Koricanske stijene: Bodies Underneath Minivan
07 September 2010 Eva Klonovska, a Prosecution expert witness, testified at the trial of five indictees charged with participation in the shooting of about 200 Prijedor residents, saying the bones found at Koricanske stijene indicate that the victims were all men of various ages.
Klonovska was a member of the team which conducted the exhumations at Koricanske stijene. Findings and opinions were prepared on the basis of those exhumations and presented to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“All the bones we exhumed last year at the Koricanske stijene locality belonged to male individuals. The youngest man was less than 17 and the oldest one was over 60 years old. I cannot give you the exact number of exhumed people, but, through an anthropological examination, I determined there were between 70 and 76 bodies,” Klonovska said.
The State Prosecution’s indictment alleges that about 200 men from the Prijedor area were shot at Koricanske stijene on Mount Vlasic on August 21, 1992. According to the indictment, they had previously been separated from a big convoy of buses and trucks which had departed Tukovi and Tropolje earlier that day, heading towards Travnik.
Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Dusan Jankovic, Milorad Skrbic and Zeljko Stojnic are all charged with the crime. The indictment alleges that Jankovic was Commander of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, while the other indictees were members of the Police Interventions Squad.
Klonovska explained that the human remains found at Koricanske stijene were located below the road on a steep hill covered with trees, plants and many rocks.
“Most bones were discovered at three locations. We found almost complete skeletons in the pile of remains underneath a minivan, which was probably parked there a few years later. The bones were damaged by rain, water, sun and so on, so they were rather brittle. In addition, we noticed damage caused by bullets and burns. We found 28 kilograms of burnt bones,” Klonovska said, explaining that burning a man who weighs about 100 kilograms produces about three and a half kilos of ashes.
Klonovska said that “nothing could be determined” on the basis of the bags containing the burnt remains.
“During the course of our investigation, we took 368 samples for DNA analysis. 208 DNA profiles have still not been examined. They are supposed to be completed by mid September this year. The 208 profiles do not necessarily pertain to 208 individuals. According to my estimates, we are talking about 59 persons,” Klonovska said.
The trial is due to continue on September 27.
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.
Read more
TRIAL: A Slap in the Face of Justice Expectations
Bosnian authorities have failed to provide access to justice and reparations for thousands of victims of rape and other sexual violence – says a report carried out by the Swiss organisation TRIAL.
Read more
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
Komentari:
Nema komentara.