“Those who fired on civilians generally had no ideological motivation. They were not extremists of any political persuasion but people whose minds functioned as if inside a videogame.
“When they saw a child, a woman, or an elderly person through a sniper scope, they did not see a human being but the target of a game.”
This is how Italian journalist and novelist Ezio Gavazzeni describes the psychological profile of the so-called “Sarajevo snipers”.
That is the journalistic term for individuals who, during the 1990s, relied on a transnational criminal network to enter the war zones of the Balkans and, in exchange for vast sums, shoot defenceless civilians purely for amusement.
Rumours of this grotesque practice circulated for years, but the story reached global attention on 12 November, when the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office officially announced an investigation, prompted by documents submitted by Gavezzeni.
The Milanese investigative writer has spent decades pursuing the case. In an exclusive interview with Brussels Signal, he explains what drove him, what he uncovered and what revelations may yet emerge.
“I began investigating in the Nineties,” he recalls. “Two articles reported testimonies from Bosnian civilians about Western tourists travelling to Sarajevo, Mostar and Srebrenica to shoot people for fun.”
He followed the story for years without success until 2022, when the documentary Sarajevo Safari by Slovenian director Miran Zupanič (also credited as Mircea Pavlović) revisited the allegations, including testimonies from former intelligence officers, soldiers and witnesses.
“I immediately wrote to the director,” Gavezzeni says. “He gave me advice and pointed me to a couple of sources. From there, I began my own investigation. I wanted to write a book.”
Gavezzeni also managed to contact some participants of these “safaris”, who recounted the Balkan tours in detail. Their accounts were deemed potentially credible by Milan prosecutors, prompting the official inquiry.
What emerged was a disturbing picture of an organised, highly lucrative system.
“Behind the tourists was a real organisation,” he says. Fees allegedly ranged from €200,000 to €300,000 for a weekend in Balkan war zones. Clients were “wealthy professionals or entrepreneurs — respected, successful people”.
They were often united by “a passion for weapons and hunting” and accustomed to paying “€100,000 for an elephant, €200,000 for a lion” on African safaris. This, Gavezzeni believes, was their next step: Human targets.
To refine psychological profiles, he collaborated with a criminologist. “Investigators found no trace of extremist sympathies or ethnic hatred,” he explains.
Instead, he describes “a shift from the banality of evil to the indifference of evil”, where victims become “the target of a videogame.” The organisers were also unideological: “They were only interested in making money,” Gavezzeni states.
His dossier, now with Milan prosecutors, contains “solid information, with direct sources, identifying the organisation and logistics of this safari”.
Gavezzeni’s book is “80 per cent finished” but remains on hold as the judicial process unfolds. “As soon as the investigation concludes, I want to publish it,” he says.
Prosecutors are now verifying claims and seeking potential perpetrators — possibly high-profile figures. “I believe so,” Gavezzeni says. “They want the names. I will be questioned soon.”
If substantiated, the alleged Sarajevo Safari would expose one of the most chilling criminal enterprises to emerge from the Balkan conflict — a market of death concealed for decades in Europe’s recent history.
