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Murder Confessions by Zvornik Seven Extracted by Torture says U.N. PALE, Bosnia, May 21 (Reuters) — Confessions to murder extracted from seven Muslims held by Bosnian Serb authorities were extracted by torture and are inadmissable as evidence, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday. “We believe that torture was intentionally inflicted by officials in Zvornik for the purpose of obtaining information or a confession...” spokesman Alexander Ivanko said in Pale, outside Sarajevo. “These statements that have been obtained should not be allowed as evidence against these individuals in any proceeding.” At least three of the seven, who have come to be known as the “Zvornik Seven” because they were taken to the Serb police station in the eastern town of Zvornik, have been charged with the murder of Serb civilians to which they confessed. Ivanko said that extensive interviews with the seven men by U.N. personnel had documented serious beatings and that the men had disavowed their confessions as having been obtained under torture. The seven, dressed in a mix of military fatigues and civilian clothes and carrying a motley array of weapons, surrendered to U.S. troops on May 10 and were handed over to Bosnian Serb authorities. The Sarajevo government says the men were refugees from Srebrenica, a Muslim enclave which fell to Serb forces in July of 1995, and that they had hid in the forest over the winter and were trying to make their way to Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation. NATO says the men represented an armed group and as such, under the terms of the Dayton peace agreement, had to be turned over to Bosnian Serb authorities on whose territory they surrendered.

Berserkistan, May 21 · The Inside Story of the Zvornik Seven
Berserkistan, May 19 · Bosnia Furious Over U.S. Handling of Zvornik 7
Berserkistan, May 18 · Zvornik 7 Beaten in Serb Prison
Berserkistan, May 14 · Zvornik 7 Believed to be Srebrenica Refugees
Berserkistan, May 13 · U.S. Blundered Turning 7 Muslims Over to Serbs
Berserkistan, May 11 · Accused Muslim Soldiers Surrender to U.S. Troops

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