According to reports, there is valid grounds for suspicion against the two. The Austrian is alleged to have traveled to Sarajevo during the Bosnian War (1992 to 1996) to act as a sniper and shoot at civilians during the siege of the capital by the Serbian army and its allied militias. The “sniper safaris” are said to have been disguised as hunting trips in the Balkans.

The documentary “Sarajevo Safari” prompted a deeper investigation
In Italy, similar investigations against citizens of the neighboring country have been underway for several months. These were initiated following a complaint by the Milanese writer Ezio Gavazzeni. According to Gavazzeni, citizens from Austria and Germany also participated in the “human safaris” in Sarajevo. “Every country, including Austria, should launch investigations, just as we have done in Italy. Every country should do its homework,” said 66-year-old Gavazzeni in February during an interview with the APA in Rome.

In the meantime, the investigative journalist has also written a book about the tours, the contents of which served as the starting point for the Italian investigations. As early as 1995, two Italian daily newspapers had reported on alleged tourist snipers in Bosnia, and these articles had caught Gavazzeni’s attention. But the impetus to dig deeper and find witnesses came from the 2022 documentary “Sarajevo Safari” by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic.

Author: Participants paid up to 300,000 euros for a weekend
The film, based on statements from intelligence agents who remain anonymous, mentions wealthy foreigners who allegedly paid to shoot at people in Sarajevo. “The documentary has been broadcast throughout the Balkans and in many African countries. I wonder why no Western television network has bought the rights to this film,” Gavazzeni criticized.

According to Gavazzeni, the snipers were wealthy individuals who could afford to pay up to 300,000 euros for a weekend on the hill in Sarajevo. There were no political or religious motives. “They were rich people who went there to have fun. We’re talking about people who love guns and perhaps also go on safaris to Africa. For such people, shooting is like a video game; it doesn’t matter to them whether they hit an animal, a woman, an elderly person, or a child. They only understand the language of money,” the author emphasized.

Serbia’s President Also in the Crosshairs
Since last year, there has also been a complaint filed against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Croatian journalist Domagoj Margetić had published evidence on social media showing that Vučić—then a young volunteer—was present at one of the military bases in Sarajevo from which, according to witness accounts, foreign nationals and Serbian ultranationalist units allegedly fired on civilians. 

The siege of Sarajevo is one of the bloodiest episodes of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian War claimed the lives of around 100,000 people; 11,000 people died in Sarajevo.

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