Time)
Target	Bosniaks
Attack type	massacre
Death(s)	9
Perpetrator(s)	Croatian Defence Council (HVO)

The Mokronoge massacre was the massacre of nine Bosniak civilians including four women in the Duvno valley village of Mokronoge, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was committed on August 10, 1993 by Croatian Defence Forces (HVO) soldiers during 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 against civilian population. In 2004 he was sentenced to 15 year imprisonment.^[4][5]

Background

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 August 10, 1993 in the village of Mokronoge, at the doorstep of Bešlaga family house armed with an automatic and a machine-gun and wearing fatigues. After the Bešlagas opened the door, Baković entered the house and reloading his gun aimed it at Husein, Emir, Subha, Emira and Dika Bešlaga, Ibrahim, Muharem and Mustafa Tiro, as well as Sinha Đuliman, ordering 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 two of them fired at close range, at least 33 shots from the automatic gun and 51 shots from the machine-gun. All nine were killed on the spot. During the presentation of evidence before the Court, the most relevant was the shocking [testimony] of minor Amela Bešlagić, who recognized the murderer on the night he came to their house. Incidentally, Baković was her parents' best man. When Baković ordered them to lie down, her mother implored him: "Don't do that brother Ivan. Your dad was a good man", and he replied: "He might have been good, but I am an Ustasha", and took them out of the house.^[6]

References

1. ^ Horvat, Domagoj (7 March 1995). "The Secret of Mitigated Crimes". Feral Tribune. http://www.ex-yupress.com/feral/feral7.html. 
2. ^ Lawson, Edward (1996). "Human rights violations by Bosnian Croat Forces". Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1560323620. 
3. ^ Dujmović, Daniela (22 November 1999). "U »slučaju Mokronoge« sud je bio vezan činjenicama iz optužnice". Vjesnik. http://www.vjesnik.hr/html/1999/11/22/Clanak.asp?r=crn&c=1. 
4. ^ Mamic, Drazen. "Bakovic gets 15 years". Vecernji List. http://www.ohr.int/ohr-dept/presso/bh-media-rep/round-ups/print/?content_id=32227. 
5. ^ Mioc, Frano. "15 years of prison for murder of nine Bosniaks". Slobodna Dalmacija. http://www.ohr.int/ohr-dept/presso/bh-media-rep/round-ups/print/?content_id=32227. 
6. ^ Vrebac, Nedzad (8 December 1999). "Politicized Court Trials". Nezavisne Novine. http://www.ex-yupress.com/neznov/neznov8.html. 

External links

• Otvaranje spomen-obilježja ubijenim bošnjačkim civilima u Mokronogama (Bosnian)