For money, yes: Italy is investigating reports of "human safaris"

The Milan Prosecutor's Office in Italy has launched an investigation into the so-called "death safaris": it became known that rich Italians went to war in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the 1990s to shoot civilians. The disclosure of this information was facilitated by journalist Ezio Gavazzeni. For more information about the situation, as well as whether people who participated in these trips may face real terms, see the Izvestia article.

They killed for fun

"Death safari", "sniper tourism", "deadly safaris", "weekend snipers", "human safaris" — such headlines are full of foreign media in connection with the investigation launched by the Milan Prosecutor's office.

Thanks to the materials of journalist Ezio Gavazzeni, it became known about the alleged crimes committed more than 30 years ago, in the 1990s, during the Bosnian War. According to him, in 1992-1996, during the siege of Sarajevo, Italian citizens paid from 80 thousand to 100 thousand euros (in terms of modern money) for the shooting of civilians.

The "service" was offered by intermediaries who took advantage of the chaos of the conflict. The journalist who filed the complaint with the prosecutor's office relied on the testimony of the then mayor of the city, who spoke of "rich foreigners fascinated by inhumane enterprises." At the same time, an investigation was called for back in 2022, but the Serbian judicial system has not started it.

According to Gavazzeni, Italians who came to Sarajevo on safari indulged in violent acts not for political or religious reasons, but solely for "entertainment and pleasure."

It is also important to note that Sarajevo is located in a lowland, which created a convenient position for shooting from the surrounding mountains. The people who arrived "on the hunt" fired indiscriminately at civilians, killing even children. It is reported that children and military personnel were paid more, women were valued less, and the elderly were allegedly free targets.

The Milan Prosecutor's Office has already launched an investigation into unidentified persons for premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances. Due to the fact that these crimes are military crimes, the statute of limitations does not apply to them.

Lawyer Nicola Brigida, who helped journalist Gavazzeni prepare the case, said that the evidence gathered during the investigation was well-founded and could help identify those responsible. Also, according to him, there is a report of the former mayor of Sarajevo in the case.

Why now

Gavazzeni explained that he first read about sniper tourists in the Italian press back in the 1990s, but he began his investigation only after watching the 2022 documentary film Sarajevo Safari by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic.

"The starting point was the Sarajevo Safari. I started corresponding with the director and from that moment I expanded my investigation until I collected enough materials to submit to the Milan prosecutor's office," Gavazzeni said.

The film says that during the conflict, only a few people knew that in addition to the army, volunteers and mercenaries, a "small underground group" participated in it. It included "rich foreigners who paid large sums for the opportunity to shoot at residents of besieged Sarajevo."

It is worth noting that Serbian war veterans categorically denied the statements made in the documentary. The Guardian writes about this. The BBC later quoted the words of British servicemen who served in Sarajevo in the 1990s. They claim to have never heard of the "death safari" during the siege of the city from 1992 to 1996. According to one of the military interviewees, the allegations that foreigners paid for shooting at civilians are an "urban myth."

Political scientist Ilona Mizova agrees with this point of view. In a conversation with Izvestia, she clarified that Western countries surpass themselves in their ability to inflate a global investigation and hype out of some fiction. The expert believes that the locals could not arrange such trips for Western citizens, and now they are trying to accuse them of various obscenities.

— We remember well the 1990s, when the image of the Serbs as the "main villains" in the Balkans was actively used to justify the brutal bombing of Yugoslavia without a UN mandate. The accusations of "sniper tourism" fit perfectly into this long-established and highly biased scheme. This makes us wonder if the new investigation is a convenient tool to once again expose the Serbs as bloodthirsty barbarians," the political scientist argues.

Ilona Mizova also reminds that any high—profile international investigation is a career elevator for lawyers and politicians involved in it, as well as a pressure tool in a big diplomatic game.

"It will soon be possible to draw conclusions about why the Italians initiated such an investigation, on whose orders they did it, and why now," Ilona Mizova believes.

Sean Betrozov, a lawyer at the Moscow Chamber of Lawyers and a member of the Russian Bar Association, adds that the Italians could address this issue right now because there is no longer the political and diplomatic burden on this topic that there was in the nineties. Important, according to the expert, was the media coverage of the problem, the documentary and other factors that created a situation in which it became impossible to ignore the topic.

Who could have participated in the manhunt in Sarajevo

The number of people who could participate in the "death safari" in Sarajevo is not known, however, according to Gavazzeni, we are talking about "many, many, many Italians."

The journalist himself claims that he has managed to identify some of those who may have been involved in the tragedy. It is expected that the investigators will question them in the near future.

Sean Betrozov draws attention to the fact that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are crimes of a special category and the statute of limitations does not apply to them. Therefore, if the persons involved in the "death safari" are identified, they will be held accountable. The expert also draws attention to the fact that not only the shooters can be punished.

— From the point of view of law, not only those who committed direct murder are punishable. Those who arranged the trip, provided access to positions, handed out weapons, received money, guarded the crime scene, and hid their tracks are also responsible. Depending on the role, it can be complicity, aiding and abetting. If it is proven that a certain officer or intermediary systematically accepted money from foreigners, brought them to snipers and actually sold access to civilian targets, his responsibility will be maximum. In essence, he is the organizer or one of the leaders of a criminal scheme," the expert explains.

If the investigation continues, the defendants could face a very long term, up to life in prison, adds Sean Betrozov. In this case, the court may take into account the behavior of the offender, his remorse, cooperation with the investigation, state of health and age.

"But in cases of this level, when it comes to shooting children for pleasure, the courts rarely show leniency," the lawyer adds.

The investigators will have a lot of work to do now. They will have to find witnesses (former military personnel, translators, drivers, employees of international organizations, local residents) and conduct interrogations; examine archive data (documents from army units, photographs, videos, documents on injuries and deaths, old airline tickets, and others).

Presumably, not only Italians, but also citizens of other European countries participated in such "tourist" trips. According to Gavazzeni, Germans, French, British and rich people from other Western countries went there.

In this regard, Sean Betrozov does not rule out that during the Italian investigation the names of citizens of other states may come up — then the prosecutor's office will be able to transfer information to the authorities of the relevant country or request international legal assistance.