In June, the month after Stjepanovic posted his 'fight for justice' photo, the verdict was confirmed, and he was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Stjepanovic's precise whereabouts are not known, but it is highly likely he is still in Ukraine, fighting with Russian forces that invaded the country in early 2022.

The Higher Court in Belgrade confirmed that, during the trial, Stjepanovic was not prohibited from leaving Serbia.

He was present when the verdict was read out in December, but Jovana Kolaric, who followed the trial as a researcher at the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre, said individuals sentenced to jail in Serbia are not usually put behind bars immediately.

"The problem is that all of them are defending themselves while at liberty; detention measures are very rarely ordered," Kolaric told BIRN. "They are mostly reserved for persons who are not citizens of Serbia." Stjepanovic holds both Serbian and Bosnian citizenship.

Edina Karic, one of three women held captive by Stjepanovic and other Bosnian Serb soldiers early in the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said she had "lost all hope".

During the trial, Karic testified that she witnessed Stjepanovic rape a 19-year-old woman.

"It's a disaster," she said of Stjepanovic's ability to evade justice. "I don't believe in the judicial system at all."

Neither Stjepanovic nor his Belgrade-based lawyer responded to repeated requests for comment.