Key witness in Sarajevo ‘hunt’ investigation found dead

• Italians under investigation for paying more than R$600,000 for killing civilians on “human safaris” during the Bosnian War; to understand
• In the 1990s, Bosnia experienced the bloodiest conflict in Europe since 1945

The death comes just weeks after an investigation was launched in Italy into allegations that wealthy tourists paid thousands of pounds to take part in shooting sessions against unarmed civilians during the Balkan War, a conflict which left more than 11,000 people dead in Sarajevo alone.

Aleksic had taken over a Jewish cemetery in the hills above the Bosnian capital, a strategic location used by snipers during the siege. According to Serbian lawyer Cedomir Stojkovic, he would be a key witness in this case.

— He could have said who carried out the shooting and who organized it, — Stojkovic said.

Croatian investigative journalist Domagoj Margetic raised suspicions about the time of death.

— In November, Aleksic was in good health. Now, suddenly and coincidentally, he is dead,” he said.

Last month, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was named in accusations related to so-called “human safaris” in Sarajevo, allegations he denies. In a November 24 interview with Serbian television, Aleksic said Vucic had no involvement in sniper activities during the conflict.

— He said he would testify in favor of Vucic, — Margetic emphasized.

According to the journalist, Aleksic declared on December 12, in a radio program, that he had been hospitalized in Belgrade, after being transferred from Bosnia to a military hospital by Serbian secret services. The circumstances of the hospitalization have not been officially clarified.

For Stojkovic, certain signs warrant deeper suspicions.

— It is reasonable to believe that Aleksic’s death is linked to the investigation into the “human safari” and that Serbian intelligence is involved, — he said.

Margetic called on war crimes prosecutors to prevent any immediate cremation or burial and to order an autopsy to check the possibility of poisoning.

Aleksic’s death also came shortly after the release of a disturbing video showing a car he allegedly used during the siege, with a human skull on the hood – taken, according to some reports, from a Bosnian corpse – and the driver wearing a UN helmet.

The current investigations come from the documentary “Sarajevo Safari”, released in 2022 by filmmaker Miran Zupanič. The production claims that gun enthusiasts from Russia, the United States, Canada and other countries traveled to Sarajevo to shoot civilians for fun, paying higher prices to shoot children.

The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into a case of extreme brutality: Italian tourists are suspected of having paid up to 88 thousand pounds (around 600 thousand reais) to participate in “human safaris” during the siege of Sarajevo, between 1992 and 1996, during the Bosnian war. The victims are believed to be unarmed civilians, including children, targeted by wealthy foreigners who were traveling to the region to “practice human target shooting.”

According to the English newspaper Daily Mail, the complaint, presented by writer and journalist Ezio Gavazzeni with the support of former magistrate Guido Salvini and former mayor of Sarajevo Benjamina Karic, emphasizes that the participants had concluded agreements with the Bosnian Serb army, led by Radovan Karadžić, sentenced in 2016 to 40 years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity. Several European media covered the affair on Tuesday.

The investigation reveals that the tourists, allegedly linked to far-right circles, traveled from Trieste to Belgrade on Serbian airline Aviogenex and paid military personnel to take part in “shooting weekends”. The killing of children costs more, according to the newspaper El País.