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Veselinovic: Trial for Hadzici crimes starts

18 July 2008  The Prosecution and Defence have presented their evidence presentation plans at the trial of Rade Veselinovic, announcing that the first witnesses will be examined on August 18.

The trial of Rade Veselinovic, who is charged with war crimes against humanity in Hadzici municipality, Sarajevo, in 1992, has started before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina by presentation of introductory arguments by the Prosecution and Defence.

The State Prosecution considers that Veselinovic, as member of the Military Police Squad with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, participated in the murder, forced resettlement, capture, torture and causing suffering and bodily injuries to the non-Serbian population in Hadzici.

The crimes charged upon him were committed in Zunovnica, Musici, Binjezevo, Kucice and other villages.

"The Trial Chamber will hear a pained testimony of a witness, whose father has still not been found, after having been taken in an unknown direction. On the basis of this, the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall prove that Veselinovic participated in forcible disappearances," Prosecutor Vesna Ilic said, referring to one of the crimes described in the indictment.

The Prosecution intends to ask the Court to accept, as determined facts, the allegations contained in the verdicts against Stanislav Galic and Momcilo Krajisnik, which were announced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY. Ilic explained that those verdicts indicated that a broad and systematic attack was conducted by the VRS against the non-Serbian population in the Sarajevo area. 

The Tribunal sentenced Galic, commander of Romanija Corps of the VRS, to lifetime imprisonment. Krajisnik, who was allegedly member of the National Security Council, extended Presidency of "the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina" and Main Board of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, and president of the Assembly of Bosnian Serbs, was sentenced, by a first instance verdict, to 27 years' imprisonment.

The Defence said that it denied all allegations contained in the indictment, including the claims that there was a broad and systematic attack against non-Serbian population in Sarajevo area. 

"I must stress that I was born in Sarajevo and I was here during the course of the war. It is not true that the broad and systematic attack was directed at non-Serbian population only," Rasevic said.

The first Prosecution witnesses are due to appear in the courtroom on August 18.