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Testifying from another room, protected witness K8 recalled the convoy of civilians with which he and his family left Prijedor in August 1992. Prior to their departure from Prijedor, he saw a few people whom he knew at the stadium in Tukovi.

 

“There were more than a thousand people at the stadium. I was there with my family, waiting for the buses to arrive. At that moment, I saw my neighbours Zoran Babic and Dado Mrdja, whom I had known my whole life, among the members of the Interventions Unit which guarded the convoy of people,” K8 said.

 

Protected witness K8 testified at the trial of Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja, who are charged with participation in the murder of about 200 men committed at Koricanske stijene on August 21, 1992.

 

The indictment alleges that Zecevic, Knezevic, Civcic and Ljepoja were members of the Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station in Prijedor and Topola was a guard in Trnopolje detention camp at that time.

 

The trial of Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic, former members of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, who are also charged with participation in this crime, is underway before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, pronounced a second instance verdict in 2004 sentencing Darko (Dado) Mrdja to 17 years in prison for participation in the crime.

 

As stated by witness K8, after the trucks and buses had arrived at the stadium in Tukovi, the convoy departed towards Travnik, but it stopped several times.

 

“We were robbed every time the convoy stopped. They took away our money, watches and other valuables they found. Before they started collecting those things, they would say they would kill one passenger if we did not give them the money,” the witness said.

 

During the course of cross-examination witness K8 said that Branko Topola was the only indictee he knew, adding that he did not see him in Tukovi or with the convoy heading towards Vlasic on August 21, 1992.  

 

The trial is due to continue on September 21, 2010.

 

D.E.

 

In its introductory arguments the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina said it would prove that Ratko Dronjak and Dragan Rodic participated in crimes against civilians and prisoners of war committed in the Drvar area from 1992 to 1995.

 

“Very few people who were detained in the school building survived. Those men were then transferred to the detention camp in Kamenica a short time later. Only a few of them survived. Dead people cannot testify. The Prosecution therefore cannot examine many survivors as its witnesses,” State Prosecutor Dzemila Begovic said in her introductory arguments.  

 
Dronjak and Rodic are charged with torture, murder, beating, mistreatment, humiliation and other inhumane acts committed against civilians and prisoners of war in the “Slavko Rodic” school building and “Kamenica” detention camp in Drvar. 

 

The Prosecution alleges that at the time Dronjak was Commander or Manager of detention centers and camps in the Drvar area, while Rodic was a guard who also performed the function of a guard shift leader for a certain period of time.

 

“Ratko Dronjak and Dragan Rodic did not devise all those actions just because they wanted to do it, but those actions were part of a systematic plan. We are aware of the fact that this trial will be very complex and stressful for us, but I hope we will prove the allegations contained in the indictment,” Begovic said. 

 

In their introductory arguments the Defence teams said the indictment was “imprecise and general”, because it did not define specific actions charged against their clients.

 

“The indictment is full of platitudes referring to undetermined dates or unidentified individuals, while it does not specifically mention Dronjak’s responsibility,” Zlatko Knezevic, Dronjak's Defence attorney, said.

 

The Defence attorneys rejected the allegations pertaining to Dronjak’s and Rodic’s participation in a joint criminal enterprise.

 

“First of all, Dragan Rodic was not aware that he was a member of some joint criminal enterprise, because a person has got to have an intention to be a member of such an enterprise. It is unimaginable for an ordinary policeman to do something in collaboration with the corps or military police commanders and other people of their ranks,” Milan Romanic, Rodic’s Defence attorney, said.

 

Romanic said he would try to prove that Rodic played “a minor role and did not kill or brutally abuse anyone”, as stated in the indictment.

 

Although it was announced earlier that Rodic might sign a guilt admission agreement with the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Defence said the negotiations were still ongoing and the parties were still “far from reaching an agreement”.

 

The Prosecution is due to examine its first witnesses on September 30, 2010.

M.T.

 

Testifying at the trial for war crimes committed in Bosanska Krajina,Veljko Radic said he was once beaten up by “guard Emir” during an interrogation.
 

“I once had to answer questions in writing. I was asked to write down where I had been and what I had been doing and also to describe the prison in Kamenica. While I was in the corridor, answering questions together with another detainee from Drvar, we were mistreated by guard Emir who had a strange looking eye. I heard his name when a woman greeted him while we were unloading some windows,” Radic said.
 

Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Mustafic are charged with assisting and abetting the detention of Republika Srpska Army and police members and civilians in detention centers in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac from February 1994 to February 1996.
 

The indictment alleges that Selimovic was counter intelligence officer, operational officer and deputy chief of the Military Security Service Section with the Fifth Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, AbiH;  Ruznic was assistant commander for security affairs and operational officer with the same section; and Mustafic was a member of the Military Police Unit with the Fifth ABiH Corps.
 

Prior to being detained in Bihac, the witness said he was held in various detention centres in Jasenica and Bosanska Krupa where he was physically mistreated.
 

“They beat me up, because my hair looked the same as President Radovan Karadzic’s hair. While I was in Krupa they gave me comb, telling me to comb my hair in a different way so the two of us would not look alike,” Radic said, adding he was captured in that area on September 10, 1995.
 

The second prosecution witness, Ivo Maric, was captured around Sanski most in October 1995. He then spent three days in “a military base” in the town, together with other detained civilians.
 

“There were women and elderly people in those cells in Sanski most. I slept in the corridor for three days. As far as I know, none of these people were beaten. All of them were civilians,” Maric said.
 

Maric was transferred from Sanski most to the Zeljava military barracks in Bihac where “a security officer with a moustache examined him many times”. He said he was physically mistreated during the examinations.
 

“I always answered their questions in writing. They used to beat me in the beginning, but then they stopped, because they found out that my son was member of the Serbian army. Two men would beat me up all the time. The security officer neither told them to beat me nor not to beat me. They had a cassette player which they turned on so nobody could hear they were beating me up,” Maric said, crying.

 

During cross-examination, the witness identified a man called Ibrahim Pasic as the security officer who beat him.
 

The trial continues on September 22.

D.S.

 

In the second part of our show you can watch reportage about Semka Agic, whose son was killed in Bosanski Samac area in the war. Her son’s name was incised, without her consent, into a monument erected in honour of killed soldiers and civilian war victims in that town.
 

We have discussed the violation of human rights and manipulation of war victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Emina Halilovic, Assistant Ombudsman for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 

At the end of the show you can hear what Prijedor citizens think about the work of the War Crimes Chamber with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 

TV Justice is a thirty-minute monthly magazine produced by BIRN journalists and FLASH production team members. The magazine has been broadcast on 11 independent TV stations via local and satellite channels since January 4.
 

BROADCASTING TIMETABLE:

BHRT
Wednesday, September 1 at 7.30 p.m.
Thursday, September 2 at 12.45 p.m.
 
SARAJEVO CANTON TV
Saturday, September 4 at 5.05 p.m.
 
TV HAYAT
Saturday, September 4 at 2.15 p.m.
 
RTV VOGOSCA
Thursday, September 2 at 10 p.m.
 
RTV ZENICA
Sunday, September 12 at 10.30 a.m.
Thursday, September 16 at 9.15 p.m.
 
TUZLA CANTON RTV 
Monday, September 6 at 6 p.m.
 
RTV SLON
Friday, September 3 at 4.05 p.m.
 
TV ZIVINICE
Thursday, September 2 at 9.15 p.m.
Friday, September 3 at 5 p.m.
 
TV OSM
Wednesday, September 8 at 11 p.m.
 
TV SLOBOMIR
Wednesday, September 8 at 8.30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 14 at 8.30 p.m.
 
NTV 101
Tuesday, September 7 at 5 p.m.
Sunday, September 12 at 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. 
 

Radio Justice Report 

 

Radio Justice Report 

 

Prosecutors told a pre-trial status conference that they would examine five witnesses, including one who will testify under protective measures and a court expert.
 

“We shall need a total of 13 hours for proving the charges contained in the indictment. I would like to say that the estimated number of hours may change in the additional evidence presentation phase,” prosecutor Sanja Jukic said.

 

Markovic is charged with having raped a minor in July 1992. He allegedly threatening her, saying she should not tell anyone or he would rape her again and kill her family members. The indictment alleges that, as he was taking the girl out of her house, Markovic cursed the house’s “insurrectionist mothers” and fired a bullet in the air.
 

The defence said Markovic would testify in his own defence but could not say how many witnesses it would call.

 

“We still have not got precise data about the identity of all witnesses,” defence attorney Svetlana Lazic said.
 

The first prosecution witness will appear on September 14.

E.M.

 

 

 

The postponement was granted due to the death of a family member of Klickovic’s lawyer Dusko Tomic.
 
 Klickovic, Drljaca and Ostojic are charged with persecution, deportation, torture, detention and murder committed in 1992.
 
The indictment alleges that Klickovic was president of the wartime Presidency of the Serbian municipality of Bosanska Krupa, Drljaca was chairman of the municipal’s temporary Court Martial Chamber and Ostojic was commander of the 11th Light Infantry Brigade in Bosanska Krupa.
 
The trial will continue on September 7.

M.T.

Petar Mitrovic and Miladin Stevanovic said they secured the road in Sandici as members of the Second Special Police Squad from Sekovici in July 1995.
 
They also said they were in the agricultural cooperative in Kravica where about 1,000 Bosniak detainees were killed.
 
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina previously sentenced Mitrovic to 28 years in prison for participating in the capture and murder of Bosniaks in Kravica Cooperative. Stevanovic was acquitted of all charges.
 
They were testifying at the trial of Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic who are charged with participation in the murders and forcible resettlement of Bosniaks from Srebrenica.   
 
The indictment alleges that Jevic was commander of the Training Center on Mount Jahorina, Djuric and Ikonic were company commanders and Markovic was a squad commander.
 
At the beginning of the hearing, Mitrovic said he did not want to testify in the absence of his attorney. However, judges said he must as his trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had been completed and his appeal filed with the Constitutional Court was “a separate proceeding”.
 
Mitrovic said he went from Sandici to the Cooperative in Kravica, because he was told a Serbian policeman had been killed.
 
“I heard people talking to each other inside the building. They even cursed Chetnik’s mothers. I saw between five and 10 corpses in front of the hangar. While I was there, there was no shooting,” Mitrovic said.
 
The witness said a Serbian soldier dressed in green camouflage told him that he was a deserter. According to earlier witness statements, the Training Center on Mount Jahorina consisted of people who had escaped military service.   
 
Stevanovic said he saw seven or eight corpses in front of the Cooperative in Kravica where he had also come to collect the dead policeman’s body.
 
“I could hear people shouting and screaming in the hangar. I stayed there for a short time and then I left,” Stevanovic said.
 
He said there were about 50 soldiers surrounding the Cooperative building, some dressed in camouflage and black uniforms. He was not able to say to which units they belonged.   
 
The trial continues on September 6.

M.T.

Pero Petrovic, who testified for the defence of indictee Momir Pelemis, said he contacted the Zvornik Municipal Committee and Zvornik Brigade Command but was told it was “none of my business”.

 
“In a shop near the school building, I met two women who seemed worried and told me that some prisoners from Srebrenica were arriving. After I had contacted the brigade, about 20 buses were parked in front of the school building,” Petrovic said.  

 
Momir Pelemis, the former deputy commander and chief of headquarters with the First Battalion of Zvornik Brigade with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, and Slavko Peric, the former assistant commander for security with the same brigade, are charged with the murder of several hundred Srebrenica residents in the Cultural Centre in Pilica in the Zvornik municipality and at the Branjevo military farm in July 1995.  

During cross-examination, the witness said he saw Peric on the day the detainees arrived, adding that Peric told him he had “received a telegram from command asking him to prepare the location”.   

Petrovic said he went to the municipality to discuss “the possibility of relocating them”. However, upon his return to Pilica, he saw buses parked in front of the Cultural Center in which the local community offices were located.

“No representatives of the army contacted me. An unknown soldier came to me and asked me to give him a key to the hall. As I did not have the key, they broke in. I did not go to Pilica during the course of the following weekend. When I came there on Monday I saw them transporting the dead people to Branjevo farm,” Petrovic said.

Ilija Ristic, who also testified for the defence of Pelemis, said that he was the director of the elementary school in Pilica and was on summer holiday between July 12 and 15. He said that local residents told him that prisoners had been brought to the school building. He went to the school only “two or three days after the prisoners had been taken away”.  

“I did not go to the school building as neither me nor the local Pilica residents were happy with the fact that they brought the prisoners to the school. The army could use the school building for their purposes without asking me. I do not know who brought the prisoners or who opened the school door, but I heard some people say that the prisoners were guarded by some unknown policemen,” Ristic said.

He did not notice any damages to the school building apart from “the mess in the hall and other premises”.  
“People were saying that the detainees had been taken away and their end was tragic. They said they had been killed by the same people who had brought them to Pilica,” Ristic said.  

 
The next hearing will take place on September 6.

                                                                                                                                             D.S.

Using more than 40 witnesses, prosecutors have attempted to prove that Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric participated in the murders of several hundred Srebrenica residents at the Cultural Centre building in Pilica and at the Branjevo military farm.

Pelemis was deputy commander and chief of headquarters of the First Battalion with the Zvornik Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, while Peric was assistant commander for security with the same brigade.
They were arrested at the beginning of November 2008 and have been in custody since. Their trial began on March 10, 2009. The first defence witnesses were examined in late August.

“The oldest victim killed at Branjevo was 84-years-old and the youngest was 14. Their remains were found in several secondary mass graves in the Srebrenica area,” said Rifat Kesetovic, a court medical expert, adding that 1,052 victims could be linked to the murders committed at Branjevo.

The indictment alleges that about 1,200 men from Srebrenica were shot at Branjevo on July 16, 1995. Two men who survived the mass execution testified at the trial.

“I was neither among the first nor the last men who were taken out for shooting. Some had been taken before me, and some stayed behind when they took me out. At that moment I realised there was no life any more. I counted the last seconds of my life. Can you image that? Seconds. First they ordered us to stand there and then to turn away. The burst of bullets then cut us down. I saw bodies falling down, and I fell down as well, but I was not hit,” said protected witness P6.

Protected witness Q was the second survivor of the shooting. He fell down as soon as the shooting started. Bodies of the other victims fell on top of him, covering him.   

“They took us out to the farm. They asked if we had any relatives abroad who would want to give money to rescue us. Some people who said they did were separated from the rest of us. They took us some 50 or 100 metres away from the bus. They ordered us to stand there, and they started shooting,” said witness Q.
Voices of the Suffering  

Witnesses P6 and Q both spent two days in detention at the Kula school building in Pilica before being taken to the execution site. They said conditions were bad, and they were forced to listen to soldiers mistreating and killing other prisoners.

“I can describe everything to you, but the voices I heard cannot be described. Those were really the voices of people going through suffering,” witness P6 said.

The indictment alleges that, on July 14, Pelemic ordered his soldiers to guard the detainees in Kula and Peric to supervise, control and coordinate the detention of Bosniaks.

The indictment further alleges that two days later, under Pelemis’ command, Peric coordinated blindfolding the detainees, tying their hands and taking them to the Branjevo military farm where about 1,200 were killed.

“Peric gave an order for tying the detainees’ hands and blindfolding them. We then loaded them into buses. I think there were at least 1,000 people. We went to Branjevo. I stayed there for about 15 minutes before going back home. Later on I found out that all detainees held in the school building had been killed,” said Zoran Gajic, a former member of the First Battalion.

Gajic said Peric ordered him to participate in guarding 1,000-2,000 Bosniaks in the Kula school building in July 1995, but during cross-examination said this may have happened in 1992 or 1993.

Rajko Babic, the former general affairs officer with the First Battalion, visited the school building in Pilica in mid July. He said that, under orders from Pelemis, he went with Peric “to see what the situation was like”.
“The hall was half full, but I do not know how many people were in it. The outside temperature was 32 degrees Celsius. People could hardly breathe in the hall as there were no windows. This looked so sad,” Babic said, adding that “foreign and unknown soldiers” were in charge of the prisoners.

The prosecution charges the two indictees with giving an order to secure the Cultural Centre in Pilica, in which about 600 Bosniaks were detained, on July 15 and 16. They were allegedly executed inside and outside the building.  

The indictment alleges that the following day, Peric instructed his people to remove the bodies and transfer them to Branjevo. It says that the bodies were taken from Branjevo and buried in an unmarked mass grave and that Peric deliberately participated in the organisation and coordination of the burial, by providing fuel, vehicles and manpower.

“We heard that the men were transported from Srebrenica to Kula, but nobody even assumed what was going on until Slavko Peric came, a couple of days later, ordering me to send six members of the Working Squad to Pilica to ‘clean the terrain’,” Radivoje Lakic, the former manager of the Branjevo military farm, told the court.

An Extraordinary Task  

Stanko Gajic, the former commander of the Background Unit with the VRS Lokanj Battalion, said the two indictees gave him an order over the phone to send all Working Squad members to Pilica to execute “an extraordinary task”.  

“Slavko Peric met us in front of the Cultural Centre. He ordered about 20 of us to load the corpses, telling us to load everything onto trucks and clean the centre. I was inside the building all the time. I dragged corpses to the door, and other people loaded them onto trucks. This task made me throw up and sick to death,” said Cvjetko Stevic, a former member of the Working Squad.

His colleague Ivan Peric was also in the Cultural Centre and said he would have run away had he known what he was going to do on that day.

“There were about 200 corpses in the Cultural Centre hall. They were scattered all over the floor. Most of them were dressed in civil suits,” Peric recalled.

Jakov Stevanovic, a former member of the Working Squad at the Kula school building, echoed his words.
“Peric gave us the orders. At that moment we realised what we would have to do. I peeked into the school building gym, and I saw the worst possible scene – it was full with corpses, but I do not know how many there were,” Stevanovic said.

The bodies were transported by trucks to Branjevo where they were buried in mass graves dug by witnesses Cvijetin Ristanovic and P23, among others.

“A colleague of mine had already been at the farm operating a small digger. He was not able to dig all holes, so they told me to help him as so many corpses had been there already, and trucks kept bringing new ones,” P23 said.  

Dean Manning, senior investigator with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, participated in the exhumation of bodies from mass graves in the Srebrenica area after the war. He said the remains found in the graves showed that the men were prisoners who had not been killed in a combat.

“All bodies found in the graves were in the same condition, i.e. it was proved that they had been killed in the same way. They were blindfolded and their hands were tied. Bullet holes were found on the skulls of those who were not,” Manning said.

The prosecution examined witness Richard Butler, a military expert, who said that the mass executions of civilians from Srebrenica area were “well-organised and planned actions”.

“When you consider the scope and the size of the actions that had to be undertaken prior to the execution, it becomes clear that the Zvornik Brigade members must have been informed about and aware of what was going on,” Butler said, explaining the brigade or battalion commanders were responsible for prisoners of war while security officers were in charge of securing the locations at which they were held.

