Vienna, May 20, (dpa/GNA) – Austrian prosecutors are investigating two suspects alleged to
have been involved in so-called “human safaris” during the 1992–1995 Bosnian
War.
The Justice Ministry confirmed on Wednesday, that a preliminary investigation has been under way into these allegations against “an Austrian citizen and another as yet unidentified perpetrator” since April 25.
During the Bosnian War, wealthy men from Europe are said to have paid thousands of dollars each to shoot civilians in the besieged city of Sarajevo from Serbian positions.
Stories about the alleged “shooting tourism” have been circulating in Sarajevo for years, but no concrete evidence has been published.
Investigations are also under way in Italy, following a complaint by the writer Ezio Gavazzeni. The Milan public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the suspicion of multiple murders committed by unknown perpetrators.
At the end of 2025, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić rejected allegations that he had been involved in crimes at the time. “I have never heard of safaris, I have never carried a sniper rifle,” Vučić said on a talk show on the pro-government portal informer.rs.
In a video recording, Vučić, at the time a follower of the Serbian nationalist and war criminal Vojislav Šešelj, can be seen briefly in a Serbian sniper position overlooking Sarajevo. It is not clear from the footage whether he was armed.
More than 10,000 people died during the siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serbs, units of the former Yugoslav Army and paramilitaries.
Many were killed at the time by snipers, who fired indiscriminately at people from tall buildings or the surrounding hills.
GNA