Milan prosecutors have placed an elderly Italian man under investigation over allegations that foreigners paid to shoot at civilians during the 1990s siege of Sarajevo, sources with direct knowledge of the case said on Wednesday.
The man is the first individual to be formally identified in the investigation, which began last year. The sources said he is an 80-year-old former truck driver who lives near the northern Italian town of Pordenone.
Prosecutors are examining claims that foreign nationals were paid to take part in shootings of civilians during the siege of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the war that followed the country’s declaration of independence from Yugoslavia.
The suspect, who was not named, faces several counts of premeditated murder, with charges aggravated by base motives, the sources said. It is not yet clear whether he is accused of directly carrying out killings or of assisting with transport and logistics for those involved.
He remains at liberty and has been summoned to appear before prosecutors for questioning on 9 February, according to the sources.
Around 11,000 civilians were killed by shelling and sniper fire from Bosnian Serb army positions in the hills surrounding Sarajevo during the 1992–1995 conflict.
The Milan inquiry was opened after Italian journalist and novelist Ezio Gavazzeni filed a legal complaint alleging that Italians and other foreigners paid Bosnian Serb forces to allow them to take part in shooting excursions, a practice described by some as "sniper tourism".
Gavazzeni said he began investigating the allegations after watching the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic.
According to Gavazzeni, wealthy foreigners paid large sums of money to participate. He said Italians would meet in the city of Trieste before travelling to Belgrade, where Bosnian Serb soldiers escorted them to positions overlooking Sarajevo.
The launch of the Italian investigation in November 2025 raised hopes among survivors of the siege that those responsible for such crimes could finally be brought to justice.
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