Italian prosecutors investigate alleged ‘sniper tourism’ in 1990s Bosnia war • FRANCE 24

Italy now because reports in the Guardian newspaper in Britain are revealing that prosecutors in Milan in Italy have opened an investigation into Italians who allegedly paid members of the Bosnian Serb army for trips to Saravo so that they could kill citizens during the 4-year siege of the city in the 1990s. Well, for more on that story, we’re joined now by our correspondent in Italy, Sema Gupta. Hi Sema, this is an extraordinary story. Can you tell us what led to this investigation? Well, essentially we do know that the Milan’s uh public prosecutor’s office has opened uh this investigation to these claims that there are Italians who travel to Bosnia, as you mentioned, in the early 1990s essentially to be sniper tourists. Uh I mean they allegedly paid huge sums of money uh to the Bosnian uh Serb army in order to kill Bosnian civilians for kicks. Uh is what we’re finding out now. This happened in between 1992 and 1996. There was that 4-year siege of Sarbo. uh some 11,000 people uh died in that siege and uh this is because of a complaint that was filed by an a Milanbased uh journalist and writer Etsio Gavatzeni. Now he essentially put together this report uh and he says that wealthy people who had a passion for weapons essentially paid money to kill defenseless civilians. That’s what he said. And uh the reports are saying that um basically these uh uh people here initially uh traveled to the northern Italian city of Trieste. From there they made their way to Belgrade uh during that period and then from there to the hills surrounding Saro where they carried out this sniper action. Now, uh, the reports include, uh, lots of testimony that he’s put together as well as evidence gathering, including testimony from a Bosnian military intelligence officer, uh, who is said to have informed this information to the Italian uh, military intelligence at the time. Now all this uh evidence that he’s put together is being examined by an Italian counterterroris terrorism prosecutor and uh they aim to want to identify the Italians that are involved on charges of murder uh aggravated by cruelty and abject uh motives. So really some very cruel actions uh that have been presented in this evidence and so uh the Milan prosecutor’s office clearly feel that it warrants an investigation. How was this story unearthed? How did it come to the attention of this writer who filed the complaint? Well, Gavad Seni said that essentially he first heard about it in a report in the Milanbased Daily Kore de laser some 30 years ago. But his um curiosity or his memory of that first report uh was really um peaked if you like when he saw a documentary in 2022 uh called Saro Safari. This was a documentary put together by a Slovenian director that talked about this issue and talked about people not just from Italy but from other countries as well. And Gavatini himself says it’s uh from other western countries. He believes that there were many Italians but there were also German, French and English nationals involved in doing this. Now he dug further into this and has put together a 17page report that he handed to the Milan prosecutors back in February. And included in this report is a report by a former mayor of Saravo as well. So clearly now the prosecutors feel that they can go ahead and together with police uh they said to have identified a list of witnesses and they want to uh start questioning them to find out who exactly was involved in this here in Italy. But of course I mean if we are to believe the what these investigators and writers have put together, there could be nationals from other countries involved as well. Astonishing. Thank you.

Prosecutors in Milan have launched an investigation into allegations that wealthy Italians paid members of the Army of Republika Srpska during the 1992‑1996 siege of Sarajevo to act as ‘weekend snipers’ and shoot civilians for sport. The suspects allegedly paid tens of thousands of euros—reports suggest amounts between €80,000 and €100,000—with higher fees claimed for shooting children,. FRANCE 24’s Seema Gupta has more from Rome.
#Italy #BosniaWar #SniperTourism

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46 comments

  1. Cooperation of wealthy predators and Serbian war criminals, a ruthless alliance in which humanity and morality are completely absent!

  4. Ezio, as in Dirty Ezio from Men in Tights? Remembering something after 30 years. Russian propaganda stinks for miles

  6. The truth is one thing the reason why after 30 years this is got any spotlight is something else to be looked at.
    Foreigners paying to kill someone or volunteering to do the same thing what’s the difference there all in a conflict they have no business in.
    Foreign legion Alquaeda Russian volunteers or rich psychopaths they were all there on all sides all the same.

  8. Shame on those people. We're at a loss for words. And they call Muslims savages. When Saladin conquered Jerusalem, he forgave everyone. When the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem, they killed everyone. The difference between two civilizations. You're always like this, savages, barbarians.

  9. Sarajevo was a divided city during the war. Even the streets were divided. On both sides people were killed by snipers. Why is one side condemned in advance? The same story as in the nineties, media propaganda and satanization of one side.

  10. Why don’t you investigate where the human organs kidnapped Serbs ended up in Kosovo and who all the high officials are involved. Start with Bernard Kouchner! Why did the Hague Teibunal destroy the evidence about “ The Yellow House” where organs were removed from kidnapped Serbs?

  11. It is sad that only after 30 years people are talking about this big problem. Was the intention perhaps to wait for key figures to die before the judiciary finally dealt with it? There shouldn't even be a trial at all for such sick individuals. Just imagine what such a person was doing in Italy in the meantime, and the worst part is that these are very rich people who can obviously get away with anything with their money.

  12. You also have to question Serbian president Vučić, there is photo of him from mid 90s with rifle on Sarajevo Mountains

  15. The main thing that seems weird here is that this story is reported in the Guardian which is MSM. You know the same MSM that pushed for lockdown, vaccines, non-straight pride, Killary to win, giving your money to Zeli, boycotting Brexit. It sounds like a flipped script. Maybe because Ukraine is losing they are trying to start a new proxy on the Balkans.

  19. This is well known fact for 25 years, at least. Why now? Because there is time for another war in thar region and time for more gains for people who are pushing for it.

  21. We all know this in Croatia. Dr of Psychiatry, a well known guy from Sarajevo, a Serb was in charge. He killed with sniper his friends, one survived , he was getting water outside,and he shot him in the legs. He survived, he is in a wheelchair…He is also a Dr .

  22. Why is this investigated after 30 years??? Why waited so long??? Maybe "tourists" were some milionaires, bilionaires, politicians,etc. who died in the meanwhile so they will not face justice. Something's fishy there!!!

  29. The majority of victims were Bosnian Muslims who even were banned to buy weapons. Oh boy! It's still very hard to figure out why they hate western hypocrisy whoops I meant democracy.

  31. Dual citizens from US & Europe traveled to a country, put on a military uniform took up guns and shot children. Guess which country is this?

  32. Alexandar Vucic, now a Serbian president, was photographed on hill over Sarajevo with sniper rifle during the siege of the city.That matches a timeframe perfectly.

  38. 'The Hunt' film directed by Craig Zobel has a similar theme and might be also true?
    Agi Neural microwave Weapons with Frey effect such as cause Havana Syndrome might also be rented by rich predators to attack the brains of the vulnerable with psychopathic level abuse?
    U.S. Attorney Mark Zaid is hunting the latter 'invisible' group down through the U.S. courts.

  39. Before anyone believe this it has to be investigated, you cant just claim something 30 years later, and why now when there are a lot of protest in Serbia? What a coinsidence. Why wait 30 years, makes no sense at all.

  40. This anti Serbian propaganda!
    Every time you don’t get what you want you start the lies!
    It’s all about the rare lithium! You can’t have it so you will take it by force! Typical and sick!

  46. I am a survivor from Sarajevo and I am so angry. I remember the headlines in daily Oslobodjenje in 1995 when this claim was put forth. Around that time our intelligence informed the countries whose citizens were involved in "weekend safaris" and nothing happened. It took them 30 years to start to investigate! Too little too late! It only stirs up our memories and our PTSD.

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