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Vukovic and Tomic: Dutch Soldiers' Testimonies Under Question

Kravica

21 December 2009  If two Dutch soldiers refuse to testify the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will declare another trial for crimes committed in Kravica completed.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina failed to provide the Court with new pieces of information concerning the possibility of cross-examining Robert Alexander Franken, Thomas Karremans and Paul Groenwegen, Dutch soldiers who were stationed in Srebrenica in July 1995.

"The Prosecution cannot provide you with positive information about this issue. Most sources have remained quiet, so we do not know whether the witnesses intend to respond to our calls or not," Prosecutor Ibro Bulic said.

The statements given by the three witnesses before the Hague Tribunal were already included in the case file, as Prosecution evidence, at the trial of Radomir Vukovic and Zoran Tomic. On several occasions, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Prosecution have tried to establish a video link in order to cross-examine these
witnesses, but their attempts have been unsuccessful for various reasons. At an earlier hearing it was said that Franken had not responded to the invitations sent by the Court.

"The Chamber has decided not to cross-examine Franken, as he said he did not want to testify. The Chamber asks the Prosecution to find out, by January 7, whether Karremans and Groenwegen want to testify. If we receive a response similar to the one we received today, the Court will decide not to cross-examine them after all," Trial Chamber Chairman Senadin Bektasevic said.

Vukovic and Tomic, former members of the Second Special Police Squad, are charged with genocide committed in Srebrenica. The Prosecution considers that the two men participated in the shooting of more than 1,000 men in Kravica Agricultural Cooperative in Bratunac on July 13, 1995.

At this hearing the Defence of Vukovic proposed the examination of witness Hasan Hasanovic, who was "an eyewitness of the events in Kravica". It further proposed that the Court include in the case file the statement given by Mevludin Oric, who was in front of Kravica Cooperative on July 13, 1995.

"The presentation of these pieces of evidence would lead to unnecessary delay of the trial. The Chamber has therefore decided to reject the Defence's proposals," Bektasevic said.

The next hearing is due to take place on January 22, when the Prosecution will start presenting its closing arguments.