The indictment alleges that, from July 9-21, Pelemis was acting commander of the First Battalion. Commander Milan Stanojevic confirmed this at the trial, saying he was in Bratunac at the time.
“In my absence, Pelemis had the same authority as me. According to the command system, the second ranking person was my security officer – Peric,” the witness explained.

 

Merima Husejnović is a BIRN – Justice Report journalist. merima@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is an online BIRN weekly publication.

On September 2, the case of Ratko Dronjak and Dragan Rodic, who are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes against prisoners of war committed in the Drvar area from 1992 to 1995, is due to begin.
 
At a status conference held in mid August, Rodic’s defence team submitted a guilt admission proposal to the prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prosecutors will announce at the hearing whether they will accept

On August 30 the prosecution and defence will present their evidence presentation plans prior to the beginning of the trial of Milun Kornjaca, Milorad Zivkovic and Dusko Tadic. They are charged with crimes against humanity committed in Cajnice.
 
One day later, pre-trial status conferences are scheduled in the case of Miodrag Markovic, who is charged with crimes committed in Doboj, and Mensur Memic, Dzevad Salcin, Nedzad Hodzic, Nihad Bojadzic, Senad Hakalovic and Zulfikar Alispago, who are charged with crimes committed against Bosnian Croats in the village of Trusina in the Konjic municipality.
 
On the same day, closing arguments are due to be presented at the retrial of Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic who were sentenced by a first instance verdict to a total of 27 years in prison for crimes committed in Zvornik. The Appellate Chamber revoked the verdict and ordered a retrial which began in May.
 
On August 31 and September 1, the defence will continue presenting evidence at the trial of Gojko Klickovic, Jovan Ostojic and Mladen Drljaca who are charged with crimes committed in Bosanska Krupa.  
 
Three hearings for genocide committed in Srebrenica are scheduled for next week.
 
Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic, former members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP RS, and Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric, former members of the Zvornik Brigade Command with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, are due to appear in court on August 30. The trial of Zeljko Ivanovic will continue three days later.
 
On September 2, the trials will continue in the case of Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja, who are charged with the shooting of about 200 Prijedor residents committed at Koricanske stijene, as well as Darko Dolic, former member of the Croatian Defence Council, who is charged with crimes committed in Prozor.
 
On September 1, continuing are the cases of Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic, former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with crimes committed in Bosanska Krajina; and Nisvet Gasal, Musajb Kukavica, Enes Handzic and Senad Dautovic who are considered responsible for crimes against Bosnian Croats from Bugojno.
 
On August 30 retrials continue before the Appellate Chamber in the case of Sefik Alic, who was acquitted of the charges that he committed crimes in Krajina area, and Marko Radic, Dragan Sunjic, Damir Brekalo and Mirko Vracevic who were sentenced to 80 years in prison for crimes committed in Vojno, near Mostar.
 
Ante Kovac, who was sentenced by a first instance verdict to 13 years in prison for crimes committed in Vitez, is due to appear before the Appellate Chamber two days later.

D.E.

Radio Justice Report

 

Acting on a warrant issued by the prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Neskovic was arrested in the Bijeljina area. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that he committed genocide in the Srebrenica area as a member of the police forces with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP RS.

 

Prosecutors will now question Neskovic and decide whether to ask that he be held in custody.
 
After the Bosnian Serb forces occupied the UN protected zone of Srebrenica, several thousand men and boys were killed while women, children and the elderly were deported to territories controlled by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has handed down second instance verdicts to six former members of the MUP RS totaling 181 years in prison for assisting in the commission of genocide at Srebrenica.
 
Radomir Vukovic and Zoran Tomic, former policemen, were found guilty of the same crime by a first instance verdict. They were sentenced to 31 years.
 
The trial of seven former members of Republika Srpska military and police forces charged with genocide is currently underway.

 M.H.

Vlahovic was extradited from Spain to Bosnia on August 26.

He is suspected of participating in crimes against Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats in Grbavica, Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995, including murders, abuse, robbery, causing severe bodily and mental injuries, rape and forcibly taking civilians from their apartments.

The warrant against Vlahovic was issued in October 2008, and he was arrested in Spain at the beginning of March.

He was serving a sentence for banditry and violent behaviour in a prison in Montenegro but escaped in June 2001.

“Since 2008 the investigation against Vlahovic has been expanded. He is suspected of tens of murders, rapes and robberies ... as well as the disappearance of many people,” said prosecutor Dubravko Campara.
 
Vlahovic does not have Bosnian citizenship or a place of residence in the country. Prosecutors also fear that if free he might influence witnesses.  
 
“Many witnesses, actually nearly 95 per cent of them, are Veselin Vlahovic’s victims. In their statements they described him as 'the master of life and death'. Most victims have returned to their pre-war places of residence where Vlahovic was during the course of the war. By releasing him to liberty, he would be able to find them and influence them,” Campara said.  
 
The prosecutor said that about 90 per cent of the witnesses who have been examined so far wanted to be treated as protected witnesses.  
 
Campara said that Vlahovic had accomplices and that he has a motive to influence them. Those accomplices have still not been identified but they work in police and military structures in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene.  
 
“Vlahovic is suspected of the gravest types of war crimes which were committed in a brutal way. Bearing in mind the media pomp accompanying his extradition from Spain, we consider that the public order and peace, particularly in Grbavica and Vraca settlements, would be disturbed by releasing him to liberty,” Campara said.  
 
Vlahovic said he agreed with prosecutors when they said that an investigation had to be conducted and the truth revealed.  
 
“The truth will reveal what happened. Justice will win,” Vlahovic said, adding he wanted to defend himself by silence.  

Vlahovic was extradited from Spain to Bosnia on August 26.

He is suspected of participating in crimes against Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats in Grbavica, Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995, including murders, abuse, robbery, causing severe bodily and mental injuries, rape and forcibly taking civilians from their apartments.

The warrant against Vlahovic was issued in October 2008, and he was arrested in Spain at the beginning of March.

He was serving a sentence for banditry and violent behaviour in a prison in Montenegro but escaped in June 2001.

“Since 2008 the investigation against Vlahovic has been expanded. He is suspected of tens of murders, rapes and robberies ... as well as the disappearance of many people,” said prosecutor Dubravko Campara.
 
Vlahovic does not have Bosnian citizenship or a place of residence in the country. Prosecutors also fear that if free he might influence witnesses.  
 
“Many witnesses, actually nearly 95 per cent of them, are Veselin Vlahovic’s victims. In their statements they described him as 'the master of life and death'. Most victims have returned to their pre-war places of residence where Vlahovic was during the course of the war. By releasing him to liberty, he would be able to find them and influence them,” Campara said.  
 
The prosecutor said that about 90 per cent of the witnesses who have been examined so far wanted to be treated as protected witnesses.  
 
Campara said that Vlahovic had accomplices and that he has a motive to influence them. Those accomplices have still not been identified but they work in police and military structures in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene.  
 
“Vlahovic is suspected of the gravest types of war crimes which were committed in a brutal way. Bearing in mind the media pomp accompanying his extradition from Spain, we consider that the public order and peace, particularly in Grbavica and Vraca settlements, would be disturbed by releasing him to liberty,” Campara said.  
 
Vlahovic said he agreed with prosecutors when they said that an investigation had to be conducted and the truth revealed.  
 
“The truth will reveal what happened. Justice will win,” Vlahovic said, adding he wanted to defend himself by silence.  

He was arrested on his arrival at Sarajevo airport around 8 pm on August 26 and taken in a convoy of vehicles to the detention unit of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Aerodrom Sarajevo

Vlahovic is suspected of participating in crimes against Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats in Grbavica, Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 including murders, abuse, robbery, causing severe bodily and mental injuries, rape and forcibly taking civilians from their apartments.

“The war crimes of which Vlahovic is suspected were committed in an extremely brutal and outrageous manner,”  state prosecutors said.

The warrant against Vlahovic was issued in October 2008 and he was arrested in Spain at the beginning of March.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro all filed requests for his extradition. He was serving a sentence for banditry and violent behaviour in a prison in Montenegro but escaped in June 2001.

See also: Synonym for Fear

E.M.

Veselin Vlahovic

“Vlahovic is expected to arrive to Sarajevo under the strictest security measures in the evening hours. In this way we have put an end to the political and legal struggle for his extradition which has lasted for several months,” said an announcement from Zeljko Komsic, a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 
Neither the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina nor the international airport in Sarajevo was able to give BIRN Justice Report the precise time of Vlahovic’s arrival.  
 
“Veselin Vlahovic will be extradited within the next 48 hours,” said Boris Grubesic, the spokesperson for the State Prosecution.
 
Vlahovic is suspected of participating in crimes against Bosniaks and Croats in Grbavica from 1992 to 1995, including murder, torture and rape.
 
A warrant was issued in October 2008, and he was arrested in Spain at the beginning of March. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro both filed requests for his extradition. He fled from a prison in Montenegro in June 2001 where he was serving a sentence for banditry and violent behaviour.

A.A.

Radio Justice Report

 

Acting on a warrant issued by the prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Neskovic was arrested in the Bijeljina area. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that he committed genocide in the Srebrenica area as a member of the police forces with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP RS.

 

Prosecutors will now question Neskovic and decide whether to ask that he be held in custody.
 
After the Bosnian Serb forces occupied the UN protected zone of Srebrenica, several thousand men and boys were killed while women, children and the elderly were deported to territories controlled by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has handed down second instance verdicts to six former members of the MUP RS totaling 181 years in prison for assisting in the commission of genocide at Srebrenica.
 
Radomir Vukovic and Zoran Tomic, former policemen, were found guilty of the same crime by a first instance verdict. They were sentenced to 31 years.
 
The trial of seven former members of Republika Srpska military and police forces charged with genocide is currently underway.

 M.H.

The indictment charges the former member of the Public Safety Station in Ilijas with killing a civilian and wounding three people in the village of Gornja Bioca on May 29, 1992, acting in collaboration with about 10 members of the First Serbian Ilijas Brigade.
 
He is also charged with having participated, together with members of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina army and police, in the unlawful arrest and detention of Bosniak civilians in a school building in Gornja Bioca on May 31.
 
Pustivuk was arrested on July 13 and has been held in custody since then. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment on July 30.
 
His trial should begin within 90 days.

Pursuant to this Decision his custody may last until 25 September 2010.

Prosecutors said that Neskovic might disturb any criminal proceedings and influence witnesses and accomplices if he remains at liberty. 
 
Neskovic is suspected of having participated as a member of the Jahorina Training Center in capturing several hundred men and escorting them to the Kravica Agricultural Cooperative in the Bratunac municipality where they were executed.    
 
“Two protected witnesses said that Dragan Neskovic ordered them to kill two Bosniak prisoners, also adding he was a superior officer in their unit. Statements given by other protected witnesses indicate that he was present at the murder scene in Kravica,” prosecutor Ibro Bulic said, adding the investigation would be completed in one month. 
 
Neskovic’s lawyer objected, saying there was no evidence supporting the allegations that Neskovic committed the crime.
 
“The prosecutor calls on the statement given by witness S 115 who was examined as a suspect. The grounded suspicion cannot be based on his statement. During the course of his examination by the prosecutor, witness S 104 said he was not sure whether he would be able to recognise Neskovic,” said defence attorney Vesna Tupajic-Skiljevic.
 
Neskovic was arrested in the Bijeljina area on August 25. 
 
The trial of Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic, four former members of Jahorina Training Center, is underway before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

“I know how Darko Dolic’s face looks. I shall never forget it, never for as long as I live. I shall remember it forever,” said the witness known only as S3. “At the moment he started raping me, I pulled the stocking from his face. He pulled it over his face quickly as he did not want me to see his face. But I saw it, and I shall never forget it.”

 

Dolic, a former member of the Rama Brigade with the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, is charged with raping S3 at her house in the Prozor municipality at the end of July or beginning of August 1993. 
 
The indictment alleges that Dolic threatened the witness, saying he would slaughter her 15-month old baby. 
 
S3 had been called by the defence to testify after appearing for the prosecution in April.
The witness told investigators that Dolic was  “a rather short person with a round face and a pretty big nose”.

 

At the trial she said Dolic was taller than her but shorter than her husband. She said the difference in her statements was because she “could not remember every detail, because the rape was a big thing”. 
 
“I told my husband about the rape a long time later, because I was afraid of how he might react. I want him to be alive and be with our children. He noticed something was happening to me when he was detained in the school building in Prozor,” she said.
 
The witness said her sister told her Dolic’s name later on.
 
Ajka Gelic, the second defence witness of the day, told the court she offered help to S3 after finding out she had been raped. 
 
“When we found out what had happened in the village, we went to S3’s house. She looked as if though she had been beaten up. She looked miserable. She said she had been raped. I asked her who had done it to her and she said it was 'Dole'. Then I took S3 and her two children to my house in Prozor,” Gelic said. 
 
The witness said that S3 showed her the person who had raped her several days later, whom he saw from the window in the corridor of her house. She said S3 identified her attacker as Dolic.
 
The defence pointed out that in earlier statements the witness described Dolic as “a rather fat blonde guy”. Gelic said the differences in her statements were caused by the fact that she “got confused” at the time.
 
The trial will continue on September 2.

 E.M.

 

Dragomir Vasic, a former chief of the Public Safety Center, CJB, in Zvornik, was testifying at the trial of Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic. They are charged with murder and the forcible resettlement of Bosniaks from Srebrenica in July 1995.

 
“I visited Miroslav Deronjic. This was the first time I saw Beara. He said he came there to execute an order to liquidate all prisoners, saying the order was given to him by his boss General Mladic,” Vasic said. 
 
The witness said that Ljubomir Borovcanin, who was the head of a special police unit in Srebrenica at the time, told him the following day about the murder of about 1,000 Bosniak men in Kravica on July 13.

 

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, sentenced Ljubisa Beara, chief of security with the VRS Main Headquarters, to life imprisonment and Ljubomir Borovcanin to 17 years in prison for crimes committed in Srebrenica. Miroslav Deronjic, the former President of the Crisis Committee in Bratunac, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Mladic is still on the run.

 

 The indictment alleges that Jevic was commander of a training center on Mount Jahorina, Djuric and Ikonic were company commanders and Markovic was a squad commander.
 
Vasic said that a special police unit from Zvornik, the Second Special Police Squad from Sekovici and the Jahorina Training Center was involved in the operations in Srebrenica as of July 11. He said he was not a member of the special unit but was tasked with informing his superiors about the happenings in the field on a daily basis.
 
“In the morning hours on July 12 they said that some men should stay in Potocari because of the big hustle. I heard that Dusko Jevic stayed there. The rest of the men went to the road leading from Sandici to Konjevic polje,” Vasic said.
 
The witness explained they went to the road because of information that a huge number of armed men capable of military service were moving through the woods in that area.
 
Prosecutor Ibro Bulic asked the witness to explain the allegations contained in one of his reports about the evacuation of people to Kladanj and the “liquidation of about 8,000 armed members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina who were blocked in the woods”.
 
“I did not write about physical liquidation of prisoners but neutralisation of the threat. Nobody was even captured in the morning the report was submitted,” Vasic said.
The witness confirmed the authenticity of the reports, saying that two squads with the Ministry of Internal Affairs from Jahorina were deployed on the road from Konjevic polje to Kasaba and participated in the search of the Pobudje locality.
 
Responding to defence team questions, the witness said the military police were tasked with separating men capable of military service from other people in Potocari.
 
The trial continues on August 30.

M.T.

Milisav Marjanovic, who said he has known Ivanovic since “he was born”, said that they participated in a futsal tournament in Skelani from June 28 to July 12. Futsal is like football but played on a smaller surface.
 
“We often met each other in Skelani. We used any opportunity to play futsal. Zeljko was a quiet and unobtrusive man and a labourious member of his family. He was always in a good mood at the football field. He was a good player,” Marjanovic said.
 
Ivanovic, a former member of the Skelani Third Unit with the Second Special Police Squad of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP RS, is charged with participating in the capture and shooting of more than 1,000 Srebrenica residents at the Kravica Agricultural Cooperative on July 12 and 13.
 
Prosecution witnesses have said the Second Special Police Squad was in the field in Srednje, near Sarajevo, at the end of June 1995 and returned to Srebrenica on July 11.
 
The second defence witness, Milan Rankic, said Ivanovic came from a good family and “was a quiet and shy guy”.
 
The next hearing will take place on September 2 when Milenko Trifunovic and Aleksandar Radovanovic will testify for the defence.

In October last year the two former members of the Second Squad were sentenced by a second instance verdict to 33 and 32 years in prison respectively for assisting in the commission of genocide.

 
Witness KS2 said he drove a bus filled with civilians from Prijedor to Travnik and that members of the Interventions Squad separated “men capable of military service” from the other passengers on Mount Vlasic.

“A police vehicle, a VW Golf, waited for us on the top of the cliff and stopped us. When I got off the bus, I heard shooting coming from the place where the second bus was parked. They started taking people from my bus and shooting at them. Their bodies fell down into the chasm. I saw them take out six men, but I could no longer watch it,” KS2 said.
 
Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja are charged with the murders of about 200 men at Koricanske stijene on August 21, 1992. They are accused of escorting a convoy of civilians travelling from Prijedor to Travnik and selecting about 200 men who were then shot.
 
The indictment alleges that Zecevic, Knezevic, Civcic and Ljepoja were members of the Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station in Prijedor and that Topola was a guard in Trnopolje detention camp at the time. 
 
The witness said that he and the other bus driver walked away from the murder scene and went to a place behind a curve in the road along with Gordan Djuric.
 
“We left the place as I got sick. We could no longer see anything, but we heard shooting. Djuric, whom I knew, was standing there with us. A military vehicle then came from the opposite direction. Two men dressed in officer uniforms came out of it. They said it was not a good thing to do it, and they went back,” KS2 said. 
 
Djuric, a former member of the Interventions Squad, was sentenced to eight years in prison for crimes committed at Koricanske stijene.
 
The witness said after the shooting – which lasted for “about 20 minutes” – they went to the village of Koricani where they stayed for one hour waiting for the rest of the convoy to return from Vlasic. KS2 was alone in the bus on his way back to Prijedor.
 
The next hearing takes place on September 2.

On September 2, the case of Ratko Dronjak and Dragan Rodic, who are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes against prisoners of war committed in the Drvar area from 1992 to 1995, is due to begin.
 
At a status conference held in mid August, Rodic’s defence team submitted a guilt admission proposal to the prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prosecutors will announce at the hearing whether they will accept

On August 30 the prosecution and defence will present their evidence presentation plans prior to the beginning of the trial of Milun Kornjaca, Milorad Zivkovic and Dusko Tadic. They are charged with crimes against humanity committed in Cajnice.
 
One day later, pre-trial status conferences are scheduled in the case of Miodrag Markovic, who is charged with crimes committed in Doboj, and Mensur Memic, Dzevad Salcin, Nedzad Hodzic, Nihad Bojadzic, Senad Hakalovic and Zulfikar Alispago, who are charged with crimes committed against Bosnian Croats in the village of Trusina in the Konjic municipality.
 
