Milan opens investigation into 'human-hunting' Sarajevo safaris

 ROME - The Milanese Public Prosecutor's office has been investigating a group of Italians and other foreign nationals who allegedly paid "large" sums of money to Serbian soldiers in order to participate in the 1992 siege of Sarajevo, shooting civilians "for fun" during the war, according to La Repubblica.

 The aim of the investigation was to identify those who participated in the massacre of over 11,000 people between 1993 and 1995, which Il Giornale had already reported on in July and was opened by Public Prosecutor, Alessandro Gobbis on charges of voluntary homicide aggravated by cruelty and “despicable motives.” The case was first brought forward against “unknown persons” but stemmed from a complaint filed by journalist and writer Ezio Gavazzeni, with the assistance of two lawyers and former magistrate, Guido Salvini. 

 According to testimonies which were gathered from across northern Italy, these so-called "weekend snipers" were mostly far-right sympathizers with a passion for weapons, according to the RAI. They are alleged to have gathered in Trieste, from which they were then taken to the hills surrounding Sarajevo, where they could fire freely on the civilian population of the besieged city, after paying Radovan Karadzic's Bosnian Serb militia. One of the pieces of evidence submitted was allegedly a report on "rich foreigners engaged in inhumane activities" from former Sarajevo mayor Benjamina Karic.

 While there have been rumours going around over the last few decades surrounding these alleged “human-hunting” experiences provided for the über wealthy, this was the first time that a public investigation has been launched to hold these people accountable. 

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