Italy's investigation into human safaris' in Sarajevo calls in first suspect

"The investigation in Italy into alleged organized trips to the Serbian siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War in the 1990s, in which Italian and other European citizens paid to shoot civilians from the city's hills, has its first suspect. According to several Italian media outlets, the Milan Attorney General's Office, which opened proceedings last November following a writer's complaint, has formally registered as a suspect an 80yearold former truck driver who lives in Pordenone, a city in the northeast near the Slovenian border."

"The Carabinieri have also searched the suspect's home, and he is under investigation for the alleged crime of repeated voluntary homicide. Seven legally owned weapons were found in his house: two handguns, a rifle, and four shotguns. In the past, he worked for a metalworking company, and during the war according to testimony gathered by prosecutors he allegedly boasted of having hunted men in Sarajevo."

"The prosecutor's order, according to Italian media, states that the suspected crime is that in collusion with other individuals still unknown, and following a single criminal plan, he caused the death of defenseless civilians, including women, the elderly, and children, by firing sniper rifles from the hills surrounding the city of Sarajevo. Prosecutors are also considering an aggravating circumstance of abhorrent motives."

The Milan Attorney General opened proceedings last November after a writer's complaint and has registered an 80-year-old former truck driver from Pordenone as a suspect. Italian investigators allege organized trips during the 1990s Sarajevo siege in which European participants paid to shoot civilians from surrounding hills. The suspect faces investigation for repeated voluntary homicide and is to be summoned to testify. Police searched his home and found seven legally owned weapons: two handguns, a rifle, and four shotguns. Prosecutors allege killings of women, the elderly, and children and consider an aggravating circumstance of abhorrent motives. Investigations are also under way in France, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Read at english.elpais.com