On the same day, closing arguments are due to be presented at the retrial of Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic who were sentenced by a first instance verdict to a total of 27 years in prison for crimes committed in Zvornik. The Appellate Chamber revoked the verdict and ordered a retrial which began in May.
 
On August 31 and September 1, the defence will continue presenting evidence at the trial of Gojko Klickovic, Jovan Ostojic and Mladen Drljaca who are charged with crimes committed in Bosanska Krupa.  
 
Three hearings for genocide committed in Srebrenica are scheduled for next week.
 
Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic, former members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP RS, and Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric, former members of the Zvornik Brigade Command with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, are due to appear in court on August 30. The trial of Zeljko Ivanovic will continue three days later.
 
On September 2, the trials will continue in the case of Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja, who are charged with the shooting of about 200 Prijedor residents committed at Koricanske stijene, as well as Darko Dolic, former member of the Croatian Defence Council, who is charged with crimes committed in Prozor.
 
On September 1, continuing are the cases of Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic, former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with crimes committed in Bosanska Krajina; and Nisvet Gasal, Musajb Kukavica, Enes Handzic and Senad Dautovic who are considered responsible for crimes against Bosnian Croats from Bugojno.
 
On August 30 retrials continue before the Appellate Chamber in the case of Sefik Alic, who was acquitted of the charges that he committed crimes in Krajina area, and Marko Radic, Dragan Sunjic, Damir Brekalo and Mirko Vracevic who were sentenced to 80 years in prison for crimes committed in Vojno, near Mostar.
 
Ante Kovac, who was sentenced by a first instance verdict to 13 years in prison for crimes committed in Vitez, is due to appear before the Appellate Chamber two days later.

D.E.

Radio Justice Report

 

Dane Maric, a former member of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, said he saw Ostojic in Kupres.

 

Radio Justice Report 

 

 

Testifying for the defence of Jovan Ostojic, Zdravko Narancic, a former military policeman from Krupa, accused Lazo Plavanjac of the killings.
 
Narancic said he was on duty at the school building when a group of male detainees were killed. The witness said that Plavanjac and his son Joja, who were armed, came to the building looking for a man called Predrag Prastalo.
 
“As I heard, Prastalo had killed Joja’s mother Savka Plavanjac a few days earlier. They came to the school building looking for him, because he was detained in the building for a short time. (...) After they had entered the building, Lazo went somewhere to look for a soldier. I stayed in my office with Joja. Then, we heard shooting. A short time later Lazo entered the cells in which a group of men had been held and shot those people,” said Narancic, adding the bodies of the victims “were driven away that night”.

Gojko Klickovic, Mladen Drljaca and Jovan Ostojic are charged with crimes committed in Bosanska Krupa during 1992. The indictment alleges that Joja Plavanjac came to the Petar Kocic building between August 1 and 12, 1992, when Narancic was on duty, and killed a group of people.

This witness said that he informed Mile Cazic, a military police squad commander, about the incident, but Cazic told him not to speak about it until they “figured out what to do next”.
 
Narancic said that people “did not talk much” about the crime and nobody conducted an investigation. He heard that detainees were mistreated in the school and that the Jasenica school building was used as “a reception centre”.
 
“Some people were mistreated when they were brought to the building. No big incidents happened in the prison during the course of my shift, but I heard that incidents did happen during other shifts. I never hit anyone, but I was rather strict in terms of discipline,” Narancic said. 
 
Prosecutors allege that the non-Serbian population was detained in a school building in Jasenica and the Petar Kocic school in Krupa where they were interrogated, mistreated, physically and mentally abused and killed.  
 
Mladen Skenderija, who also testified for Ostojic’s defence, was former Assistant Commander for Morale with the Second Krajina Corps of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS. He said Ostojic was “a professional”, adding he saw him in Drvar at the beginning of August.
 
“I remember having seen him in Drvar on August 2 when he told me after the meeting that he had still not handed over the Assistant Commander for Morale duty in Kupres. I then told him to go there on the following day and do it, also telling him to take a few days off and visit his family,” Skenderija said.
 
The witness said that Ostojic was “one of the most respected officers”, adding he “was loved and respected principles”.
 
Milovan Drljaca, who also testified in Ostojic’s defence, said the accused was “a very good professional”, adding he did not know there was a prison in Krupa.
 
“Later on I found out that Bosniaks were detained and Joja went there and did it. I heard about it after the war had ended,” said Drljaca, the former Communications Squad Commander in Krupa.
 
The trial will continue on August 25.

A.A.

State prosecutor Slavica Terzic introduced 35 death certificates of people who were killed at Koricanske stijene on Mount Vlasic. She also presented a note issued by the court confirming the original copies were kept in the files of other cases conducted before the court.  
 
Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja are charged with participating in escorting a convoy of civilians travelling from Prijedor to Travnik and selecting about 200 men who were then shot at Koricanske stijene on August 21, 1992.
 
Zecevic, Knezevic, Civcic and Ljepoja were members of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, and Topola was a guard in the Trnopolje detention camp at the time.
 
Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Dusan Jankovic, Milorad Skrbic and Zeljko Stojnic are also on trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for participating in this crime. Damir Ivankovic, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, Gordan Djuric, who was sentenced to eight years, and Ljubisa Cetic, who was sentenced to 13 years, all pleaded guilty.
 
Darko Mrdja pleaded guilty and was sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, to 17 years imprisonment.
 
The trial continues on August 26 when the prosecution will examine protected witness KS2.

Jakupovic, a former member of the First Company with the First Battalion of the 17th Krajiska Brigade with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was sentenced for war crimes against prisoners of war committed in the Travnik municipality. He was charged with killing a detained member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, in the village of Slimena in June 1993.
 
"The court has determined that the proposed sentence is adequate to the indictee’s responsibility and committed crimes. When it made its decision concerning the sentence, the court considered the fact that the indictee was young, he expressed regrets, he is a family man and a father of two. Despite the fact that his life after the commission of the crime has not been praiseworthy, he can still become a decent parent of his two kids,” said the trial chamber chairman Senadin Bektasevic.
 
Jakupovic is currently serving a sentence in Banja Luka for drug abuse.  
 
He reached a plea agreement on July 8 and agreed to being sentenced to between five and six years in prison and giving a statement to victims expressing his regret.  
 
"What can I say. I am guilty, and there is no doubt about it. Irrespective of the fact that I was young at the time, I am really sorry for what I did,” said Jakupovic who was 17 years old at the time.
 
Prosecutors presented 22 pieces of material evidence at the hearing supporting the allegations contained in the indictment.
 
“He was minor at the time. He expressed his sincere regrets. The indictee admitted guilt, contributing to the fast and efficient completion of this case. We consider the proposed sentence fully corresponds to these circumstances,” said prosecutor Slavica Terzic.

The extradition to Bosnia and Herzegovina was postponed last week, but Bosnia’s ambassador to Spain told BIRN Justice Report that the process had resumed.

"I spoke to the Spanish judge who told me the extradition process was going to continue," said Zeljana Zovko.

Zovko explained that the judge agreed to the extradition despite the fact he was sentenced to four years in prison by a Spanish court for robbing a bank.

Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a warrant for Vlahovic in October 2008 on a suspicion that he committed war crimes, including murders, torture and rape against Bosniaks and Croats in Grbavica from 1992 to 1995.

He fled from a prison in Montenegro where he was serving a sentence for banditry and violent behaviour in June 2001, and was arrested in Spain at the beginning of March.

Bosnian prosecutors say they are still awaiting written confirmation of his transfer to the Balkans.

"We have still not received the official decision in writing, but the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and law enforcement agencies have completed the preparations for a successful extradition," said Boris Grubesic, spokesperson of the State Prosecution.

Bosnia’s Institute for Missing Persons, INO, has announced that it will search the Koricanske stijene locality again as it believes another mass grave could be located there.

Although 18 years have passed since Bosnian Serb forces executed more than 200 men at the ravine near Mt Vlasic in July 1992, the remains of only four persons, discovered in a nearby forest in 2003, have been buried so far.

As in previous years, on August 21, families of the victims and massacre survivors will visit the cliffs and lay flowers at the site where the Bosniak [Muslims] from the northwestern town of Prijedor were executed.  

Amongst those honouring the dead will be Muharem Elezovic, from Trnopolje, who lost two sons, Emir, aged 22, and Edin, aged, 24. Elezovic is still searching for their remains.  

“We found a few bones but we don’t know which one they belong to. There were so few of them that we could put them in a small bag,” Elezovic said.

He said he was disappointed with the various bodies tasked with searching for missing persons because they had not been able to find the remains of most of the Koricanske stijene victims, even though so many years had passed.

Edin and Emir Elezovic were taken to the Serb-run Keraterm detention camp on May 9, 1992. Their father says they were then transferred to the camp at Trnopolje.

The two men joined an organized convoy of Prijedor residents traveling to the government-held town of Travnik, where they were to be exchanged on August 21, 1992.  

Verdicts passed down by the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, have determined that on that day, members of the Intervention Squad of the Public Safety Station in Serb-held Prijedor separated a group of more than 200 men on the way to Travnik, on Mt Vlasic.

It was further determined that the Squad members then loaded the 200 men onto buses and drove them to Koricanske stijene, a nearby ravine.

They then “ordered the passengers to kneel on the side of the road and started shooting them using automatic guns,” the verdict against Damir Ivankovic read.

Koricanske stijene

“The bodies of the killed people fell into the chasm, while some people jumped down, trying to avoid being killed,” the verdict continued.

Ivankovic, a former member of the Intervention Squad with the Public Safety Station, admitted guilt before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in July last year. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.  

It is further stated that, a short time later, small groups of men were taken out of the second bus in the convoy and also executed. Hand grenades were thrown down onto the bodies that had fallen into the ravine to ensure none survived the shootings. About 200 men were executed in total at Koricanske stijene. Twelve survived the shooting, however, mainly by hiding under the corpses of other men in the ravine.

Exhumations of remains were carried out in 2003 and 2009 on the basis of indications provided by Ivankovic. “After that, the exhumation was done and some remains were found,” the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina says.

“Besides that, during the course of guilt admission negotiations, he [Ivankovic] provided us with information about another execution location. We then deployed all our services at the location and found additional remains,” the Prosecution added.  

Data of the INO indicate that the remains of around 100 people killed at Koricanske stijene have been identified. But in most cases, the remains were so incomplete that families have not buried them.

The International Commission for Missing Persons, ICMP, says that in 24 cases, they were not able to match DNA samples taken from the bones to DNA samples taken from family members of missing persons. They thus assume that not all families donated blood samples.  

For their part, families of the Prijedor victims criticize the bodies tasked with searching for missing persons for not having visited Koricanske stijene earlier, and for undertaking the first exhumations some 11 years after the crime occurred.

Edin Ramulic, of the “Izvor” Association, from Prijedor, says “numerous omissions” occurred in the first exhumation in 2003; because no one searched the broader area of Koricani, many victims’ bodies were not then found.  

“On the basis of witnesses’ statements and pronounced verdicts we knew that people were killed at two different locations, not very far from each other,” Ramulic said.

“But members of the Federal Commission [on missing persons] and other experts participating in the exhumation in 2003 failed to visit the area located to the left and right of the crime scene, to determine whether any bones could be found there.

“At the time, we knew that the bodies of the people from the second bus had not been removed and were certainly still in the same place,” Ramulic added.  
 
Staff at the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has dealt with the search for missing persons since 2005, when the commissions of Bosnia’s two entities were wound up, say they do not know whether members of the former Federal Commission searched the broader area of Koricani.  

“I was not personally present at the location in 2003 but members of my team were there,” said Amor Masovic, former president of the Federal Commission for Missing Persons.

“I don’t know whether they searched the area on the left and right side of the location, but the fact is we did not notice this at the time.

Jasmin Odobasic, who led the Federal Commission team performing the exhumation at Koricanske stijene in 2003, said it was difficult to search the broader area at the time, as much of the terrain was inaccessible.  

“It’s a huge area. It was difficult to search it, as it consisted of steep slopes,” she said. “At the time I found about 12 unexploded bombs, snakes and other things.

“We cannot guarantee that more bodies will be found at the same location if the terrain is searched again,” she added.  

Masovic explained that during the first exhumation they found numerous small bones, from fingers, heels, vertebra and ribs. Many of these small bones had fallen into cracks between the rocks, so that “the Bosnian Serb forces who transferred the bodies in 1992 could not see them.  

“The bodies found in the second exhumation had not been moved but had been scattered around…Besides that, each year, when the ice melts, it drags the bones to other places,” Masovic said.  

Although 18 years have passed since their loved ones vanished, the families still hope they will find their remains. However, they fear they may not see that happen because the search has gone so slowly.

“For the families, the most important thing is to find their relatives and bury them,” Elezovic said. “We want to know where our children’s bones are. When we die, nobody will search for them.”

Besides Ivankovic, Gordan Djuric and Ljubisa Cetic were sentenced in 2009 and 2010 before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to eight and 13 years respectively.

Darko Mrdja, was sentenced in 2004 before the ICTY to 17 years in prison after admitting guilt for participation in the shootings at Koricanske stijene.

Nine former policemen from Prijedor and a former guard in Trnopolje detention camp, also charged with participation in this crime, are currently on trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Aida Alić is a BIRN – Justice Report journalist. aida@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is an online BIRN weekly publication.

Three sons of Asima Memic were in a convoy of Bosniak [Muslim] citizens that left Serb-held Prijedor for Travnik on August 21, 1992. One of them, Asmir, then 29, was never seen again. Her quest for her missing son has lasted for 18 years, though her only hope now is to find his remains and finally bury him.
 
“Last year, when they were exhuming bodies, they found the lower part of his leg,” she told BIRN - Justice Report. “He was such a big lad but only the leg was found. If I can find at least half of his body, to bury him while I'm still alive, it would be easier for me,” she adds. “But so far just problems, problems ... it is impossible.”

Asima shares the fate of many families who lived in or near the north-western town Prijedor and who lost loved ones on August 21, 1992 at the Koricanske stijene cliffs on Mt Vlasic. There, Bosnian Serb forces took about 200 men off the exchange convoy and shot them to death.

That day, her three sons, Asmir, Amer and Husein, along with other civilians from Prijedor, headed in an organized convoy to government-held Travnik for the alleged exchange.

The hope was that an alleged exchange to Travnik would save them from been detained any longer in the camp in Trnopolje, where the Bosnian Serbs had held them since May 1992.

In order to enter the convoy for exchange and save his brothers, too, Husein, handed over his property in Prijedor municipality.

He brought with him his younger brother, Amer. As for Asmir, they were not sure whether he would board one of the buses for Travnik because he was hesitating up to the last moment.

“According to eyewitness accounts, in Trnopolje they told Asmir not to go, but then gave 100 German marks to leave with the convoy and so he paid for his death,” Asima said.

While her sons were trying to get out from Prijedor in the convoy, Asima, along with her husband, Mehmed, Asmir’s wife, Senada, and their son, Mirzet, were already in Split in Croatia, having left Prijedor in July 1992.

The convoy departed on August 21, escorted by the Intervention Platoon of Prijedor’s Public Security Station, SJB, as set forth in verdicts of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Hague Tribunal, ICTY.

Asmir Memić

But on Mt Vlasic, on the road to Travnik, the Prijedor police took 200 men out of one of the convoys, which was carrying around 1200 civilians, and led them to Koricanske stijene, a cliff.

The police ordered them to stand along the ridge, opened fire with automatic weapons and killed them. They then threw grenades and fired another round at the bodies of the killed and wounded, which had tumbled into the ravine.

Asima and Asmir’s family learned that their son had disappeared a few days after August 21, but did not yet know the real truth.

“We heard on the radio that the convoys from Prijedor and Trnopolje had departed, and that one reached Travnik while the other was stopped and its fate is unknown. I immediately rushed with my husband to Travnik,” Asima said.

“When we arrived, we found Amer and Husein who looked strange and said that Asmir had gone on the other bus that was stopped on Vlasic,” Asima recalled.

During the following days, along with her husband, she sought more information about Asmir in vain. After a while she returned to Split with her sons, and moved to Stubicke Toplice in Croatia, without losing hope that Asmir would appear.

“My husband and I were always waiting. We did not want to go anywhere from the house, thinking he might appear,” she said.

“There were many stories - that they’d been taken to work in Serbia. We would listen to the radio all night, hoping to hear he was somewhere but it was not the case.”

Asima still remembers parting with her son for the last time in July 1992. “Not far from the place where he was detained in Trnopolje, I saw my son for the last time”, Asima says.

Although Trnopolje is a place of difficult memories, she says she will visit it again, as well as the monument to the victims of war at Kozarac, on which her son’s name is inscribed. She said she once went to Koricanske stijene, but will not go again because there was nothing to look for at that place.

“I first went to Koricanske stijene last year because I could not go before. When I saw where they were killed, for the next ten days I imagined that chasm and how they threw them down,” she says.

“For long time I could not go to places that stirred such memories but this year I also went to Trnopolje and decided I would go there again while I’m alive.”

She still hopes that that one day she will succeed in finding the other bones of her son in order to bury him.

Damir Ivankovic, Gordan Djuric and Ljubisa Cetic, former members of Prijedor SJB, admitted participation in the crime committed at Koricanske stijene that occurred on August 21, 1992. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced them to a total of 35 years in prison, in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Darko Mrdja admitted his guilt for the same crime before The Hague Tribunal and was sentenced in 2004 to 17 years’ prison. The trial is ongoing before the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for nine more members of the Intervention Platoon of the SJB Prijedor for participation in the crime.

 

Aida Alić is a BIRN – Justice Report journalist. aida@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is an online BIRN weekly publication.

 

On the basis of sentences handed down by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as statements from survivors and defendants who pleaded guilty, BIRN - Justice Report has reconstructed the events that led to their deaths at Koricanske stijene.

In April 1992 when the Democratic Party (SDS) assumed power in Prijedor, the harassment and detention of non-Serb citizens began. Many civilians were detained in the Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm camps while others were placed under pressure to leave their homes.

The authorities began transporting the non-Serb population from the city in a series of convoys.

On the morning of August 21, 1992 members of the Public Security Station (SJB) Prijedor and SJB’s Intervention Platoon received the order from platoon leader Miroslav Paras to accompany the latest convoy to ensure its safety.

“Large numbers of Serbs, Croats and Muslims were in Tukovi. All were greeting each other. I saw lots of buses, the old town buses and trucks, 14 or 15 vehicles, and it was certainly about 1,500 people there.  It all happened quickly. It was inconvenient, moaning and crying,” said Damir Ivankovic, a former member of the Intervention Platoon who was sentenced to 14 years in prison before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A convoy consisting of at least 12 buses, trucks and trucks with trailers with over 1,200 people inside was formed in Tukovi. It stopped for the first time near Kozarac where it was joined by four buses filled with men detained in the Trnopolje camp.

The convoy continued towards Banja Luka and Skender Vakuf/Knezevo, and members of the Intervention Platoon began looting and threatening the passengers.

