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Mihaljevic: Restoring faith in the justice system

10 April 2008  In its closing arguments the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina has asked the Trial Chamber to sentence Zdravko Mihaljevic, considering that it has proven his guilt.

The Prosecution of BiH considers that it has managed to prove, in the course of presenting its evidence and "beyond reasonable doubt", that Zdravko Mihaljevic is guilty of the crimes committed in Tulice in 1993. It has called for a sentence to be announced in order to restore "faith in the justice system."

"At the beginning of the trial we said we would determine the truth and we believe that we have managed to do it by presenting our evidence. Acting in a cold and unmerciful manner, Zdravko Mihaljevic killed unarmed civilians. We think that, in making of its decision, the Trial Chamber should consider the age of the victims, as well as the indictee's command responsibility," Prosecutor Slavica Terzic said in her closing arguments.

The Prosecution of BiH charges Zdravko Mihaljevic, as commander of the "Maturice" Special Purposes Squad with the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), with having participated in attacks on Bosniaks in Tulice village as well as their prosecution, murder and torture in the course of 1993.

Further on, the Prosecution of BiH said Mihaljevic committed crimes against Bosniaks due "to their ethnicity" and that "the indictee's acts reflected HVO goals."

According to Terzic, HVO and the Republika Srpska Army (VRS) participated in crimes against Bosniaks in central Bosnia. She said that those crimes represented "a model of how prisoners, their liberty and property were treated."

"Some Prosecution witnesses said Defence attorney Dusko Tomic used to come to Tulice and bring them presents in an attempt to bribe them. Protected witness A claimed to have been threatened a day before his testimony. The Prosecution is conducting an investigation in order to find out who threatened this witness," Terzic said.

In his closing arguments Defence attorney Dusko Tomic said that "all Tulice residents had weapons" and that "only those who did not want to say where they were hiding their weapons" were killed.

"Prosecution witnesses did not know anything, but the Security and Information Service (SIS) provided them with information and they decided that Pijuk was the main culprit. It is interesting to note that none of the witnesses could say, with certainty, how Pijuk was dressed and their testimonies differed," Dusko Tomic said.

"Today Pijuk makes his living by cutting and selling firewood. Those who are responsible for the crimes have a lot of money and they are defending themselves before other courts," Tomic added. He will continue presenting his closing arguments on Friday, April 11.