An Italian nobleman with a passion for collecting military weapons is accused of paying large sums to participate in macabre “human safari” killings during the Bosnian war.
The man, from a wealthy Milan family, reportedly paid to join snipers in Sarajevo during the mid-1990s war, as reported by The Times of London on Wednesday.
These shooters allegedly positioned themselves with Serbian gunmen on the hills surrounding the Bosnian city, targeting civilians as conflict engulfed the area.
The Italian magistrates seek to question this man, who reportedly shared stories about his Sarajevo trip during dinners with friends.
Investigative writer Ezio Gavazzeni told the outlet, “I was approached by a witness who reported the aristocrat had boasted to friends about the safari more than once over dinner. I believe the friends have also been questioned.”
Italian authorities have already interrogated four suspected shooters since the release of the 2022 documentary “Sarajevo Safari,” which first brought these allegations to light.
Police in Alessandria, 60 miles south of Milan, raided one suspect’s home on Wednesday and recovered a silencer, as reported by the outlet.
The man allegedly confided to an ex-partner that he traveled to Sarajevo with individuals who became snipers on weekends to kill Muslims.
The unidentified ex-partner showed police a photo of a permit the man used to enter war zones and records of his alleged kills, according to the report.
More than 10,000 people died in Sarajevo from sniper fire and shelling between 1992 and 1996.
Gavazzeni previously uncovered evidence that sniper tourists paid over $90,000 to shoot people, including women and children.
In addition to hefty entrance fees, hunters allegedly paid more to target children and pregnant women, the outlet reported.
Following the documentary’s release, magistrates across Europe began probing high society members from their countries.
“There were Germans, French, English … people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians,” Gavazzeni said.
The paid hunters met Serbian militants at a strategic point at Sarajevo’s Jewish cemetery.
“They wore expensive leather jackets and I was told they were Italians, Germans and British,” former Serbian tank unit volunteer Aleksandar Licanin told The Times. “They were helped to find targets, and shooting from the cemetery was a clear shot — you had everything.”
Magistrates from several countries plan to meet at The Hague on June 29, under the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, to discuss the investigations into these “safaris.”