“Commander Paras came across and said to take valuables from the passengers. I gave the bag to a middle-aged guy and told him to pick up valuables from passengers”, said Gordan Djuric, a former member of the Intervention Platoon sentenced by the state court to eight years.

After passing Skender Vakuf, in the vicinity of the Ugar River on Mount Vlasic, the convoy was again stopped. Members of the Intervention Platoon, including Ivankovic, Djuric and Ljubisa Cetic and Darko Mrdja – both sentenced to 13 and 17 years respectively – separated 200 military-aged men from the group.

The men were ordered to leave the buses and trucks and forced to join two buses which went on to Koricanske stijene.

“I felt that something was wrong. The separation of man had never happened before. They did not say anything about it, even on the road. Mrdja told me to stay and sent away the driver. They started to load these poor people onto the buses. They told them that they were going to exchange, but it was clear to me that this was not the case. They confiscated their belongings and my instinct told me that these people would not survive,” said Ivankovic.

Paras, who died after the war, ordered Djuric to enter into one of the buses “to carry out the task”. “I felt and became aware that these men would not end well,” said Djuric.

Paras then ordered him not to let anyone in the area near the bus.

Members of the Intervention Platoon told the men from the first bus to stop at the edge of the road, above the abyss, and kneel at the edge.

“The first line had to kneel down. It is indescribable. They started to push each other. The shooting started ... and then they jump. It's indescribable. The shooting lasted 10 or 15 minutes, because the people themselves were jumping, and the terrain was sharp, full of rocks, so the first ones who had fallen down could hardly survive. I fired one burst but did not finish it,” said Ivankovic.

Cetic, who fired from small bore rifle, said that Paras ran over and gave him an automatic rifle and shouted at him, because his weapon had only five rounds. Cetic said he fired a few more rounds.

Bodies of those who had died were falling into the abyss while some threw themselves over. Police officers at the top of the cliff tossed hand grenades and fired at the wounded when they saw people moving or moaning. Those who survived said that the cries of the dying could be heard for long time.

Midhet Mujkanovic survived because he jumped into the abyss.

“When I came to my senses I realised that luckily I was not hurt. I took the body of a dead man, covered myself and tried to crawl away. Then I heard from above, ‘somebody is moving down there’ and shooting started. So the dead man, whom even today I do not know the name of, saved my life. They kept shooting at anyone who was looking for help. They had no mercy,” he said.

Witness A, who testified before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina under protective measures, also survived. He said that the members of the Intervention Platoon ordered him to sit down as if he was “praying to God”.

Korićanske stijene

“I managed to kneel down, and when I went to put my hands behind the neck, the shooting started. As I turned my head, I managed to see that a police officer was shooting towards me with an automatic rifle. Then I jumped down to the abyss and descended for a dozen meters to the bottom,” said Witness A.

He said the shooting lasted for about 15 minutes during which time he saw several bodies that fell next to him and heard the moans.

“Mrdja ordered me to go down to see if anyone survived. The moans could be heard. I've seen broken people. I recognised one of them, little Susic. He was maybe 20 or 21 years old. He begged me to kill him, but I could not. I just gave him the gun to kill himself and left,” said Ivankovic.

The Intervention Platoon continued to kill people from second bus in the same place or in the immediate vicinity. The men were carried out in small groups of two to three and shot.

About 200 men were killed on Mount Vlasic that day while 12 men survived the shooting.
Four indictees men pleaded guilty to the killings and apologised.

“I participated in separating and killing these innocent men. I sincerely regret [what I did]. I apologise to all victims and their families,” said Darko Mrdja.

Ivankovic, Djuric and Cetic also admitted their guilt before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while two trials for 10 people accused of the same crimes are still ongoing.

 

Denis Džidić is BIRN Justice Report journalist. denis@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is BIRN’s online weekly publication.

“Yesterday afternoon we were informed, via Interpol, that the extradition process was to be withheld. We are rather surprised by the decision, because when we discussed the extradition with them, the Spanish authorities said they wanted it to be done before the end of the month,” State Prosecution spokesperson Boris Grubesic said.

The Spanish government approved Vlahovic’s extradition on July 23.

The decision to keep him in Spain was made after a judge obtained information about crimes Vlahovic had allegedly committed there that carry a sentence of up to four years in prison.  
 
“The extradition was due to be done in the following days. As per a request received from Spain, we quickly undertook all preparations,” Grubesic said.
 
Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a warrant against Vlahovic in October 2008 on a suspicion that he committed war crimes, including murder, torture and rape, against Bosniaks and Croats in Grbavica between 1992 and 1995.  
 
He was arrested in Spain at the beginning of March.

In June 2001 he fled from a prison in Montenegro where he was serving a sentence for banditry and violent behaviour.

M.T.

“Indictee Rodic was extremely cooperative with the prosecution. We entered into negotiations with the prosecutor back in February or March. I filed a proposed text of the guilt admission agreement earlier today,” Rodic’s defence attorney Milan Romanic said at a pre-trial status conference.
 
Ratko Dronjak and Rodic are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes against prisoners of war committed in the Drvar area from 1992 to 1995.
 
The indictment alleges that the two men organised the detention of civilians and prisoners of war in the Kamenica detention camp and the Slavko Rodic school building in Drvar where people were tortured, beaten up and killed. The indictment further alleges that Dronjak was manager and Rodic was a guard in Kamenica.
 
At the status conference, prosecutors announced they would examine 75 witnesses and present many pieces of material evidence. Dronjak’s defence is planning to call 10-15 witnesses.
 
“As things stand now, a certain number of witnesses do not want to come to Bosnia and Herzegovina. A video link will have to be organised for the testimonies of three witnesses who currently live in Serbia. We will also have so-called unwilling witnesses who were members of the security services of conflicting parties,” said Dronjak’s lawyer Zlatko Knezevic.
 
The trial begins on September 2.

They were arrested in May and can now be detained until October 18.
 
The duo are suspected of participating in the capture and abuse of Bosniaks from the Kalinovik area during 1992. Prosecutors allege that Peric was an active policeman with the Public Safety Station, SJB, in Kalinovik and Lalovic was a guard at the Miladin Radojevic school building where civilians were held.
 
Prosecutors asked for the extension, saying they expected to complete their investigation and file an indictment within the next two months. Defence lawyers say the evidence collected until now doesn’t prove the case against Peric and Lalovic.
 
“We have already obtained firm evidence pertaining to some counts contained in the indictment... Up to the present date we have examined about 15 witnesses. Their statements indicate that none of the male detainees came back alive, and women were raped. They put the biggest blame on Peric and Lalovic. We are talking about 300 women and children who were held in detention. Most witnesses asked for protection measures, as they are afraid for their own safety,” said prosecutor Munib Halilovic, asking for the extension.
 
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina previously sentenced Ratko Bundalo, the former commander of the Tactical Group in Kalinovik, to 19 years in prison and Nedjo Zeljaja, former commander of the Police Station with the Public Safety Station in Kalinovik, to 15 years for crimes committed in the Kalinovik area.

 

Ostojic, former commander of the 11th Krupa Light Infantry Brigade with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS , Gojko Klickovic and Mladen Drljaca are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war in the area.
 
Predrag Bjeljac said he was Ostojic’s “personal escort” during 1992 and that they were not in Bosanska Krupa at the beginning of August 1992. Bjeljac is Ostojic’s brother-in-law.
 
“We were not in Krupa at the time, because the commander went to Drvar and on Mount Kupres to dismiss the assistant commander for morale with the 7th VRS Motorized Brigade. Upon our return, nobody told me that Plavanjac had killed someone. After the war people were saying various things, but I did not believe them,” Bjeljac said.
 
Prosecutors allege that Joja Plavanjac killed 11 Bosniak detainees between August 1 and 12 in the Petar Kocic school building.
 
Previous witnesses have said that Plavanjac was member of the 11th Krupa Brigade and committed the crime a few days after a Jasenica resident had killed his mother.  
 
Ranko Radanovic, who also testified for Ostojic, said he worked as his driver in July 1992, when, as alleged in the indictment, the indictee was appointed commander of the 11th Krupa Brigade.
 
Radanovic said he was not present in the Krupa area at the beginning of August and that he heard about the murder of men following indictee Ostojic’s arrest in 2008.
 
“We were in the field when Slavka Plavanjac was killed. At that time we stayed in Drvar, on Mount Kupres and in Banja Luka where the commander went to visit his family. I found out about the murders from media reports about the commander’s arrest. I was surprised, as he was an honest and decent man who respected all warfare rules,” Radanovic said.
 
 The trial will continue on August 24.

Ostojic, Gojko Klickovic and Mladen Drljaca are charged with persecution, deportation, torture, detention, murder and other crimes committed against the non-Serbian population in the Bosanska Krupa area in 1992.
 
The indictment alleges that a man named Joja Plavanjac killed a group of Bosniak detainees in the Petar Kocic school building between August 1 and 12.
 
Witness Mile Vajkanovic told the court that a colleague had told him about the killings allegedly committed by Plavanjac.

“Dusko Kokot, who was my working colleague, told me that Joja had lost his mind and killed some people in the prison. He did not tell me who those people were. I did not ask him. He then told me I should not talk about it too much,” said Vajkanovic, who worked in the defence ministry in Bosanska Krupa.
 
Vajkanovic explained that Zdravko Marceta, the former chief of the Territorial Defence Headquarters in Krupa, told him after the war had ended that Ostojic knew about the crime.
 
“Rumours said that Ostojic knew about it. Some people said he did not know. Marceta told me he had informed the commander about the crime, but I do not know if he actually did it,” the witness said.
 
Drago Kacavenda, the former assistant commander with the Morale, Religious and Legal Issues Section of the 11th Krupa Light Infantry Brigade, also testified about the events that took place in the school building.
 
“I heard that some Muslims were held in the school building at the beginning of the war. They were exchanged later on. This is all I know about it. I remember having heard, later on, about some incident that had happened in the school building, but I did not go there,” Kacavenda explained.
 
The witness said that Ostojic used to discipline soldiers who violated the rules, adding he sent some to jail. Kacavenda said that Ostojic managed the disciplinary processes in a responsible manner and that he was “strict but fair”.
 
The third defence witness, Miroslav Egeljic, claimed that “extremists” were kept in Jasenica after the beginning of the conflict in Krupa on April 21, 1992, adding that all other citizens left the area and went to Sanski Most.
 
“They were kept in a classroom. They were guarded by some old people. I remember some members of  the White Eagles Unit coming one day and beating up some people. A decision was then made to relocate them for security reasons,” Egeljic said, adding that the group of detainees was transferred to a school building in Krupa town and that he saw them cleaning the streets.
 
Egeljic said he found out about the murder of men in the school building in Krupa after the war, adding that Ostojic was “a correct and educated officer”.
 
The trial continues on August 18.

Prosecution witness Ranko Gojic told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that he was questioned and physically mistreated in Cazin almost every day from October 1994 to March 1995.
 
He said “the chief security officer slapped” him when he said he was from Novi Grad and asked him to speak about “things about which I did not know anything”. Gojic identified Selimovic as the person who hit him.  
 
“I was there together with the security officer. He was uniformed. The questioning lasted for a rather long time. (...) He asked me to speak about war crimes, but I was not able to answer his questions,” Gojic said.  
 
Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic are charged with aiding in and abetting the detention of members of the Republika Srpska Army and police as well as civilians in detention centers in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac from February 1994 to February 1995.
 
The indictment alleges that Selimovic was counter intelligence officer, operational officer and deputy chief of the Military Safety Services Section with the Fifth Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, AbiH. Ruznic was assistant commander for Security Affairs and Operational Officer with the same section, and Mustafic was a member of the military police with the Fifth ABiH Corps.
 
Gojic was captured in the vicinity of Novi Grad. He first stayed in the village of Pistaline in the Bosanska Krupa municipality and was then transferred to the Rad factory premises in Cazin.  
 
“While I was held in Pistaline they gave me both oral and written questions. In case I did not know the answers, they would take me to another room, where four or five policemen beat me up. Then they took me back and questioned me again,” Gojic said, adding that he was questioned by several people during his detention.  
 
Selimovic’s defence lawyer presented several statements to the witness who said he signed them while in detention. The statements contained the names of those who questioned him, but Selimovic was not among them.  
 
“I consider the witness was not telling the truth when he pointed to my client. The documents we have presented confirm this,” said Asim Crnalic.  
 
The second prosecution witness, Proko Pilipovic, was captured on October 26, 1994. He was held in the Grmec and the 27. juli military barracks in Bihac as well as the Zastava car repair shop in Cazin.  
 
Pilipovic said he was questioned by “the chief security officer” only once during his stay in the 27. juli barracks, adding the officer’s name was Selimovic. But he did not recognise the indictee in the courtroom. He said the questioning was “done in a correct manner”.
 
The witness said that the detainees were beaten up in the bus taking them to an exchange location on March 11, 1995.  
 
“They handcuffed and blindfolded us before taking us to the bus. Following our departure, the policemen who came from Bihac to pick us up started beating us,” Pilipovic said.
 
The trial continues on August 25.

Tomasz Blaszczyk explained that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, of Serbia searched Bosiljka Mladic’s apartment in December 2008 and in February this year and that he took what they found. “The material was in my possession, and I was the only one who had access to it from the moment I received it from the War Crimes Prosecution in Belgrade until I handed it over to the evidence section at The Hague,” Blaszczyk said.
 
He said that Manojlo Milovanovic, the former deputy to Mladic, confirmed that 17 confiscated diaries had been personally handwritten by Mladic.  
 
“General Milovanovic had enough time to review the scanned diaries. He confirmed that most pages contained notes handwritten by Ratko Mladic. We consider this sufficient, because he worked with Mladic on a daily basis and attended most of the meetings so he was familiar with his handwriting,” Blaszczyk said.
 
Mladic, former commander of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, Main Headquarters, has been on the run for more than 10 years. He is charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise, together with Radovan Karadzic and other Bosnian Serb leaders, with the aim of persecuting the non-Serbian population.  
 
The trial of Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of VRS, who is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed from 1992 to 1995, began before the ICTY last October.
 
Prosecutors presented video recordings taken during the war showing Mladic writing notes in various notebooks. Blaszczyk said they were the same notebooks found in Bosiljka Mladic’s apartment.  
 
During his cross-examination, Karadzic asked the witness if he knew that the human rights of ICTY indictees’ families were violated and if he was aware of “the arbitrariness of investigators”. Blaszczyk said he did “not have information about it except for the information published by the media”.
 
Karadzic did not deny that Mladic wrote the diaries but said the translation into English was “incomplete”.
 
“Mladic’s notes and sentences are not complete. I can see the translation was not always done properly. We shall have to solve many issues as many misunderstandings could emerge from short, syntactically incorrect notes,” he said.  
 
The next hearing is due to take place on September 6 following a two-week break to allow Karadzic to review the materials and evidence found in the apartment.
 
Trial chamber chairman O-Gon Kwon said a status conference to discuss “the past course of the trial and the ways for more expeditious trial management” would be held on September 3.

D.Dz.

Jakupovic, a former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is charged with murdering a captured member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, in the village of Slimena in the Travnik municipality. The agreement will be discussed at a hearing scheduled for August 23.  
 
On August 25, the trial of Mensur Memic, Dzevad Salcin, Nedzad Hodzic, Nihad Bojadzic, Senad Hakalovic and Zulfikar Alispago begins. They are former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina who are charged with crimes committed against Bosnian Croats in the village of Trusina in the Konjic municipality.
 
On the same day, former policeman Srpko Pustivuk is due to enter his plea to the allegations that he committed crimes in Ilijas. He is charged with participating in an attack against civilians and captured Bosniaks in the village of Gornja Bioca in the Ilijas municipality.  
 
The retrial of Sefik Alic, a former member of the Hamze Squad with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, continues on August 23. In April 2008 a first instance verdict acquitted Alic of abusing captured members of the Serbian Krajina Army and failing to open an investigation and punish the perpetrators who killed four prisoners in August 1995.
 
On August 23 and August 26, the case of Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja continues. They are charged with shooting 200 Prijedor residents at Koricanske stijene. The trial of Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic, who are charged with genocide at Srebrenica, also continues.  
 
Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric, former members of the Zvornik Brigade Command with the Republika Srpska Army, are also charged with genocide. Their trial is will continue on August 24.
 
On August 24 and August 25, the defence is due to continue presenting evidence at the trial of Gojko Klickovic, Jovan Ostojic and Mladen Drljaca who are charged with crimes committed in Bosanska Krupa.
 
At the trial for crimes committed against Bosnian Croats in Bugojno, scheduled to continue on August 25, two witnesses for Enes Handzic’s defence will be heard from. Besides Handzic, the State Prosecution charges the crimes committed in Bugojno upon Nisvet Gasal, Musajb Kukavica and Senad Dautovic. Alija Osmic, a former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is charged with crimes committed in the same area, is due to appear in court on August 26.
 
On August 25, the trial of Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic, former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, continues. They are charged with crimes against Serbian civilians and soldiers who were held in detention in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac.

The trials of Zeljko Ivanovic, who is charged with genocide committed at Srebrenica, and Darko Dolic, a former member of the Croatian Defence Council accused of crimes committed in Prozor, continues on August 26.

E.M.

As he continued cross-examining Richard Higgs, Karadzic said that Higgs’ findings, which were based on UN peacekeeper’s reports, were “unproved and based on trust”.
 
“The court expert adopted other teams’ findings, without checking them or undertaking measurements. (...) The mine-throwers incidents caused most damage to us. We are saying that Serbs are not to be blamed for any of them, but those incidents were designed in order to bring Serbs into a difficult situation. We can prove this statement,” said Karadzic.
 
Higgs, a former mine-throwers expert with the British army, explained that his role was not to undertake new investigations of the shelling incidents but to “review the previous investigations” and determine whether the correct methodology was applied.
 
“I must believe that what they wrote was true, and they calculated everything in a fair manner. I did what I could by visiting the crime scene and reviewing the reports. I concluded the reports did not contain any statements that were extremely incorrect. When I went to the field to undertake an inspection, the craters were not in a good shape that would enable me to conduct a new analysis,” said Higgs who began his testimony on August 18.  
 
Karadzic, the former Supreme Commander of Republika Srpska armed forces, is charged with genocide committed in seven Bosnian municipalities in 1992 and Srebrenica in 1995 as well as crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war.
 
The indictment alleges that Karadzic participated in a sniper and shelling campaign in Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 which killed thousands.
 
Answering questions related to the shelling of the Markale market place on August 28, 1995 when 43 people were killed and 75 wounded, Higgs said he determined that “the projectile was fired from a position held by the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, located 2,400 metres from the explosion location”.

The trial resumes on August 20 with witness Thomas Blazychk then takes a two-week break to allow Karadzic time to review materials and evidence found in the apartment of Ratko Mladic’s wife. Judges said this was “in the interest of justice”.

A status conference will be held during the break to discuss among other things trial management.

