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Kravica: Absurd indictement

Miladin Stevanovic

18 July 2008  The two last Defence teams present their closing arguments, denying that genocide was committed in Kravica and their clients participated in the murder of Srebrenica residents.

The Defence teams of the eleven indictees, who are charged with genocide in Srebrenica, have completed the presentation of their closing arguments. At the end of the presentation, attorney Stojan Vasic said that "a crime, but not genocide," was committed in Kravica.

Vasic represents Miladin Stevanovic, who is charged, together with Milos Stupar, Milenko Trifunovic, Petar Mitrovic, Brano Dzinic, Aleksandar Radovanovic, Slobodan Jakovljevic, Velibor Maksimovic, Dragisa Zivanovic, Branislav Medan and Milovan Matic with the complicity in genocide, by shooting more than 1,000 captured civilians from Srebrenica in Kravica village.

"The Defence does not deny that a crime did happen in Kravica, but it denies that genocide was committed," Vasic said, supporting his statement by the findings of demographic experts concerning "a relative number of victims." He claims that there was no intention by the indictees to do that, adding that they were "not aware of the existence of the imaginary plan to execute the prisoners, which is mentioned in the indictment."

During his presentation, Vasic mentioned the irregularities contained in the indictment. He said that the indictment was "abstract, impersonal and nameless." The Defence attorney said that the indictment did not provide any answers related to the crime or its perpetrators, adding that the Prosecution did not even admit the basic fact that there was a war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"According to the indictment, on one side there were armed Serbian forces and, on the other side, there was a protected zone and the civilians who lived there. If you put it that way, there was no war and, therefore, no war crimes. Besides that, the indictment does not mention any names of victims. If the Prosecution would name the victims, it would deprive itself of the possibility to file so many indictment against so many people, charging them all with the killing of the same people," Vasic said.

In addition, the Defence attorney said that Miladin Stevanovic did not participate in the crimes described in the indictment, because he was not in Kravica when the civilians were killed. He called upon the Court to acquit him of all the charges.

In his closing arguments, Petar Mitrovic's Defence attorney, Todor Todorovic, asked the Court to release his client as well. Todorovic considers that the Prosecution has not managed to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that his client participated in the crime charged upon him. The attorney considers that it "has not been proved" which military units participated in the murder of civilians in Kravica.

Petar Mitrovic

"The evidence implies that some soldiers came there from other places. Many pieces of evidence confirmed that members of the Second Squad left for Skelani, after a guard had been murdered in Kravica," Todorovic said.

The indictment alleges that ten indictees were members of the Second Special Police Squad from Sekovici and Milovan Matic was member of the Republika Srpska Army.

Todorovic said that it was determined that Mitrovic "was slightly mentally retarded and had a low IQ," adding that he was not fully capable of serving the military before the war.

"Considering my client's personality, the existence of objective and subjective conditions for his participation in a joint criminal enterprise and commitment of genocide is therefore excluded. The indictee cannot be charged with having known about the existence of the plan and with having execute it," Mitrovic's attorney said.

As announced earlier, the verdict for the genocide committed in Srebrenica is due to be pronounced on July 29.