Ivanovic: Witness Does not Remember
12 February 2010 Prosecution witness Slobodan Stjepanovi? says he saw a convoy of captured men walking from Konjevic polje to Kravica village, where they were killed, on July 13, 1995.
"As far as I can remember, and I do not remember it well, the column consisted of male Bosniaks. Most of them were dressed in civilian clothes. They walked in groups of four. I cannot confirm how many people I saw, because there were many of them, but the column passed by us for about five minutes," Stjepanovic, a former member of the Second Unit with the Second Special Police Squad from Sekovici, said.
The State Prosecution charges Ivanovic, as a member of the "Skelani" Third Unit with the Second Special Police Squad, with having participated in capturing a large group of men in Sandici village and taking and shooting more than 1,000 Srebrenica residents in Kravica Agricultural Cooperative on July 12 and 13, 1995.
Stjepanovic told the court that his unit was deployed on the road between Bratunac and Konjevic polje on July 13, 1995, adding that their only task was to "secure the road and ensure that it remained open". He said members of the Second Unit were armed with automatic rifles only.
"Nothing special happened on that part of the road that day. We actually applied increased military readiness, but this was normal, because shooting could be heard in the woods the whole day. On that day we heard a bomb had been thrown at our colleague on some other part of the road," the witness said.
When asked by the Prosecutor who told him the news and who issued orders to the members of his unit, the witness said he could not remember these details.
"I do not want to talk about something if I am not absolutely sure. It is my right to do so. I do not know who issued orders or tasks. I do not know what happened to the column of people. In fact, I did not know this at the time. Later I heard that those men had been killed. Do not ask me who told me and when, because I do not remember," Stjepanovic said.
During cross-examination the witness said he had never heard of indictee Zeljko Ivanovic or his activities. He said he heard about the murder committed in Kravica Agricultural Cooperative later, but he did not know when exactly.
The next hearing is due to take place on February 18, when the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina will examine two more witnesses.
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