Answering Karadzic’s cross-examination questions, Richard Mole, the former UN senior military observer in Sarajevo, said “the Muslim authorities” sometimes “played a victim with an aim of provoking a military intervention” in the city.  
 
“The Bosnian Presidency forces misused civilian buildings, like the Kosevo Hospital, placing weapons in front of them in order for Serbs to be accused. (...) I know we noticed this and we were not happy with placing vehicles within the hospital complex,” Mole said.  
 
The witness repeated his previous statement, saying the international media took an anti-Serb approach in their reports in 1992.
 
“From our point of view, their stands certainly made the fulfillment of our mission more difficult. I am sure you are aware about the details, because, as far as the Serbian side is concerned, it seemed that its intentions were misinterpreted in media reports to some extent,” Mole said.  
 
Karadzic, the former President of Republika Srpska and supreme commander of its armed forces, is on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed from 1992 to 1995.  
 
The indictment alleges that Karadzic participated in a sniper and shelling campaign in Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 with an aim of spreading terror among the civilian population in the city.
 
Richard Higgs, a mine-thrower expert with the British Army, began his testimony at this hearing. On the basis of UNPROFOR’s reports, he prepared findings about the shelling committed in Sarajevo during the siege, including the shelling of Markale market place in 1994 and 1995.
 
The indictment charges Karadzic with the shelling of Markale in February 1994 when a mine-thrower projectile was “fired from a location in the north-northeast direction” controlled by the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, killing 66 and wounding more than 140 people. He is also accused of the shelling that took place in August 1995 when 43 people were killed and 75 wounded.
 
Higgs determined that the projectile that hit Markale in February 1994 was fired from “the north-northeast” direction.
 
After watching a video recording taken in Mula Mustafe Baseskije street, located in the vicinity of Markale market place right after the explosion of the second projectile on August 28, 1995, Higgs said that “it can be determined that the projectile was fired from a mine-thrower placed on a hill near Sarajevo on Serbian territory”.  
 
Answering Karadzic’s questions, Higgs said that he “had to rely upon the UNPROFOR reports and trust they were correct” as he was not in Sarajevo when the projectiles hit the city.  
 
The cross examination of Higgs will continue on August 19.

D.Dz.

Richard Mole, who worked in the city from September to December 1992, said that the Bosnian Serbs "implemented a long-term siege of Sarajevo” in order to pressure the city and fulfill their plans at other locations.  

“The noise never stopped in the city which was under the siege for such a long time. If the strike rate was about 100 projectiles per day, we would write down in our reports that the day was quiet. A rather active day was when between 400 and 500 projectiles hit the city while a day was extremely active when more than 600 projectiles were fired,” Mole said.
 
Karadzic, the former Supreme Commander of the Republika Srpska armed forces, is on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for genocide, crimes against humanity and spreading terror among civilians in Sarajevo by implementing a sniper and shelling campaign from 1992 to 1995.
 
The indictment alleges that the VRS forces shelled and opened sniper fire against civilians while they performed their daily activities, killing and wounding thousands of civilians of all ages, including children and the elderly.  
 
Civilians were wounded and killed in their own homes. There was no gas, electricity or drinking water in the city and people had no choice but to leave their homes, increasing the risk of being killed.
 
Mole, who was testifying for the prosecution, said there had never been “a real ceasefire” in Sarajevo, because tensions would increase just a few days after the signing of ceasefire agreements.
 
“I cannot explain how many times I was exposed to direct fire. The same thing happened to other soldiers. Wherever you went and whatever you did, you were exposed to constant fear that your trip would end. If this was how I felt, then the fear was huge in the densely inhabited parts of the city, as people had no choice and they had to live there. Their lives were pervaded by fear,” Mole explained.
 
Answering Karadzic’s questions, the witness said that both Muslims and Serbs “undertook activities aimed at provoking a response by the other side”, adding that the international media reporting from Bosnia and Herzegovina often took an anti-Serb approach to the war.  
 
“I was always concerned about the fact that the evidence used by some media outlets was weak. Personally, I am convinced that media had an anti-Serb approach to the conflict. The same approach may have been applied in a much broader context, going all the way up to highly-ranking politicians whom I met in Sarajevo,” Mole said.  
 
 Karadzic will continue his cross-examination of Mole on August 18.

The indictment against Jankovic, Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic and Zeljko Stojnic alleges that 200  men from the convoy were shot at Koricanske stijene on Mount Vlasic on August 21, 1992.

It is alleged that Jankovic was commander of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor and the others were members of the Police Interventions Squad.

Witness Said Grabic said he was detained in Trnopolje, near Prijedor. “The convoy departed on August 21, 1992. Some men joined it. They did not survive,” Grabic said.
 
Grabic said he saw two buses with one soldier with a rifle in each.  
 
“In the morning hours some men were permitted to get on the buses. I think that Kuduzovic, who was the detention camp manager, gave the permission. My neighbour Ejub Medic and his son-in-law Senad got on that bus. They are no longer alive. (...) Later on, Kuduzovic gathered us and informed us that some people were killed. This was all we knew,” the witness said.

He later left Trnopolje with help from the Red Cross in October 1992.

Grabic was arrested as he had failed to respond to a court summons to testify.
 
He said he thought he did not have to appear in court again because he had testified at another trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in May.

The next hearing will take place on August 30.

The indictment alleges that Franc Kos, known as Slovenac and Zuti, Stanko Kojic, known as Geza, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja, known as Zoka, participated in the murders of more than 800 men and boys at the Branjevo military farm in Pilica in the Zvornik municipality in July 1995.
 
State prosecutor Dubravko Campara said Kos and Kojic might flee to Slovenia and Serbia where they have citizenship and Golijan and Goronja could influence witnesses and accomplices and disturb public order if released.
 
All the defence teams, except the lawyers representing Kos, objected.
 
Explaining the motion, the prosecutor said Kojic changed his family name a short time ago in an attempt to avoid being tried before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 
Kojic’s lawyer Milan Romanic said his client took his wife’s family name, adding this was “a normal and legitimate act”.
 
“If a wife can take her husband’s last name, why would not a husband be able to do it and take his wife’s family name? This is a normal thing all around the world, so I do not see any reasons for ordering my client into custody because of that. This is violation of human, actually men’s rights,” Romanic said.
 
The indictment alleges that Kos, in his capacity as commander, and Kojic, Golijan and Goronja, as members of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad with the Main Headquarters of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, participated in shooting prisoners, some of whom were handcuffed and blindfolded.  
 
It also alleges that Kos and Kojic looked for survivors whom they then shot.

The state prosecution requested a two-month extension of custody of Milan Peric and Slavko Lalovic.

The defence teams claim their clients are innocent and should be released, saying the evidence gathered to date does not prove that Peric and Lalovic were personally involved in crimes committed in the Kalinovik area.

Peric and Lalovic are suspected of participation in the capture and abuse of Bosniaks from Kalinovik in 1992. Prosecutors allege that Peric was a policeman with the Public Safety Station in Kalinovik and Lalovic was a guard at the Miladin Radojevic school building where civilians were held.

They were arrested in May and have been held in custody since.

Prosecutor Munib Halilovic said that evidence collected so far suggested that the men had participated in the crimes.

"We have already obtained firm evidence pertaining to some counts contained in the indictment....Up to the present date we have examined about 15 witnesses,” said Halilovic. “Their statements indicate that none of the male detainees came back alive, and women were raped. They put the biggest blame on Peric and Lalovic. We are talking about 300 women and children who were held in detention. Most witnesses asked for protection measures as they are afraid for their own safety.”

Peric’s legal team claims there is still "not one piece of evidence" confirming that he committed the alleged crimes. They filed with the court medical documents pertaining to a protected witness, suggesting that he was "an alcoholic inclined to lies, illusions and hallucinations".

Halilovic said the same witness had already testified in two other cases, adding his statements were accepted by the trial chamber, because they were "consistent with other pieces of material evidence and other statements".

In December 2009 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Ratko Bundalo, former commander of the Kalinovik Tactical Group, and Nedjo Zeljaja, former commander of the police station with Public Safety Station in Kalinovik, to a total of 34 years in prison for crimes committed in the Kalinovik area.

Djordjislav Askraba, the former commander of guards in the Barutni Magacin (Gunpowder Depot) detention camp, was acquitted of all charges.

J.Đ.

Ljubomir Kojic said he came back from Germany to the village of Vrbljane in the Kljuc municipality in 1995 in order to get the money which was hidden in his house. He added that members of the Fifth Corps with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH, captured him on his way back to Banja Luka.  

“While I was going through the woods I got off the road and came across their guard. They took me to a house in which I saw 20 soldiers. They hit me once and my glasses fell down. (...) An officer came, telling them not to beat me. He then questioned me. I answered all his questions,” said Kojic.  

Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic are accused of assisting in and abetting the detention of Republika Srpska army and police members and civilians in detention centers in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac from February 1994 to February 1996.  
 
The indictment alleges that Selimovic was counter intelligence officer, operational officer and deputy chief of the military safety services S
section with the Fifth ABiH Corps; Ruznic was assistant commander for security affairs and operational officer with the same section; and Mustafic was a member of the military police with the fifth ABiH Corps.
     
Kojic told the court that after being questioned, he was transported to Kljuc where he stayed for 10 days before being taken to “military barracks in Bihac” where he stayed for 10 more days together with 15 other detainees.  
 
“The conditions were good. There were beds in the rooms, and we had food. I gave three written statements to an inspector. Then they said I was not guilty of anything, telling me they would not question me anymore,” the witness said.
 
He was transferred from Bihac to a location near Bosanski Petrovac where he spent four months before being exchanged, together with 56 other people. Women and children also stayed at Petrovac, he said.  
 
“We were accommodated in two buildings in Petrovac. The police was there as well. We had TV sets. We prepared meals for ourselves, and we had the right to move freely in Petrovac,” Kojic said.  

The trial continues on August 18.

D.S.

 

The documents included a letter from Stojan Zupljanin, the chief of the Safety Services Center, CSB, in Banja Luka on August 25, 1992, asking all municipal ministries of internal affairs, MUP, to provide him with information about the number of non-Serbian detainees and missing persons in the Prijedor area.
 
Zupljanin is on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for war crimes committed in the Bosanska Krajina area.

The letter was forwarded on to Ranko Mijic and signed by Jankovic.
 
“The letter was addressed to Ranko Mijic, and it contained Dusan Jankovic’s original signature. On the basis of the letter we can see that Jankovic continued performing a managerial function even after the crime had been committed,” said prosecutor Slavica Terzic.

Jankovic is charged as commander of the Public Safety Station, SJB, in Prijedor, along with Zeljko Stojnic, Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic and Milorad Skrbic, former members of the Interventions Squad with the SJB in Prijedor, with having participated in shooting about 200 men at Koricanske stijene on Mount Vlasic on August 21.
 
Jankovic’s defence attorney Ranko Dakic said it was not possible to see from the document “in what capacity the indictee signed the letter”.
 
The trial is continues on August 17.

M.T.

The indictment alleges that Franc Kos, also known as Slovenac and Zuti, Stanko Kojic, known as Geza, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja, known as Zoka, are charged with participation in the murders of more than 800 men and boys committed at the Branjevo military farm in Pilica in the Zvornik municipality in July 1995.

It alleges that Kos, in his capacity as commander, and Kojic, Golijan and Goronja shot the detainees, some of whom were tied and blindfolded.   

Following the mass murder of men and boys, Kos and Kojic are alleged to have looked for survivors whom they then shot.

The prosecution alleges that Kos also used the name of Branimir Manojlovic. He was arrested in the Republic of Croatia in April and extradited to Bosnia.

The State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, arrested Golijan, Goronja and Kojic in late February.

Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric, former members of the Headquarters of the First Battalion with the VRS Zvornik Brigade, are on trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for murder of Bosniaks at Branjevo military farm.

Less than a month after they pleaded not guilty, the status conference in the case of Ratko Dronjak and Dragan Rodic is scheduled for August 19.

Dronjak, a former manager of detention centres and detention camps, and Rodic, a former guard, are charged with participation in setting up and maintaining a punishment and abuse system in the Slavko Rodic school building and the Kamenica detention camp in Drvar from 1992 to 1995.

A plea hearing in the case of Franc Kos, Stanko Kojic, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja, former members of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, who are charged with genocide committed in Srebrenica, is scheduled for August 16.

On the same day, a custody extension hearing is due to take place in the case of Milan Peric and Slavko Lalovic who are charged with participation in the capture and abuse of Bosniak civilians in Kalinovik during 1992.

Peric, a former policeman with the Public Safety Station in Kalinovik, and Lalovic, a former guard at the Miladin Radojevic school buildings where civilians were detained, have been held in custody since May.  

On Monday and Tuesday, the State Prosecution will continue presenting evidence at the trial of Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic, former members of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, who are charged with the murder of about 200 civilians at Koricanske stijene on August 21, 1992.

On August 16 and 18, the State Prosecution is due to continue presenting evidence at the trial of Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic, former members of the Fifth Corps with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with crimes against Serbian civilians and soldiers detained in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac.

The defence will continue presenting evidence at the trial for crimes committed against the non-Serbian population in Bosanska Krupa on August 17 and August 18. Gojko Klickovic, Mladen Drljaca and Jovan Ostojic are charged with forcible resettlement, murder, torture and other crimes committed in the area during 1992.

The "Mladic tapes" were confiscated in Belgrade and their existence first revealed on August 4.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, has been searching for Mladic, former commander of the Main Headquarters of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, for more than 10 years.

Mladic's meeting notes and 93 audio and 10 video tapes, two CDs and 8 DVDs were found during a search of his wife's apartment in March.

Karadzic is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His trial began in October 2009. It is scheduled to continue on August 17 after a one-month summer break.

In his request for a postponement, Karadzic said he had spent the entire judicial recess reviewing "Mladic's notebooks”.

"The notes reviewed so far indicate that many of them go in favour of Karadzic's defence, confirming his statements and stands. He expects the review of tapes to yield significant acquitting evidence. However, it is not possible to do it while the trial is ongoing. (...) It will take about 113 hours to review the materials. Unless the trial is postponed, Karadzic will not have enough time to do it before the next summer break," the indictee said in his motion.

Karadzic says that Mladic's notes indicate that prosecution witnesses Herbert Okun, David Harland, Colm Doyle, John Wilson, KDZ185 and Hussein Ali Abdel-Razek attended meetings mentioned in the notes, which may result in the defence needing to recall them.

"Karadzic's defence has been disturbed, because he cross-examined the witnesses prior to reviewing the materials relevant to their testimonies," the indictee said in his motion, adding his trial began although he had not had sufficient time for preparations and continued at the pace "that does not allow him to adequately prepare for cross-examination".

Prior to the beginning of the trial Karadzic filed several motions, asking for postponement in order for him to adequately prepare for his defence. The court rejected his requests.

“Although the prosecution is not to be blamed for disclosing Mladic's materials in the middle of the trial, the fact that the chamber insists on proceeding with the trial at the same pace, without taking into consideration the unexpected events, deprives the indictee of the right to a fair trial," reads the motion.

The indictment accuses Franc Kos, known as Slovenac and Zuti, Stanko Kojic, known as Geza, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja, known as Zoka, with participation in the murder of more than 800 men and boys at the Branjevo military farm at Pilica in the Zvornik municipality in July 1995.

The indictment has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for confirmation.

It alleges that Kos, Kojic, Golijan and Goronja "directly and personally participated" in the shooting of Bosniaks, who had been captured following the fall of the Srebrenica protected zone.  

The prosecution alleges that, acting jointly with other members of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad, they shot the detainees, some of whom were blindfolded and tied. It is further alleged that, during the course of the mass murder of men and boys, Kos and Kojic searched for survivors whom they then shot.

The indictment alleges that Kos was a commanding officer with the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad and he also used the name of Branimir Manojlovic. He was arrested in the Republic of Croatia in April and extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In late February, the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, arrested Golijan, Goronja and Kojic.

Marko Boskic, a former member of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad, admitted guilt, before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for participation in the shooting of men in Pilica. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Drazen Erdemovic, another member of the same squad, pleaded guilty before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for participation in the crime. He was sentenced to five years.

The trial of Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric, former member of the First Battalion Command with the Zvornik VRS Brigade, who are charged with the murder of Bosniaks at Branjevo military farm, is currently underway before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A.A.

The remains of 60 people have been found since the search began on July 19, a spokesman for the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia said on Tuesday.

Amor Masovic, the Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Directors, told Balkan Insight: "All of them were thrown into the lake in Visegrad or a few kilometres farther in Muhici and Kurtalici, where they had been killed.

"The bodies then floated downstream on the Drina river to Bajina Basta hydroelectric power plant, then stopped ... hooked on branches or stuck in the shallow mud and sand.”

Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed in the May 1992 action by Serb police and military forces during the Bosnian war.

 

Divers are searching for more corpses of Albanians from Kosovo that were found in a refrigerator truck in the lake in 2001.

 

Masovic said that, although the truck's chassis had been found, there was so far no sign of any remains.

 

Dozens of bodies from the truck were exhumed in 2003, but it was believed more may be in the lake as the vehicle's door were open.
 
Masovic confirmed that representatives of missing persons commissions from Serbia and Kosovo had joined the Institute team on Monday, and teams had jointly visited an eight-kilometre stretch of Perucac lake.
 
The Institute team is searching the lake while the water level is lower than usual, as the power plant in Bajina Basta is being repaired, he added.
 
The team say they have faced numerous problems in the field including landslides, minefields and other incidents.
 
Someone shot at the Institute’s team members from Blace village, near Visegrad, about 10 days after they began the search. 

 

The perpetrators have still not been identified.

 
In verdicts passed down at the Hague Tribunal, judges have described the Visegrad atrocities as one of the “most notorious campaigns for the deportation of Bosniaks”.

 

They said hundreds of men, women and children were killed on various bridges and dumped into the Drina river within over a period of one month.
 
The Tribunal sentenced Mitar Vasiljevic, a former member of  the“White Eagles” paramilitary group, to 15 years in prison for crimes committed in the area.

 

It also sentenced Milan Lukic, a former leader of the group, to life imprisonment and Sredoje Lukic to 30 years in prison.

M.H.

The state court ruled that Srpko Pustivuk, a special policeman with the PSS who was arrested by the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, on July 13, may be held in custody for a maximum of three years.

The indictment alleges that during May and June 1992, Pustivuk and other members of the army and police of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in an attack against civilians in Gornja Bioca village in the Ilijas municipality.

Prosecutors allege that children were among the civilians. One person was allegedly killed during the attack.

Pustivuk, known as Srle, is also charged with having participated in the arrests of Bosniak civilians who were then taken to detention camps and other detention centres.

Representatives of victims and families of the killed once more reminded of the initiative to build a Memorial Center in Omarska.

 
According to verdicts of the Hague Tribunal, at the end of May 1992 Serb forces in Prijedor formed the Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje camps. Omarska camp was placed near the former coal mine in the Omarska village. During its work, more then 3000 detainees were held there, and a third was killed.

