He was also commanded the previous day looting of the town of Vareš, where more than 250 military-aged men rounded up in their homes and then abused in the schools where they were detained.
He was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on 29 August 1995,[1] and went into hiding in the seaside city of Split in Croatia, which is where he was arrested on 5 April 2003 by Croatian authorities.
[1] The Trial Chamber found that the sentence should reflect the fact that Rajić's crimes were committed on a large scale and were of particularly violent nature, the impact of his crimes on particularly vulnerable victims, his participation in a cover-up and the fact that he absconded and obstructed justice for almost eight years.
Rajić "significantly cooperated with the Prosecution providing and authenticating various important documents and confirming numerous important facts",[3] and this was considered a mitigating factor, as was his guilty plea, which the Trial Chamber stated "helped to establish the truth surrounding the crimes committed in Stupni Do and Vareš", which "may contribute to the reconciliation of the peoples of the former Yugoslavia and to the restoration of a lasting peace in the region".
[1] The Trial Chamber also felt that "Rajić's expression of remorse was real and sincere and must be taken into account in mitigation".