Croatia Probes Alleged Bosnian War ‘Human Safaris’

Prosecutors in Croatia have launched an investigation into two tourists accused of taking part in so-called “human safaris” during the Bosnian War, where foreign visitors allegedly paid to shoot at civilians trapped in Sarajevo during the 1990s siege.

Croatia’s justice ministry confirmed that an investigation was opened on April 25 involving an Austrian national and another unidentified individual over alleged participation in “sniper tours” carried out during the Siege of Sarajevo.

The ministry said the probe concerns “possible participation in so-called ‘sniper tours’ in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.” The allegations centre around claims that foreign tourists travelled to war-torn Sarajevo and paid money to fire at civilians while the city was under siege.

Officials in Milan had already opened a separate investigation last year, with two Italian tourists reportedly questioned over their alleged involvement in the same activities. Alma Zadic, a Bosnian-born former Austrian justice minister and member of the Austrian Green Party, condemned the allegations.

“The idea that people may have paid money to deliberately shoot at civilians, even children, is almost unimaginable in its cruelty,” she said. “Such acts represent a level of contempt for humanity that leaves one speechless. The victims and their relatives have a right to truth, justice and clarification.”

The latest investigation follows the release of a book titled Pay And Shoot by Croatian journalist Domagoj Margetic, which alleged that an Austrian man, possibly an aristocrat, participated in the shootings. The book reportedly includes testimony from a former Bosnian Serb army major identified only as “Jovan.”

Speaking about the claims, Margetic said: “He said an Austrian who came in late 1992 and in 1993 was nicknamed ‘Grof’ by the Serbs, which means ‘Count’ in Serbo-Croatian. I have also been told that Serbian soldiers at Sarajevo checkpoints remember hunters showing Austrian passports,” he added. Allegations surrounding the “sniper tours” gained wider international attention following the release of the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari by filmmaker Miran Zupanic.

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Citizens from several countries, including Italy, Croatia, Britain, France, Spain, Russia and Germany, have reportedly been accused of participating in the alleged tours organised by Serb and Croat groups during the conflict. During the Siege of Sarajevo, civilians frequently had to sprint across exposed streets to avoid sniper fire, with two major roads in the city becoming notoriously known as “Sniper Alley.”

The siege, which lasted from 1992 until 1995, left Sarajevo without regular electricity, water and gas supplies while residents endured constant shelling and sniper attacks. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and military commander Stanislav Galic were later convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Hague tribunal over the siege.

Both men received life sentences. The siege officially ended in 1995 after nearly four years of conflict, leaving almost 14,000 people dead, including more than 5,400 civilians.