According to alleged evidence in the journalist’s possession Croatian Domagoj Margetic, Aleksandar Vucicthen a young volunteer, was present at one of the Serbian military posts in Sarajevo from where, according to witnesses, foreign citizens and Serbian ultranationalist units shot and killed civilians.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic this Friday denied accusations made by a Croatian journalist about his alleged involvement in the so-called “Sarajevo safari” case, according to the Serbian press.
The case took place during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s and presumably involves snipers from Italy and other countries who would have traveled to the Bosnian capital to, through payment of large amounts of moneyo, shooting unarmed civilians, including women and children, for fun.
“I have never killed or injured anyone, nor have I ever done anything similar,” said Vucic, quoted by the Italian news agency ANSA, which, in turn, is based on the Serbian press.
Croatian investigative journalist Domagoj Margetic filed a complaint against Vucic with the Milan Prosecutor’s Office, alleging his involvement.
According to alleged evidence in the journalist’s possession, Vucic, then a young volunteer, was present at one of the Serbian military posts in Sarajevo from where, according to witnesses, foreign citizens and Serbian ultranationalist units shot and killed civilians.
Vucic classified the allegations as shameful and “completely false”.
“I have never been a sniper in my life, I have never held the rifle they talk about. Be ashamed,” he declared, denouncing a defamatory and lying campaign against him, which aims to portray him as a monster and a ruthless killer.
The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reacted strongly to the accusations against Vucic.
“Sensationalist and unfounded claims”
In a statement, the ministry condemned the dissemination of “sensationalist and unfounded claims” e of “invented reconstructions”, the result of “coordinated disinformation” aimed at “damaging the image of Serbia and its institutions”.
Stressing that Vucic has never been associated with war or war crimes, the ministry criticizes the fact that “issues dating back to periods in the history of the Balkans are once again being used as an instrument of political manipulation, fueling tensions and encouraging the destabilization of our region”.
This, adds the statement, is a “biased media campaign” which aims to create a “distorted and hostile image of Serbia”.
Sarajevo was a victim of longest siege in modern history
Between April 1992 and February 1996, Sarajevo was a victim of longest siege in modern history and a war that devastated Bosnia and caused more than 100,000 deaths.
According to several Italian media outlets, the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the alleged trips of rich Italians who had fun shooting from the top of buildings at civilians trapped in the city, but few details were disclosed.
The Bosnian justice system, which dealt with the same charges in 2022, says it is still conducting its investigation.
In early April 1992, Bosnian Serb forces, who had recovered weapons from the Yugoslav Federal Army, launched a I’m looking forward to Sarajevo. In four years, more than 11,500 people were killed in the city, including several hundred children, according to official Bosnian figures.
The names of the murdered children are engraved on a memorial in the city center — a daily reminder of the tragedy that Sarajevo suffered.
Many of these victims were killed by snipers positioned in the hills around the city — and the city’s largest artery was named “Sniper Alley” by international journalists during the war, constituting a way of terrorizing the civilian population, explained in several trial sessions the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
No sniper was held personally responsibleas all the convictions targeted those responsible and the command.
