Rich individuals from other countries reportedly spent £70,000 on disturbing excursions known as “human safaris” where they allegedly participated in shooting and killing innocent civilians. Italian prosecutors have initiated an investigation into allegations involving affluent Italian citizens and others who traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina for what has been described as “sniper tourism” during the brutal 1990s war.
The city of Sarajevo endured a harrowing four-year siege that resulted in over 11,000 casualties from sniper attacks and shelling between 1992 and 1996. A troubling complaint was filed in a Milan court accusing wealthy foreigners of paying to target defenseless civilians, with varying prices based on the gender and age of the victims.
According to the case brought before the Milan court, these visitors, purportedly linked to extremist factions, would fly from Trieste to Belgrade using the Serbian airline Aviogenex. Subsequently, they would head to the hills surrounding Sarajevo to target civilians from Serbian vantage points.
These accused “human hunters” reportedly paid between £70,000 and £88,000 to engage in weekend sniper activities, aiming at individuals already suffering from the devastating effects of the war. Allegedly, different rates were applied depending on the age and gender of the targets.
The shocking revelations emerged following a complaint filed by journalist Ezio Gavazzeni, supported by former Sarajevo mayor Benjamina Karic, which detailed how around 100 affluent tourists participated in these hunting expeditions as a recreational pursuit. Gavazzeni emphasized that these individuals, from various Western nations, were motivated by personal gratification and enjoyment rather than political or religious ideologies.
The investigative journalist highlighted that the tourists allegedly made substantial payments to Radovan Karadžić, the former Bosnian Serb leader accused of war crimes, and his ruthless army, which committed atrocities including genocide during the Bosnian conflict. Gavazzeni’s claims were corroborated by a Bosnian intelligence officer who indicated that Italian intelligence agencies had been aware of these appalling activities since 1993.
The Bosnian consul in Milan, Dag Dumrukcic, expressed his country’s full cooperation with Italian authorities in uncovering the truth behind these disturbing events. He stated their commitment to seeking justice and addressing the dark history associated with these heinous acts.
