Pincic: Great love
07 October 2008 The Defence of Zrinko Pincic starts presenting evidence by examining the indictee, who denies the allegations that he raped witness A, claiming that they were having "a love affair".
Testifying as a Defence witness, indictee Zrinko Pincic said that he had "a
love affair" with protected witness A.
Zrinko Pincic is charged, as a member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO,
with having forced person A to have sexual intercourse with him, while he "kept
a gun next to the bed", in Donje selo, in Konjic municipality, on several
occasions in the period from November 1992 to March 1993.
Pincic said that he was willing to "undergo a polygraph examination,
together with person A", in order to prove that "we were together and we loved
each other".
The indictee said that, after having been forced to leave Hrasnica, in
the Sarajevo area, he and his wife and children moved to Donje selo, in Konjic
municipality.
"About seven days after our arrival, I was passing, together with my
brother, by A's house and we were invited to come for a cup of coffee. After
that my brother and I visited the house often. Three days later I held her by
her hand and then hugged her. A short time later we started making love. She was
my great love," Pincic said.
The indictee said that person A lived together with her sister, cousin
and three children, with whom he established "an excellent relation", adding
that, some time later, his brother Ivica "started dating person A's cousin".
"A's sister was very jolly and funny person. We would spend time
together, telling jokes and consorting with each other. It was nice. Person A
was in a good mood whenever I would come there. From the first day when I held
hands with her, I never noticed that she may have not wanted to have an affair
with me," Pincic said.
The indictee said that, in mid April 1993 his wife Mila found out about
his relationship with person A, claiming that she would "get even with
her".
"I visited person A immediately, but she had already known about it. She
told me that we should stop seeing each other. I begged her not to quit our
relationship. I must say I loved her. However, she did not change her mind, so
we stopped seeing each other," the indictee said.
In the course of cross-examination Prosecutor Vesna Budimir asked the
indictee why person A and some other witnesses said that she was afraid of him.
"I do not know. I was very surprised to hear that. Those people were very
dear to me. They did not have any reason to be afraid. We used to laugh together
and tell jokes. No reason to be afraid," Pincic responded.
Pincic denied the allegation that he was a military servant during his
stay in Donje Selo, claiming that he did work with the HVO and he carried a gun,
but this was "due to the tense situation in the region". He said that he was
"uniformed from time to time, when I had my civil suit washed".
The
trial is due to continue on October 13, 2008, when the Defence will examine
three witnesses, including Mila Pincic, the indictee's wife.
Justice Report is a
specialist reporting agency focusing on war crimes trials taking place before
local courts; development of the local legal system; and efforts to come to
terms with the past.
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