All three camps were closed at the end of August 1992 under pressure from the International community, and the disassembly of Omarska started on August 6th.

Kompleks logora Omarska

The site of the camp, which consisted of hangars, the management building and the so-called white and red houses, is owned today by Mittal Steel mines. The Prijedor residents started an initiative in 2004 to build a Memorial center in the White house.

At the commemoration of the 18th anniversary for killings in Prijedor, Fatima Fazlic president of the “Association of Prijedor women - Izvor” said they will ask for the entire Mittal Steel facility, and all four buildings where Bosniaks and Croats were held, to be turned into a Memorial center.

The initiative was supported by Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency Haris Silajdzic who promised to help the forming of this memorial. Silajdzic added that Omarska and the entire Prijedor region is known for the “savagery committed”, and described these crimes as genocide.

Bijela kuca, Omarska

"Omarska is a monument to savagery, but in the same time resistance. I think this is genocide, because there was intent to remove the non-Serb population. We will fight with all forces to bring justice, but this process is slow”, said Silajdzic.

Among the hundreds of gathered victims and their families was Zejna Besic, who lost 38 family members in Prijedor, and had several cousins killed in Omarska.

„I come each year to support this event and to honor those killed”, she told Justice Report.

Mina Belic also lost members of her close family in Omarska, and she told Justice Report that she comes here for “justice and victims”, and added she will continue to come.

Addressing the crowd, Fatima Fazlic repeated that all those responsible for crimes must be punished, and expressed her dissatisfaction with the recent releases of persons convicted for crimes in the Prijedor region.
From a total of 15 persons convicted for crimes in Prijedor in front of the Hague tribunal and Court of BiH, nine have been released after they served entire or part of their sentence.

In July this year, by a decision of the Tribunal’s president, early release was granted to Dusko Sikirica, former security commander in the Keraterm camp, after serving two thirds of his 15–year sentence.

A month earlier former leader of one of the guard shifts in Keraterm camp Dusan Fustar was also released. Fustar had pleaded guilty to crimes in Prijedor before the Court of BiH and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Predrag Banovic, a guard in Keraterm convicted to eight years in prison, Damir Dosen and Dragan Kolundzija, leaders of guard shifts in the same camp, sentenced to five and three years respectively, have also been released, as were Miroslav Kvocka, Dragoljub Prcac, Milojica Kos and Dusko Tadic, all found guilty of crimes committed in Omarska camp.

For killings, abuses and persecution of Bosniaks and Croats from the Prijedor region during 1992, the Hague tribunal also convicted Mladjo Radic to 20 years in prison, Zoran Zigic to  25, Milomir Stakic to 40 years imprisonment, while the Court of BiH sentenced Zeljko Mejakic to 21, Momcilo Gruban to seven and Dusko Knezevic to 31 years in prison.

Since the beginning of this year the TV Justice show has broadcast seven features about war crimes committed in BiH. We have tried to remind of the importance of facing the past in our country through interviews with more then 50 individuals and a monthly review of war crime trials before the State court.

As with the series, we open the collage edition of TV Justice with a visit to the Foca penal facility where we talked to Gojko Jankovic, who was convicted to 34 year imprisonment for crimes committed in this municipality.

You may also see parts of our features about Karaman’s house and crimes committed in Tarcin, for which there have been no indictments.

In the second part of our show, you can see the most interesting parts of our interviews with Meddzida Kreso, President of the Court of BiH, Milorad Barasin, Chief prosecutor in BiH, and part of the interview with Patrick Robinson, President of the Hague Tribunal.

TV Justice is a thirty minute program produced each month by BIRN and FLASH production, and which is broadcast, as of January 4th, on 11 independent TV stations in local and satellite channels.

Karamanova kuća

 
BROADCAST DATES:
 
BHRT
 
-  Wednesday, 04.08. - 19:30
-  Thursday, 05.08. -12:45
 
SARAJEVO CANTON TV
 
-  Saturday, 07.08 - 17:05
 
HAYAT TV
 
-  Saturday, 07.08.-14:15
 
RTV VOGOSCA
 
-  Thursday 05.08. – 22:00

 
 RTV ZENICA
 
-    Sunday, 08.08. – 10:30
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TUZLA CANTON  RTV
 
-    Monday, 09. 08.. -18:00
 
RTV SLON
 
- Friday, 06.08. – 16:05
 
TV ZIVINICE
 
-   Thursday 05.08. – 21:15
-   Friday 06.08. - 17:00

 
TVOSM
 
-  Wednesday 11.08. – 23:00
 
TV SLOBOMIR
 
-         Wednesday, 11.08. – 20:30
-         Tuesday, 17.08.- 20:30
 
NTV 101
 
-         Tuesday, 10.08. – 17:00
-         Sunday, 15.08. – 14:00 i u 02:00

State prosecutor Vesna Ilic said there is a danger Pustivuk could flee to Serbia, influence witnesses or accomplices or disturb the peace if released.

The defense objected, claiming there are "no grounds" to keep him in custody.   

Pustivuk, known as Srle, is a former member of the Public Safety Station in Ilijas. He is charged with having participated together with other members of the police and Army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in an attack against civilians in the village of Gornja Baoca in May and June 1992. One civilian was killed and three injured during the attack.

The prosecution alleges that Pustivuk was a specialist police officer in Ilijas and took part in the arrest and capture of Bosniak civilians who were then taken to detention camps and centres.

Ilic said Pustivuk does not reside at his reported address and that he had a job in Serbia, which opens the possibility that he could flee to this country.

His lawyer explained that Pustivuk is renting an apartment and moves often which is the only reason he does not reside in his reported address.

Pustivuk told the court that he has only Bosnian citizenship and has nowhere to go. "If I had wanted, your honour, in 15 years I could have definitely run.
I have no reason to run,” he said.

Members of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) arrested Pustivuk on July 13.

 

Owing to the lack of a law on the subject, monuments to victims of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina are being put up in various places, depending on the will of the ruling political structures, and often bearing a message of hatred to the opposing side in the war.

These monuments tend to carry a message describing “the other” nationality as criminal or aggressive, and glorifying members of various military units that took part in the fighting.

Equally controversially, local authorities are blocking the erection of monuments to civilian victims “from the other side”, and which would express respect for their pain and suffering.

Overall, experts consider that chaos reigns in this field and that too many memorials to victims are little more than provocations, having been built in places where nothing happened in the war and largely manipulative in nature.

The total number of war monuments in Bosnia is unknown. It is assumed that hundreds were built over the past 15 years but no institution has compiled exact figures.

Representatives of victims’ associations generally seek to mark sites where people were either detained or killed. But they have been unable to put up any memorials in notorious former detention camps, such as Manjaca, the former barracks “Viktor Bubanj”, Vojno, at the “Barutni magacin” and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, in some areas, monuments have been up to soldiers killed during the war, while the nearby area, where civilians were killed, tortured and abused, is not marked at all.

One such monument, honouring Bosnian Serb soldiers, was built near the former detention camp in Trnopolje in the north-west Prijedor municipality. But no monument has been put up to remember the Bosniak and Croat civilians held by the Serbs in the facility.

This situation frustrates victims of all nationalities, especially those who have not yet found the remains of their lost relatives who died in these places.

“Memorials are important to families. There are many mothers, who have not found their children,” says Sada Hodzic, who lost her son in the Prijedor area.

“His child, grandchildren or great-grandchild need to be able to come here and give him the credit; to know that he existed,” Hodzic added.

Hodzic took part in building a memorial in the town of Kozarac, a Bosniak (Muslim) town attacked by Serbs in the war, which was completed in July.

Two months ago, leaders of the Bosnian Serb entity, the Republika Srpska, RS, together with Ivo Josipovic, President of Croatia, for the first time visited this place of suffering of Bosniaks and Croats and paid homage to victims.

But few other places are visited and honoured in this way by politicians because most of them only want to visit places where the victims are of the same ethnicity as they are.

In November last year none of the state officials came to mark the 17 anniversary of the closure of Manjaca camp, where hundreds of Bosniaks and Croats were held in the early 1990s.

Although aware of the problems, politicians are reluctant to propose legislation that would regulate the construction of the monuments because they feel such a law would not obtain the required majority in the State Parliament.

Murat Tahirovic, head of the Association of Detainees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, explains that for several years they have sought permission to erect a monument in this former detention camp, but in vain.

“Each time we file a request we get the same answer, which is that there is no law for that purpose,” he says. “On the other hand, the State Parliament will never pass such law, so there’s a vicious circle,” adds Tahirovic, noting that the former camp is now a horse farm.

While many monuments cannot get a permit, some experts feel that most of the monuments that are being built are there mainly to provoke surviving victims.

A monument put up at Kukavice, in the eastern municipality of Rogatica to honour Serbian victims killed in 1992, says it was erected in eternal honour of the “Serbian patriots savagely killed by Muslims”.

The monument built to Bosniak victims in Gradacac, on the other hand, recalls victims of a “Chetnik massacre” – the word “Chetnik” being a term of abuse for Serbian nationalists.

“Generally speaking, many monuments do not serve their purpose and are manipulative in nature,” says Mirsad Tokaca, president of the Research and Documentation Centre, IDC.

“It is almost a general phenomenon that monuments to both civilians and soldiers are being built at the same time. This connection sends a bad message because it suggests that each is as valid as the other which is unacceptable,” he adds.

Marijana Toma, an expert in transitional justice, agrees. She also considers building monuments built to the military perpetrators of crimes only insults their victims.

“Building memorials and monuments to those accused of, or convicted of, committing crimes insults victims, humiliates them and denies their suffering and status,” she said. “Such monuments only worsen the dominant problem, which is [war-crimes] denial,” Toma added.

Facts about the war established by court judgments are thereby negated, which, according to Tokaca, contributes to “the politicization of the events of the last war”.

To stop monuments from being built that deny established facts and to prevent manipulation of the past, experts are calling for legislation on the subject at state level.

Toma believes it is important to put up monuments and memorials in post-conflict societies, as they represent an important form of recognition of the truth about the past and about the crimes that have been committed.

It is part of the duty of society and the state towards the victims, helping meet their right for compensation for the damages that were inflicted on them,” Toma added.

Through this mechanism, adds Toma, states and societies send a clear message that they will do everything in their power to stop such crimes and suffering from happening again.

As a result, she says, adoption of regulations regulating this issue is important, to prevent manipulation of the facts and of the recent past.

A report by the UN Working Group for Forced Disappearances, which visited Bosnia in June, also highlighted the importance of passing such a law.

Their report said it was necessary to establish proper criteria for the construction of monuments built to war victims, since some had clearly been built to frighten and intimidate surviving victims, while the erection of others was being blocked by local authorities controlled by different ethnic groups.

“We must regulate the construction of monuments as we now face improvisation with no criteria or system of values, which only fuels conflicts,” says Beriz Belkic, a deputy from the mainly Bosniak Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the State Parliament.

“But as we had no consensus on the text of the national anthem or over a law on public holidays, we are hardly likely to agree on a law on monuments,” Belkic admitted.

Slavko Matic, deputy from the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, in the State Parliament, agreed. It was a good idea in principle to regulate the issue at the state level, but he also doubted whether a draft law would win a parliamentary majority.

Slavko Jovicic, of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, the main Serbian party, said the State Parliament could pass a law; the problem did not lie in parliament but in society, where denial of crimes committed against “other” nationalities was widespread.

“I think it is premature to try to pass such a law because it will be difficult to come to agreement regarding the places of suffering - because the other party will always deny anything ever happened there,” Jovicic predicted.

 

Aida Alic is BIRN Justice Report journalist. aida@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is BIRN’s online weekly publication.

Pustivuk, a former member of the Public Safety Station in Ilijas, is charged with having participated together with other members of the police and Army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in an attack against civilians, including children. One civilian was killed and three injured.

The prosecution alleges that Pustivuk, known as Srle, was a specialist police officer in Ilijas and took part in the arrest and capture of Bosniak civilians who were then taken to detention camps and centres.

He was arrested on July 13th.

D.E.

In the name of the mothers of the Kozarac victims, Sada Hodzic thanked all those who attended for their help in building the memorial, which was constructed with funds gathered from Kozarac citizens who live in Bosnia and Herzegovina and also in the diaspora.

"We mothers have been living in the biggest pain for 18 years, separated from our loved ones. This memorial will be a reminder of our loved ones. It will be easier for us when there is a memory in open sight, but I wish to say that it was difficult walking here today for the first time," she said.

Hodzic called for the prosecution "of those responsible for crimes and murders, many of whom are still at large".

The opening of the memorial, which is inscribed with the names of 1,226 Bosniaks and Croats killed, was attended by representatives of the local,entity and state government.

At the end of May this year, Rajko Kuzmanovic and Milorad Dodik, the president and premier of Republika Srpska (RS) respectively, as well as Ivo Josipovic, the Croatian president, laid flowers at the memorial, which at the time was still under construction.

Ekrem Hadzic, a member of the organizing board for the construction of the memorial, said that it marks the spot of "maybe the largest killing site during the past war in BiH". He said that one in 20 Kozarac citizens was killed.

"This region is specific because this is where the largest returnee numbers have been recorded in RS, despite the difficult crimes. There are so many returnees, because the people have deep roots and the strength for a new beginning and this memorial will be our proof that Kozarac can have a new beginning," said Hadzic.

According to information from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, Serb forces took control of the Prijedor municipality in April 1992. Thousands of non-Serb civilians were confined in the Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje camps, where they were beaten and abused.

In addition to the crimes committed in the camps, killings of Muslims went on in many villages in the municipality, among them Kozarac, Ljubija and Hambarine, the Hague tribunal found.

D.Dz.

The indictment has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for confirmation.
 
Pustivuk, known as Srle, is charged with having participated together with other members of the police and Army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in an attack against civilians, including children, in Gornja Bioca village, Ilijas municipality, during May and June 1992.
 
The indictment alleges that civilians were killed during the attack and others severely wounded. He is accused of participating in the arrest and capture of Bosniak civilians who were then taken to detention camps and centres.
 
He was arrested on July 13.

“The prosecutor has filed the appeal because he considers the first instance verdict inadequate and too benign and disproportionate to the way the crimes charged upon the indictee were committed, the severity of the crime, the indictee’s criminal responsibility and the number of crimes charged upon him,” the announcement from prosecutors says.

Karajic, known as Hodza, was the former Commander of the Second Military Police Squad of the 505th Knights Motorized Brigade with the Fifth Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was found guilty in April of war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war.

The crimes included murder, inhumane treatment, unlawful detention and causing of bodily injuries to civilians and former members of the National Defence of the Western Bosnia Autonomous Region, ND WBAR.

They were committed in the Bosnian Krajina region during the conflict between the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and ND WBAR in 1994 and 1995.

The Western Bosnia Autonomous Region and its National Defence were established in 1993 by Fikret Abdic, former member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was abolished in 1995. Abdic was sentenced to 15 years in prison before a Croatian court for crimes committed in the area.

Radio Justice Report

 

Ganic is expected to arrive to Sarajevo today.

„He is a completely free man. The request has been rejected and Dr Ganic is on his way to Sarajevo,“ Damir Arnaut, a member of Ganic's defence team, told Justice Report.  

Ganic was arrested in London on March 1 this year on the basis of a warrant issued by Serbia, which requested his extradition in order for him to face a trial for war crimes in Belgrade. About ten days after his arrest he was released on bail and placed under house arrest.

The Serbian War Crimes Prosecution suspects that Ganic was responsible an attack on a Yugoslav National Army, JNA, convoy in Dobrovoljacka Street in Sarajevo in May 1992. Data collected during the course of the Serbian investigation indicate that 18 soldiers were killed in the attack.

Judge Timothy Workman said on Tuesday at the Westminster Magistrates Court in London that there was evidence of misuse of the process and indications that the trial was politically motivated.    

„These procedures were initiated and used for political purposes in such way that they represent a misuse of the process conducted before this court,” Workman said.

Ganic’s daughter Emina, who attended the court's announcement of the decision on Tuesday, told Justice Report that the court’s decision was final because the judge had determined that Serbia’s request was politically motivated.      

„The Court has determined that Serbia misused the British laws and judiciary and this process was politically motivated. Had this only been a decision on the extradition, they would have been given the right to appeal it. However, if a court tells a country it has misused its laws and determines this is a politically motivated process, presented as a legal one, any appeal would represent a continuation of the misuse,” Emina Ganic said.

On the other hand, Bruno Vekaric, Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor of Serbia, said the Prosecution would appeal the decision.

„We respect any decision rendered by the English Court, but we have the right to appeal to a higher court. We shall use the right. We shall try to get answers to the questions bothering the families of more than 60 victims,” Vekaric told Serbian media.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, previously investigated the attack in Dobrovoljacka Street, as well as Ganic’s role in the attack, on the basis of allegations by the Republika Srpska Prosecution. In 2003 the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence.

The court in London considered the Hague Tribunal’s investigation into the events that took place in Dobrovoljacka Street to be sufficient.   

The hearings on Ganic’s extradition began on July 5 this year before the Westminster Court in London. Over the course of two weeks the Court examined many witnesses invited by both parties, including politicians, human rights activists and prosecutors.

Objecting to the extradition, Ganic’s defence said in the courtroom that Serbia’s request was politically motivated.

In support of its case, Serbia sent the court in London about 200 pages of documents and two video tapes, claiming the documents contained new pieces of evidence implicating Ganic.  

Ganic’s defence asked for the trial costs to be paid by Great Britain.

According to the rules of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, a convict is eligible for early release after he has served more than two-thirds of his sentence. As Judge Robinson indicated in his decision, Krajisnik, who was arrested in April 2000, will have served two-thirds of his sentence in August 2013.

"Krajisnik wants the time he and Biljana Plavsic have spent in jail to be equalized. He considers the period he has served up to now should be considered in favour of his early release, given the fact he has spent 50 per cent more time in custody than Biljana Plavsic and the fact he was sentenced for less severe crimes. I consider these two things cannot be compared. I consider the time Krajisnik has spent in jail for his crimes does not act in favour of his early release,” Patrick Robinson said in his decision.

Momcilo Krajisnik, wartime president of the Assembly of Bosnian Serbs, was sentenced by a second instance verdict in March 2009 to 20 years in prison for deportations, forcible resettlements and crimes against Bosniak and Croat civilians committed in Zvornik, Banja Luka, Sanski most, Sokolac, Prnjavor, Bratunac, Bijeljina, Bosanska Krupa and Trnovo municipalities from April to December 1992.

He was pronounced guilty of participation in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of carrying out the ethnic cleansing of the territories controlled by Bosnian Serbs during the course of the war.

Krajisnik was originally indicted as part of the Biljana Plavsic indictment. Plavsic, the former President of Republika Srpska, pleaded guilty before the ICTY to persecution of Bosniaks and Croats in 37 municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison. In October 2009 Plavsic was released after having served two-thirds of her sentence.  

