Serbia’s current president faces allegations of involvement in so-called “human safaris,” where affluent tourists reportedly paid large sums to hunt down innocent civilians for entertainment. Startling accusations have emerged of foreigners shelling out £70,000 for a weekend excursion to shoot individuals in Sarajevo during the ’90s siege. The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina endured a lengthy military blockade from 1992 to 1996 by Serb forces. Croatian journalist raised concerns in Milan, linking Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, to the organization and potential participation in these alleged inhumane hunting expeditions.
Investigative journalist Domagoj Margetic asserted that Vučić was active between 1992 and 1993, supposedly volunteering in a Bosnian Serb militia. The claims surfaced following the reemergence of a disturbing video featuring militia leader Slavko Aleksic beside a car with a human skull on display, believed to be from the purported human safari incidents, adorned with a UN helmet.
Margetic, via social media, disclosed evidence implicating Vučić in the wartime Sarajevo outings during his 20s. The journalist informed the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Milan of the alleged connections to human safaris. However, Vučić denied the accusations, with a spokesperson dismissing them as deliberate misinformation aimed at tarnishing Serbia’s institutional credibility and the president’s reputation.
The spokesperson emphasized that Vučić was engaged in journalistic and translation work in the nearby town of Pale at the time, refuting any involvement in combat activities or wartime operations. Margetic’s letter to Milan prosecutors detailed claims of the president’s voluntary service with the New Sarajevo Chetnik Detachment of the Army of Republika Srpska, led by Aleksic, which reportedly utilized a Jewish cemetery as a sniper stronghold.
Additionally, Margetic presented information to the Milan court regarding a 1994 interview where Vučić mentioned signing up as a volunteer during the Sarajevo siege. He referenced a 1993 video allegedly showing the current president carrying a rifle alongside armed men in the Jewish cemetery. Despite these assertions, Vučić maintained his innocence, stating that he was holding an umbrella, not a weapon, during the events in question.
The Serbian president reiterated his denial of any involvement in shooting individuals during the Sarajevo siege, emphasizing his role as a journalist at that time. Italian investigative journalist Ezio Gavazzeni recently filed a complaint alleging that wealthy foreigners paid to target unarmed civilians, with varying rates based on the gender and age of the victims. These travelers, purportedly linked to far-right groups, reportedly flew from Trieste to Belgrade on Aviogenex, a Serbian airline, before heading to the hills surrounding Sarajevo to carry out the attacks from Serbian positions.