Cover – Paris Match, September 1995

Product Description

After the second explosion at Sarajevo’s Markale marketplace, which caused numerous civilian casualties, a UNPROFOR technical report concluded that the shells had been fired from positions held by the Army of Republika Srpska. In response, NATO launched air strikes, and on August 31, 1995, a French Mirage 2000 aircraft was shot down. I immediately traveled to Pale and spoke with local photographers, but none of them had images of the pilots.

On my way back, at the exit from Pale, I was stopped by uniformed men and taken to Dragan Kijac, head of the State Security Service of Republika Srpska. I explained that I was searching for photographs of the French pilots and described my activities that day. My car was thoroughly searched, but since no film was found, I returned to Belgrade.

For more than a month, the fate of the pilots remained unknown. Speculation circulated widely, and news and photo agencies worldwide were searching for reliable images. One evening, a Belgrade-based photographer I frequently worked with contacted me, saying that a military policeman from Bijeljina allegedly possessed an undeveloped roll of film containing several photographs of the French pilots taken at the time of their capture.

Despite the late hour, I immediately headed for Bosnia. The man I met appeared credible and requested 500 German marks for the film, on the condition that the faces of his colleagues be masked. I agreed, confident that Gamma would reimburse the expense. He also asked that the remaining photographs on the film—personal images—be returned to him.

Back in Belgrade, I developed the film and saw three frames showing the French pilots. Rather than sending the film by an unknown courier, I informed the agency’s editor-in-chief that I would personally deliver it to Paris on the first available flight. The head of the agency met me at the airport, and when I told him what I had brought, his eyes lit up.

Paris Match expressed interest in publishing the photograph on its cover, but first insisted on verifying its authenticity and meeting with the magazine’s editor-in-chief early in the morning at a café near Trocadéro, just before my return to Belgrade. After verification, the photograph was published on the cover of the following issue.

The news quickly spread worldwide. Even before the magazine reached newsstands, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs announced on television that the pilots had been found and were in the custody of the military police of Republika Srpska.