 

In his early release motion Krajisnik said he would promote reconciliation on the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

"I owe it to all those who suffered due to the crimes for which I was convicted to be committed to reconciliation and improvement of the political and economic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Krajisnik wrote, adding that, if he is released, he will go back to his home in Sarajevo, run a private business and continue writing a book he began in prison in the UK, where he is serving his sentence.

The Tribunal president’s decision notes that Krajisnik attached to his motion 28 letters written by various politicians, NGO representatives, academics, citizens and others who expressed their support for his early release, but Robinson said that it was not shown why this should be considered relevant for his decision.  

"While Krajisnik showed some evidence of rehabilitation, I consider that very important factors which go against his early release are still valid. The crimes committed by Mr. Krajisnik were serious and they caused enormous suffering. In addition, according to the Tribunal’s practice a person is eligible for early release after he or she has served two thirds of the sentence. This fact does not go in favour of Mr. Krajisnik,” Robinson said.

M.H.

Zeljana Zovko, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Madrid, confirmed to Justice Report that the Spanish Government made a final decision ordering the extradition of Vlahovic to Bosnia and Herzegovina.  
 
“Spanish police are now due to conduct the technical part of the extradition procedure. I hope they will do this as quickly as possible and be as expeditious in executing the decision as they were in making it,” Zovko said.  
 
Vlahovic was arrested in the vicinity of the house in which he lived in Altea, Spain, at the beginning of March this year. While he is a Montenegrin citizen, at the time of his arrest he was in possession of false Bulgarian identity documents.
 
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina suspects that Vlahovic participated, from 1992 to 1995, in war crimes against civilians in the Grbavica district of Sarajevo. A warrant for his arrest was issued in October 2008.  
 
The State Prosecution suspects he committed “54 legally criminal actions” against Bosniak and Croat civilians in Grbavica, including murder, torture, forcible disappearances and rape.

"The decision on Vlahovic’s extradition to Bosnia and Herzegovina represents another confirmation of friendly relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Spain, which has demonstrated its understanding of the importance of punishment of war-crimes perpetrators,” Zeljko Komsic, Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said in his letter to the Spanish prime minister.

 

In addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia also filed requests for the extradition of Vlahovic on the basis of crimes for which he was convicted and sentenced in the two countries.  

 

Serbia requested his extradition for a 2001 murder for which he was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison.

 

In June 2001 Vlahovic fled from a prison in Montenegro, where he was serving a sentence for banditry and violent behavior. Bosnian judicial institutions filed several requests for his extradition, but the requests were rejected because the country’s constitution does not allow for the extradition of its citizens to other countries.

E.M.

 

Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic, and Slobodan Ostojic, all former members of the reserve forces of the Zvornik Public Security Station, PSS, were convicted in September 2008 of committing war crimes against civilians.

But one year later, after the defence teams appealed the verdicts on grounds of criminal and procedural code violations, the Appellate Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina overturned the convictions stating that, “the trial panel had established the state of facts incorrectly and erroneously, and that the contested verdict contains erroneous inferences on decisive facts.”

The four defendants had been sentenced to a combined 27 years in prison for taking part in the beatings of prisoners from May 1992 to March 1993 held at detention facilities located at the Municipal Misdemeanor Court and DP Novi Izvor buildings in Zvornik.

Halilovic, then a 60-year-old construction worker from Zvornik, testified for the prosecution about events he witnessed as a detainee at Novi Izvor from May 1992 until February 1993.

At the heart of Halilovic’s testimony was a diary he says he kept during his detention. In the diary, Halilovic says that he did not see Lazarevic, who was originally the Deputy Prison Warden for the facility at the Court for Misdemeanors and later at Novi Izvor, beat prisoners.  The diary also vindicates former prison guards Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic, but says that someone called “Big Dragan” did beat prisoners.

However Halilovic, who testified that he has suffered seven strokes since his detention, could not say with certainty if Stanojevic, also a former guard at Novi Izvor, was “Big Dragan.”

After the Appellate Court completed the video review of Halilovic’s testimony, the proceedings nearly came to a halt when Stanojevic’s Defense Counsel, Milos Peric, filed a motion asking for the testimony of four additional witnesses from the first trial to be replayed in open court. Peric said he filed the motion because he felt the evidence presented during the retrial was slanted in the prosecution’s favor and had cast his client in a negative light.

“I have the impression the evidence was presented as if the prosecutor’s office had appealed the case,” Peric said.

Presiding Judge Mirza Jusufovic then assured Peric of the court’s impartiality and said a thorough review of other testimony could take place either in open court or in closed proceedings. But with summer break and a busy fall schedule for the court looming, he expressed concern that reviewing additional testimony in open court could be accomplished in a timely manner.

Peric subsequently withdrew the motion.

At the end of the proceedings, State Prosecutor Bodizarka Dodik submitted an amendment to the indictment, seeking to remove the charges the defendants were acquitted of in the first verdict. Dodik says she filed the motion because the prosecutor’s office could no longer represent an indictment that contained charges no longer under consideration.

The first instance verdict acquitted Lazarevic of charges that he slapped a prisoner at Novi Izvor on an undetermined date.  The trial panel also dismissed charges that he accepted 5,000 DM from three prisoners held at the Misdemeanor Court building on May 19, 1992 and charges that Lazarevic allowed Serbian soldiers known as the “Gogicevci” into the Misdemeanor Court building to force two brothers to fight each other while their father watched.

The first instance verdict also acquitted Markovic on charges that he helped beat a prisoner in September 1992 being held at Novi Izvor. Ostojic was acquitted of taking part in the beating of a group of prisoners at Novi Izvor in July 1992. Meanwhile, charges that Stanojevic beat a prisoner with his police baton on an unspecified date were also rejected.

Any decision on the motion to amend the indictment will not be made until after closing arguments in the case begin on August 31.  An extra day for closing arguments has also been added for the following September 7 to ensure that the defence has sufficient time to present its arguments.

B.G.

 

Zeljko Topalovic, an HVO member, said that Kovac could not make any decisions without the consent of other people who performed key functions in the military and civilian hierarchy, adding he did not know when the indictee was appointed an HVO unit commander.

“His arrest came as unpleasant surprise to many people. As I personally know him, I can say he was a respectable citizen. I have never heard anyone complaining about his actions,” Topalovic said.

Kovac was sentenced to 13 years in prison for having issued orders and participated in the rape, unlawful arrests and detention of Bosniak civilians in the Radnicki University premises, the cinema hall and the Public Accounting Services building in Vitez in his capacity as Commander of the Military Police Squad with the Vitez HVO Brigade from April to the end of August 1993.  

The defence presented Topalovic with a document stating that the Military Police Squad with the HVO Defence Office consisted of 55 members, while the Brigade’s Military Police Squad consisted of 27 members and was led by Ivo Petrovic.

“The late Ivo Petrovic was Commander of the Military Police Squad prior to Ante. I do not know when Ante was appointed the commander, but I think he was a policeman at the time,” witness Topalovic said.

The second defence witness was detained in the cinema hall in Vitez, where he saw the indictee, and Kaonik detention camp during the course of April and May 1993.

“Kovac was sitting by the next table together with another person. They were making some notes. He asked me where I would like to go and I said to Stari Vitez,” the witness said, adding that other detainees, who had been brought to the room, also approached the table.

The witness confirmed he was not arrested, but voluntarily surrendered as he was afraid for his and his family members’ lives. He was released from Kaonik detention camp and exchanged in May 1993.

The trial will continue on September 1.

M.T.

Kadric identified Topola as the deputy detention camp manager and said he brought him “200 German marks and a toothbrush” sent by his wife. He added that Topola warned him not to join the convoy leaving Trnopolje on August 21, 1992, but the witness said he did not listen.

“The night before the departure of the convoy, soldiers came into the detention camp and beat detainees up. I could no longer stand it. When I heard about the convoy the next morning, I showed them a certificate saying I would voluntarily leave Republika Srpska. Then I got on a bus together with my two nephews,” Kadric said.

Topola, Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic and Marinko Ljepoja are accused of escorting a convoy of civilians travelling from Prijedor to Travnik, then selecting about 200 men and shooting them at Koricanske stijene.

The indictment alleges that Zecevic, Knezevic, Civcic and Ljepoja were members of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor and Topola was a guard in Trnopolje detention camp at the time.

The witness said he came to the Trnopolje detention camp voluntarily after hiding in corn fields for two days, because “Serbian soldiers occupied Rizvanovici village” in Prijedor municipality on July 20 and killed his family members.  

Kadric stayed in Trnopolje for a month. During the course of his testimony he recalled the convoy having been escorted by “soldiers dressed in blue uniforms”. The witness said the convoy stopped in Kozarac where it was joined by buses and trucks from Prijedor.  

“In Kozarac a soldier in blue trousers and with sunglasses said all the passengers who were standing could get off the buses and go to the trucks from Prijedor. The passengers who stayed in the bus were male adults. I got off the bus as I had been among the standing passengers,” Kadric said, explaining he then got on a truck.

The witness said that “a soldier named Zeljko” gave the truck passengers a bag, threatening them and asking them to collect 5,000 German marks and put the money in the bag.  

“He said he would slaughter a child in front of our eyes and kill all of us unless we collected the money,” Kadric said.  

He said he left the truck in order to fetch some water at the last stop prior to the exchange on Mount Vlasic. However, a soldier ordered him to go back. The witness said he then saw “soldiers dressed in blue uniforms”.

“We moved on a short time later. We took a macadam road. I wanted to take some fresh air as there was so much dust under the awning, so I lifted the awning a little bit. The buses from Trnopolje were parked by the road. Some people, holding their hands up, were standing next to the buses. I took a quick look at them, but I did not dare look any longer,” the witness said.

The trial will continue on August 23.

D.S.

Suljevic, a former member of counter sabotage protection unit with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, explained that the unit was given several metal pieces from bomb so they could determine the type of projectile.

“We received a letter from the Safety Services Center saying a projectile came from a west-southwest direction at about 11.30 on May 26, 1995 and asking us to identify the type of the projectile,” Suljevic said, answering a question from Radovan Karadzic.  

Karadzic, the former RS President and Commander of the RS armed forces, is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed from 1992 to 1995 as well as participation in the persecution of the non-Serbian population on the territories controlled by Bosnian Serbs.

The indictment charges him with shelling and opening sniper fire on the city of  Sarajevo. One of the events described in the indictment happened on May 26, 1995 when a modified bomb dropped from the air and several artillery projectiles were fired on residential buildings in Safeta Hadzica Street in Sarajevo injuring 17 people.  

The indictment alleges that the attacks came from positions held by the RS Army, located in a west-southwest direction.

“In our findings and opinion we specified the facts that were non-disputable, also saying that the pieces without any specific marks on them had probably originated from the same projectile. It is undisputable that those were modified air dropped bombs with rocket engine bodies,” Suljevic said. 

Karadzic presented the witness with a report on the incident stating that “German cross” attributes were found on two unexploded projectiles. 

“This referred to two different projectiles which had probably hit the ground at the same time. There was the modified bomb on one side and the artillery projectiles on the other. The Nazi sign containing the German cross was imprinted on it, but there was no color or serial number,” Suljevic said.  Karadzic asked the witness again to whom the projectiles could be attributed considering that the last marks on them were made in the Second World War. Suljevic said they should be treated in the same manner as all other projectiles which hit Sarajevo during the course of the siege and attributed to those who fired them.  

“The projectile was undoubtedly fired from Serbian positions, because so many shells were fired from there. Nazis could not have fired it. There were two conflicting parties. This was not the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s war against itself,” he said.  

Prior to the beginning of the cross-examination, the prosecution presented 45 documents, including requests from the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps, SRC, addressed to the Main Headquarters of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, asking for additional ammunition and bombs dropped from the air.  

The trial will continue on August 17.

E.M.

Dolic’s travel documents have been confiscated, and he is also banned from leaving his place of residence, contacting accomplices and discussing the case with anyone except for his defence attorney.

“The competent police administration in the Prozor municipality will conduct random visits to the indictee two times a day in order to check whether he respects the measures,” the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina said in its decision. 

Dolic, a former member of the Hawks Reconnaissance Squad with the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, is charged with participation in the rape of Bosniak women in the Lapsunj and Druzinovici villages and the mistreatment of civilians during the course of 1993.

He was arrested at the end of October 2009 and has been held in custody since.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against Dolic in November 2009. He has pleaded not guilty.

When asked by Karadzic if the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina kept civilians in Sarajevo as hostages “with an aim of victimising the city”, Ali Abdel Razek, the former commander of UNPROFOR, said the United Nations forces did not interfere with the population movement processes.   

“The tension was high,” he said. “We first wanted to stop the fire and shelling of civilians, it was our priority, and then to see who would go and where. We wanted to ensure the cessation of fire first but not according to ethnic borders. I noticed that people in Sarajevo were in good relations, but people were afraid. They used to come to us looking for protection, but we had to tell them we did not have a mandate to rescue them as we did not want to facilitate the ethnic cleansing.”   

Karadzic, the former President of Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of its armed forces, denied saying that “Serbs did not want to live with Muslims.” He said that he said “they did not want to live under Muslim power”, adding he regretted not having expressed his opinion in a clearer way.  

Karadzic is on trial for genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed from 1992 to 1995 and participation in persecution of the non-Serbian population in the areas controlled by Bosnian Serbs.  

The indictment alleges that Karadzic participated in the implementation of a military strategy consisting of shelling and sniper fire with the aim of killing, mutilating and terrorising civilians in Sarajevo. These actions resulted in the killing and wounding of thousands of civilians.

Ali Abdel Razek repeated his earlier statement that he concluded “several excellent agreements on reconstruction of the Sarajevo city infrastructure” with Karadzic and Bosnian Serb leaders in 1992 and 1993, adding “those agreements were unfortunately not fulfilled”.  

 

“The UN tried to help reestablish the basic water, electricity and gas infrastructure...on both sides alike. However, the efforts we invested were disabled by shelling, military operations and sniper fire, so our technical teams could not even reach the areas in which the works were supposed to be done,” he said. 

Ali Abdel Razek explained that local Serbian military forces in the field “acted in a hostile manner and showed no discipline” despite the assurances received from Karadzic and other leaders that this would not be the case. He added that this obstructed the efforts to improve the conditions in Sarajevo.  

Ekrem Suljevic, former member of counter-sabotage protection with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also began his testimony at this hearing. He explained that his unit was tasked with “collecting unexploded projectiles in Sarajevo”.  

“We were involved in collecting and removing the projectiles,” he said. “The unit members would take out the explosive charges from those projectiles. Those charges were then left aside to be compared with samples we collected during the course of explosion location inspections in order for us to determine whether the parts matched each other,” Suljevic explained.

Suljevic was presented with several wartime documents related to requests for “provision of means needed for military activities” by the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the RS Army. The witness said those requests matched the samples collected by his unit members.

Suljevic will continue his testimony on July 22.

D.Dž.

 

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, approved the release of Dusko Sikirica from a jail in Austria where he has served two thirds of his 15 year sentence for crimes committed at Keraterm.

“His honest guilt admission and good conduct during the course of his stay in prison are a proof of his rehabilitation, which has contributed to his early release to liberty,” reads the tribunal’s decision. 

Sikirica admitted murdering a prisoner at Keraterm and having failed to prevent individuals from entering the detention camp and abusing the detainees. He admitted to being aware of the inhumane conditions in the detention camp, as well as beatings, rape, sexual abuse and murder of detainees.

He has been held in custody since June 25, 2000. The decision to release him says that a report received from the Graz-Karlau prison says that Sikirica performed various jobs, including one in the prison laundry, “in a very good manner” and his conduct during the course of his detention in prison was “apposite”.

A.A.

After more than a decade of waiting for the former Bosnian Serb leader to be brought to justice, there are complaints that the trial is proceeding too slowly and that Karadzic is deliberately dragging out proceedings as long as possible – causing interest to wane.

And analysts say the trial has not reduced Karadzic’s heroic aura in Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, RS

Karadzic was arrested on July 21, 2008 after more than 10 years of hiding in Belgrade under the name of Dragan Dabic.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, indicted the former President of the Republic of Srpska, RS, in 1995 for genocide at Srebrenica and seven other municipalities as well as for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from1992 to 1995.

His trial began at the end of October 2009 when prosecutors presented their opening arguments. After numerous delays and many requests from Karadzic to dismiss the charges and delay the trial, the first witness appeared six months later in April.

Mirela Huković-Hodzic, a BH Radio 1 journalist who follows the trial, says the slow pace is caused by Karadzic who is spending up to 10 times longer than the prosecutor on cross-examining witnesses.

In the past 45 sessions, prosecutors managed to examine just 14 witnesses. Some like Momcilo Mandic, a former justice minister in the government of RS, and Robert Donia, an American historian, were cross-examined by Karadzic for more than 20 hours.

“If we continue with the pace that took place in the first three months, Karadzic’s trial could last until 2020,” said Mirko Klarin, director of the agency Sense-Tribunal, adding that under the tribunal’s mandate, the entire process should be finished in 2014.

Fadila Memisevic, president of the Society for Threatened People in Bosnia and Herzegovina, blames the tribunal for allowing Karadzic free reign.

“He just enjoys. He really sees himself here as if he is on some sort of stage and his thesis is the same as the one during the war – the stretching of minds. The longer the better for him,” said Memisevic.

However, she is more concerned by Karadzic’s conduct in the courtroom.

“Karadzic is doing all he can to turn the courtroom into a circus,” she said.  

“Witness Mandic is the example – the way they addressed each other is the culmination of tastelessness. Mandic is addressing Karadzic as ‘Mr President’ and Karadzic is addressing him as ‘Mr Minister’. It is mocking. What kind of president? What kind of minister and of which state?” she said.

Momčilo Mandić

At his request, Momcilo Mandic was a witness for the court, not the prosecution, from June 16 to 30. At the beginning of his cross-examination, Karadzic apologized to Mandic “for the suffering” that his testifying had caused.

“Mr. President, I accept it,” replied Mandic, who was acquitted by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for crimes committed in Sarajevo and Foca.

“That kind of pomposity and theatricality is painful. It seems to us that these people are unaware [of the] brutal crimes [for which] Karadzic is indicted,” said Branko Todorovic, president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the RS.

Sinan Alic, Acting President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is also angered by Karadzic’s courtroom behaviour.

“He is trying to make a circus out of the trial. He is making jokes there where there are no jokes at all. He is either not normal or ill. Apparently he is not aware of his situation,” Alic said.

To Eldin Hadzovic, a journalist from the weekly magazine Dani, the trial is a place where Karadzic’s political views are promoted and a platform for “his fans and followers in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

“The trial … seems like a sleazy reality show in which he insults, humiliates and again attacks the witnesses for the great joy of the audience,” said Hadžović.

Belgrade journalist Dejan Kozul believes that the general public is “preoccupied with their own problems” and do not have the time or the will to follow the process.

Dejan Anastasijevic, a journalist with the weekly magazine Time, says the fact that the local media are only sporadically reporting on the case through short-agency reports is contributing to the disinterest.

