Prosecutors in Italy are investigating one of the most horrifying stories of the year: war tourists paid to kill civilians.
Weekend Safaris
Multiple media outlets have claimed that wealthy people underwent ‘weekend safaris” to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, to shoot at unarmed civilians.
The alleged ‘safaris’ took place during the Sarajevo Siege, which lasted from 1992 to 1996, and claimed more than 11,000 victims.
A gruesome siege
The Sarajevo Siege was already gruesome, as the Bosnian-Serb force besieged the city in what was the longest siege on a city in modern European history.
Who took part?
Journalist Ezio Gavazzeni sparked the investigation after filing a legal complaint, complete with evidence, to Italian prosecutors, claiming “murder aggravated by cruelty and despicable motives”.
Gavazzeni described the demographic that took part in the killings as “wealthy people with reputations, entrepreneurs, who during the siege of Sarajevo paid to be able to kill defenceless civilians.”
A weekend of hunting
According to Gavazzeni, between 1992 and 1996, Italian citizens would gather in Trieste, Italy, on the border with former Yugoslavia on Fridays for a weekend of “hunting”.
Paying to kill
These Italians, being painted as ‘gun enthusiasts’ and ‘right-wing sympathizers,’ reportedly paid up to 100,000 euros (adjusted for inflation) per day to participate in the killings.
A 'price list'
Gavazzeni claims the participants would be given a ‘price list’ for the type of kill, and that foreigners would pay for whom they wanted to target, with children costing the most, then men, women, and finally elderly people, who could be killed free of charge.
Gavazzeni outlined the exact demographic for the participants:
“People with a passion for weapons, to indulge, who prefer to go to bed with a rifle, with money at their disposal and the right contacts of facilitators between Italy and Serbia. It’s the indifference of evil: becoming God and remaining unpunished,”
Who knew?
Serbia has denied any knowledge of the killings, but experts cast doubt on the comment.
According to Subasic, the Bosnian military intelligence officer who is expected to testify to the prosecution claimed the way that the trips were organized pointed directly to the Serbian State Security Service being “behind it all”.
A long investigation
The investigation is expected to last well into the new year, as evidence and sources must be compiled, as well as a directive for the prosecution.
In 2022, a documentary titled Sarajevo Safari was released by director Miran Zupanic, which revealed the crimes of the Sarajevo Siege.