Green Party MP in the Austrian parliament Alma Zadić has requested that the Ministry of Justice in Vienna clarify whether Austrian citizens participated in the “Sarajevo safari” — the sniper killing of civilians in the besieged city during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Zadić, former Austrian Minister of Justice (2020–2025), born in BiH, called on Austrian authorities to “fully clarify” whether claims are true that Austrian citizens were involved in killing civilians from positions held by Serb forces during the Siege of Sarajevo (1992–1996).
In a request sent to the Ministry of Justice, Zadić said she wants to know whether any investigations are underway or being considered, and whether Austrian authorities are in contact with investigative bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy.
“I expect all competent authorities to investigate these allegations with the highest priority. The victims deserve truth, justice, and accountability,” Zadić said in a video message posted on Facebook.
She added that the allegations of “sniper tours” aimed at killing civilians, including children, are “deeply disturbing,” describing them as “an unimaginable crime and an attack on every form of humanity.”
Although the existence of so-called “weekend snipers” — wealthy foreigners who paid to kill civilians in besieged Sarajevo — has long been known, the first investigation was launched only at the end of last year in Milan, Italy, after writer and journalist Ezio Gavazzeni filed a criminal complaint.
German newspaper Der Spiegel reported this week excerpts from Gavazzeni’s book, in which he claims that “230 Italians and several French, Belgian, and Austrian nationals” took part in the sniper killings of Sarajevo civilians.
Der Spiegel stated in the article that the “human hunters” in Sarajevo took shell casings home as trophies, colored according to the age of the victims: blue for killed boys, pink for girls, yellow for adult women, black and blue for older men, and red and green for soldiers.
Foreigners paid up to 50,000 euros, in today’s value, for killing a single child, the German newspaper reported, also citing Italian expert Martina Radica, who said snipers were willing to pay up to 200,000 euros for a single weekend.
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Source: N1, Foto: CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP