DPA: Criminal investigation launched against two suspects for participating in the "Sarajevo Safari"

The Austrian judiciary has launched a criminal investigation against an Austrian citizen and another unidentified person on suspicion that they paid to shoot civilians as "sniper tourists" during the siege of Sarajevo, reports the German news agency DPA.

According to Der Spiegel magazine, the official investigation has been underway since April 25, and the Austrian Ministry of Justice confirmed these allegations in a response to a parliamentary inquiry by Green MP Alma Zadić. According to the Austrian Criminal Code, the suspects are charged with participation in foreign armed conflicts and violation of war crimes provisions.

Spiegel recalls that the allegations about the so-called Sarajevo safari also caused reactions in the German Bundestag, where deputies from the ruling SPD asked the federal government to urgently check whether there were German citizens among the suspects.

The case of organized tours for wealthy foreigners who paid to shoot at citizens of besieged Sarajevo from positions of the Army of Republika Srpska is also under investigation in Milan, where proceedings are being conducted against several Italian citizens, according to DPA.