Milan Antonijevic, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (YUCOM), is concerned that the trial is proving ineffective in removing the hero’s aura which in some communities still surrounds Karadzic.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirela Hukovic-Hodzic believes that people are either resigned or indifferent to the Karadzic’s trial.

“[They are] resigned because what they see in the courtroom looks like a ‘repeat’ of the Slobodan Milosevic’s trial. [They are] indifferent because the post-war period in Bosnia and Herzegovina takes too long, and the existential problems in the dysfunctional state are getting worse and worse. This all together lasts too long, and people are tired,” said Huković-Hodzic.

Slobodan Milosevic, the president of Serbia in the early 90s, was indicted for crimes committed in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. He died before the trial was completed.

Although many believed that interest in Karadzic’s trial would be considerably higher in the Republic of Srpska, as the indictee was the founder and first president of this Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, Branko Todorovic points out this isn’t the case.

“Almost no one is interested in his trial. The population is faced with an everyday … struggle [with] poverty, misery, unemployment, and I think most are hostile towards Karadzic as they considered him as responsible for the situation which they are in,” said Todorovic.

Rajko Vasic, Executive Secretary of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) believes that following court proceedings of so-called war stars like Karadzic is another remnant of a sick society and does not contribute to the truth about war and reconciliation.

“The Karadzic’s trial is wrong and the selection of witnesses shows that. The presented facts are not judicial and do not constitute material evidence. This does not contribute to the legal process but to the political theater,” said Vasic, a senior official from SNSD, the strongest party in the RS.

Mirko Klarin disagrees, pointing out that such trials are important to understand “what happened to us and who is responsible for it”, particularly in countries where opinions are divided over events that took place during the war.

“Court verdicts, in which it is determined beyond a reasonable doubt, won’t change that, at least not quickly, but will limit the room for a reasonable denial of the crime, and unreasonable denials will always exist,” he said.

Merima Husejnović is a BIRN – Justice Report journalist. merima@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is an online BIRN weekly publication.

Hussein Ali Abdel Razek, the commander of UNPROFOR in Sarajevo in 1992 and 1993, said the deportation of the non-Serbian population and ethnic cleansing were among “the topics and problems” discussed at his meetings with Bosnian Serb leaders.

D.Dž.

Radio Justice Report

 

The four defendants were convicted in February 2009 of crimes against humanity and sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison.
 
They were convicted for their part in events which took place in 1993 and 1994 in Vojno, Mostar municipality, where civilians were unlawfully detained and subject to inhumane treatment including forced labour, rape, beatings and murder.

 

Both the prosecution and the defence appealed the verdict and a retrial was granted in April and began on July 6.

The trial has been dogged by the issue of illness, with both Brekalo and Vracevic protesting that their poor health is an impediment to the trial.

Brekalo, who has been on a hunger strike, claimed that he couldn't come to court. "I cannot attend today's hearing," he said. "Psychologically I cannot cope... I'm at the verge of a nervous breakdown. I've lost 30 kilogrammes. I can't take it anymore."

 

His lawyer maintained that the request was not a delaying tactic.

"My client wishes for the trial to continue in his absence while he goes for surgery," he said. "I can assure the court that his conduct today has nothing to do with trying to postpone the trial."
 
Judge Mirza Jusufovic said Brekalo's claims alone were not sufficient to suspend the trial but that it was necessary for him to be medically evaluated.

"If there are doubts about the condition of the third accused, then we must adjourn not only for today but also for further hearings," Jusufovic said. "The third accused is therefore referred for a psychological evaluation."

Brekalo has consistently refused the court's offer of treatment at the hospital in Mostar, because he believes that he may be assassinated there. The court maintains that it is logistically impossible for him to be treated in Sarajevo, his preferred location.
 
The trial will continue July 27 following his medical evaluation.

Milan Mandilovic, who worked at the hospital from 1992 to 1995, denied allegations from Radovan Karadzic that "Muslim artillery positions" were located in front of the hospital, saying it was shelled from Serbian positions on Mount Trebevic.

"You are well aware of the Military Hospital configuration and the fact that it is surrounded by streets. I certainly exclude the possibility that the Serbian positions were shot at from positions around the hospital", Mandilovic said.

He began his testimony on July 16.

Karadzic, who is on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war, accused the witness of "improvising and presenting impressions which caused damage to the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina".

"The witness is saying that Serbs intentionally shelled the hospital from Mount Trebevic, but he does not even know who was there. He said it was horrible to live in Sarajevo and claims that Sarajevo residents suffered, but who was to blame for that? You cannot everything to Serbs", said Karadzic, the former President of Republika Srpska, RS.
 
Prosecutors allege that from April 1992 to the end of 1995 Karadzic significantly contributed to achieving the goal of spreading terror among civilians in Sarajevo by executing a sniper and shelling campaign.
 
The examination of prosecution witness Hussein Ali Abdel Razek, commander of UNPROFOR in the Sarajevo Sector in 1992 and 1993, also began at this hearing.
 
The witness said the civilian population in the city was in despair because of the shelling by Serbian forces and the lack of water.

"Everybody was in despair, because the city was under the siege, shelled and kept under sniper fire, barricades were placed and people were killed", he said.

Ali Abdel Razek said the sniper activities in Sarajevo took place as per a plan made by a higher command, adding the snipers were selected among highly-qualified personnel.

He said he had meetings with Karadzic at which he presented protests and complaints by United Nations members about the way in which the RS Army members behaved, adding the indictee was "the head of Bosnian Serbs and a top decision maker".

On July 19 the Appellate Chamber rejected Karadzic appeal of the decision to hold hearings four times a week. Despite the fact that Karadzic said the decision violated his right to self defence and caused damage to his health, judges said it "does not violate his right to a fair trial".

The examination of Ali Abdel Razek will continue on July 20.

D.Dž.

Radio Justice Report

 

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Boskic guilty of crimes against humanity committed against Bosniaks.  
 
“The pronounced sentence is within the span set out in the agreement. At the same time it is the shortest sentence prescribed by the law for this type of crime. I consider the sentence will absolutely serve the purpose of punishment,” said judge Ljubomir Kitic. 
 
Boskic was charged with having participated together with seven other members of the same squad in the “summary execution” of several hundred captured Bosniaks at the Branjevo military farm in Pilica village on July 16, 1995.
 
He pleaded guilty on July 5 this year. The court confirmed the plea agreement with judge Kitic explaining the mitigating circumstances which influenced the verdict. 
 
“The court has taken into consideration … the fact that Boskic was forced to participate in the murders and he advisedly admitted guilt,” said Kitic. 
 
Boskic was arrested at the Sarajevo Airport in April 2009 after being deported from the United States where he had been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for violation of immigration procedures and giving false data regarding his membership in the armed forces during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Prosecutors said that Boskic had offered “significant information” on the crimes committed at Branjevo farm and other perpetrators, contributing to the identification and processing of several people responsible for the executions and shooting of captured Srebrenica residents and the elimination of traces of evidence.

Boskic committed to testify at other trials conducted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

The time he has spent in custody will be factored into his sentence.

Prosecutors have also charged Vlastimir Golijan, Zoran Goronja, Stanko Savanovic and Franc Kos, former members of the 10th Reconnaissance Squad, who were arrested at the beginning of 2010, with participation in the murder of Srebrenica residents at the military farm.

Momir Pelemis, former Deputy Commander and Chief of Headquarters with the First Battalion of the Zvornik VRS Brigade, and Slavko Peric, Assistant Commander for Security with the same brigade, are on trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for participation in the murder of Srebrenica residents in the Pilica Cultural Center and at the Branjevo military farm in July 1995.

D.S.

The Agency for Protection of Personal Data says the publication of indictments and verdicts which include the name of the indictee or the convicted person on the internet violates the country’s Law on Protection of Personal Data.

Though the new regulations have yet to be adopted, the agency wants personal information including marital status, the names of parents and identification numbers removed from the website of judicial institutions like the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also wants to replace the first and last names of convicted people with initials.

The courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina have pronounced dozens of verdicts for war crimes, and charges have been filed against several thousand people on suspicion of having committed these crimes.

A state court spokesperson says the institution will comply reluctantly with the change in regulations.

 “We are against anonymisation of the verdicts from the very beginning, but we started the procedure for amendment of our internal regulations in order to reconcile the public interest and the Law on Protection of Personal Data,” said Manuela Hodzic, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina spokesperson.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Prosecutor's Office told BIRN that it also opposes the removal of personal data – particularly in serious cases involving war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law – a view shared by the Ministry of Justice.

The ministry points out that transparency when prosecuting war crimes cases is of great importance, and that the law allows personal information to be published without the consent of the person in question when it is in the public interest.

“We believe that transparency of war crimes processing due to the nature and severity of these types of crimes is of great social and public interest,” said Barisa Colak, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Justice.
The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina is urging the Bosnian judicial institutions to strike the right balance between the public interest and personal privacy.

“The OSCE Mission hopes in discussing this important issue, the competent institutions will take into account the need to achieve a balance between individual rights to privacy and public interest in terms of justice in accordance with the existing legal framework,” said Aida Besic-Delic, the OSCE’s spokesperson.

In the European Union, private data related to crimes, criminal verdicts or security measures that are marked as 'sensitive' under the EU Law on Protection of Personal Data and the Council of Europe Convention may not be published unless they are important for the public interest, according to Zora Stanic from the EC Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She notes that the publication of names should be strictly controlled, because it represents an invasion of basic rights regarding protection of personal data and the right to a private life.

“The institution must be able to explain why such an announcement is necessary, proper and proportional. Disclosure of personal information on the internet without a clear legal basis, not only for convicted persons, but for people who are only charged for certain crimes, in fact is a violation of this principle,” said Stanic.

The EC suggests that Bosnia and Herzegovina consider developing specific legislation which lays out the conditions necessary to make some personal data public under strict conditions.

However, NGOs dealing with human rights and war crimes victims were unanimous in their view that the publication of personal data is important for a country coming to terms with the past.

Philip Grant, director of the Trial legal centre, says the International Convention on Human Rights gives victims the right to the truth.

“The state has a legal obligation to inform citizens on how it handles the people who violate human rights and to explain the status of the investigations to the victims and what the outcome of the trials is. The easiest way to ensure this is to make information public, for example on the website,” said Grant.

He believes it is necessary to find a balance between the rights of the indictees not to be publicly stigmatised and victim's and societies’ rights to learn about the past.

“If it is understandable that to one suspect who stole a car certain measures of protection of identity are to be exercised, at least until the verdict is pronounced, there must be a difference when it comes to mass crimes,” he said.

Branko Todorovic, president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Srpska (RS), said it is very important that data from the trials is made public because of the politicisation of war crimes cases.

“When such suffering [of victims] is presented in a short newspaper report, the fact that someone is sentenced to several years for the murder of 20, 50 people, then that … often allows politicians and passionate nationalists to make politicisations and to deny the work of the judiciary,” said Todorovic.

Sinan Alic, Acting President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also opposes the move to conceal personal data from the general public.

“What is the purpose of the verdict if it is not made public?” he said. “We now have a situation when legally established crimes are denied. How will the public know about the crimes if the information about them is taken off the website?”

Bakira Hasecic, from the NGO Women Victims of War, lobbies to make information about those convicted of war crimes prominent on websites, both for the for the victims and survivors and to ensure such crimes are never repeated.

“Every indictment, the amended indictments, the first instance and the verdicts of the Appellate Council should be placed on the websites of the Court and the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as long as mankind exists. After all, our verdicts are our truth, and that is the main goal of our struggle for justice and truth,” said Hasecic.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, has no plans to remove personal details from its popular website.

The site receives a monthly average of 250,000 hits – about one quarter of which comes from the Balkans. It contains all public decisions and evidentiary materials from 1994 until today. More than 190,000 documents, arrest orders, briefings and items of evidence are available for public scrutiny.

“Our new web page, which was put into operation in late 2009, is completely the same for all the official languages of The Hague Tribunal as well as in the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages. The popularity of the website is greater than ever,” said tribunal spokesperson Nerma Jelacic.

 

Marija Taušan is a BIRN – Justice Report journalist. marija.tausan@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is an online BIRN weekly publication.

Dusko Knezevic said he was captured by members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, in December 1994 and handed him over to the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, AbiH. They took him to a building that he thought was the Bihac Post Office and mistreated.


"They tied us to a radiator and beat us. I lost six teeth. A man with brown hair was sitting there examining us. (...) The brown-haired man took my colleague Nebojsa out of the room. Then we heard some noise and a shot. Later on we saw Nebojsa lying there. He was dead,” said Knezevic.

 
Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic are charged with assisting in and abetting the detention of members of the Republika Srpska Army and police and civilians in detention facilities in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac from February 1994 to February 1996.

 
The indictment alleges that Selimovic was Counter Intelligence Officer, Operational Officer and Deputy Chief of the Military Security Service Section with the Fifth Corps of theABiH, Ruznic was Assistant Commander for Security Issues and Operational Officer with the same section, and Mustafic was a member of the Military Police with the Fifth ABiH Corps.

 
Knezevic told the court he was transferred from the post office to the Park Hotel basement in Bihac on the same night where he spent two months in inhumane conditions and was exposed to mistreatment every day.
 

"Various soldiers used to come out of curiosity and beat us. They would spill our food on the floor and forced us to eat it. They broke the window. It was cold, and we only had half of a blanket to cover ourselves. (...) They would always ask the same 40 questions,” Knezevic said.

 
He was taken from the hotel to Luke prison in Bihac and then to the Rad factory premises in Cazin. He said he was taken to a prisoner exchange by bus where he was beaten up once again.
 

The second prosecution witness of the day, Perica Kerkez, was also mistreated on the bus. He said he was “beaten up more brutally than ever” on that day.


"They continued beating us all the time during the course of our travel to Licko Petrovo village where the exchange was supposed to happen. When we were about half way to our destination, we stopped in order to be registered by the Red Cross. After that they continued beating us,” Kerkez said.
 

He was wounded during the course of his arrest in October 1994. He said the same soldiers helped him and took him to the hospital in Bihac where he stayed for two months. After being released from the hospital, the witness spent two months in Luke prison before being exchanged.
 

The next hearing is scheduled for August 16.

Milan Mandilovic, a physician who worked at the hospital from 1992 to 1995, said it was kept under artillery and sniper fire from the hills surrounding the city where Bosnian Serb forces were situated during the war.
 

“We did not have any doubts as to who was shooting at us. Those were the Serbian forces. We knew that because we observed the locations from which the firing came. (...) I do not believe the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, AbiH, shelled the military hospital. It neither had the arms nor interest for that,” Mandilovic said.
 

Mandilovic told the court that the hospital was frequently deprived of water, gas, heating and electricity over the course of “the 44 frightful months while Sarajevo was under the siege”.
 

“The conditions were difficult. We lacked medications almost all the time while we also had to constantly reduce our expenditures although the number of patients was not reduced. Nevertheless, the hospital worked on the frontline for 24 hours a day during the course of 44 months. It never stopped working and it was always able to provide assistance to those who needed it,” he said.
 

Karadzic, the former Supreme Commander of the Republika Srpska armed forces, is on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , ICTY, for genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed from 1992 to 1995.
 

The indictment alleges that, from April 1992 to November 1995 Karadzic participated in a sniper and shelling campaign targeted against the civilian population in Sarajevo with the primary goal of spreading terror.
 

Mandilovic said the Sarajevo citizens were exposed to “every day intensive terror spread by artillery and other weapons surrounding the city”. He believes the consequences of the siege can still be seen among the citizens.
 

“It is reflected in the constant anxiety and haste, in traffic for instance. You also notice frequent minor conflicts between people and you will realise it is not normal behaviour. The long siege has had its repercussions, not only physical but mental,” he said.
 

The examination of Momcilo Mandic, which lasted for more than 25 hours, was also completed at this hearing. The former Minister of Justice of Republika Srpska repeated his earlier statement that the RS judicial institutions tried, during the course of the war, Serbs for crimes committed against Bosniaks and Croats.
 

“I know that one person was on trial and sentenced for war crimes committed in Zvornik. The person in question was the head of the Yellow Wasps paramilitary group. This was one of the first activities undertaken by the legal authorities against the paramilitary formations whose members did not want to be controlled by the authorities,” he said.
 

In February this year the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina pronounced a second instance verdict acquitting Mandic of crimes in Sarajevo and the Foca area.
 

The trial will continue on July 19.

Jankovic, Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic and Zeljko Stojnic, former members of the Police Interventions Squad in Prijedor, are charged with participating in the shooting of about 200 men at Koricanske stijene on Mount Vlasic on August 21, 1992.


Prosecutors allege that Jankovic was the commander of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor.

 
Among other documents presented by prosecutors, was an order issued by the Crisis Committee of Prijedor municipality on June 17, 1992, requesting that the Public Safety Station, PSS, form an interventions squad whose main task would be to prevent robberies and check vehicles.

 
"In the upper part of the document we can see that Dusan Jankovic is mentioned as one of the managers who received the order, just like chief Simo Drljaca,” said Slavica Terzic.

 
Drljaca was chief of the PSS in Prijedor. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, charged him with war crimes, but he died prior to the beginning of the trial.

 
The prosecution presented a list of employees with the police station in Prijedor dated May 29, 1992, indicating that Jankovic was the commander. However, there was no signature on the document.

 
"We are presenting an order issued by the First Krajina Corps to the Safety Services Center in Banja Luka on September 8, 1992, which was also copied to Dusan Jankovic. This proves that Jankovic continued performing his function even after the crime had been committed,” Terzic said.
 

Jankovic’s defence objected to the evidence, claiming the documents were not relevant and adding it was not possible to determine from the documents, “in which capacity the indictee was treated”.
 

The trial will continue on August 16.

The witness spoke about the events that took place in Srebrenica in July 1995. The witness asked for protective measures because of “the threats I keep receiving all the time”.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Zeljko Ivanovic, former member of the Second Special Police Squad with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, of Republika Srpska, with having participated in capturing and shooting more than 1,000 Srebrenica residents in the Kravica Agricultural Cooperative, Bratunac municipality, on July 13, 1995.

He is charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise with an aim of “exterminating a group of Bosniaks” by forcibly resettling them and capturing and shooting men and boys.

 
The trial continues on August 26.

He is accused of raping and threatening a young girl in July 1992, saying he would rape her again and kill her family if she reported the attack to anyone.

Prosecutors allege that as he was taking the girl out of her house, he yelled at the other residents and cursed their “insurrectionist mother”. He then fired into the air.

Markovic’s defence lawyer asked the court to transfer the case to the District Court in Doboj. Judges will render their after prosecutors have made their comments on the transfer.

If the case remains with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the trial will begin within 60 days.

The defence of Ante Kovac, former commander of the Military Police Squad with the Vitez Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, will hear from a new witnesses at his retrial on July 23.
 

Kovac was sentenced, by a first instance verdict, to 13 years in prison for war crimes against civilians committed in the Vitez municipality in 1993. He was convicted of the unlawful detention of Bosniaks in a cinema and the Public Accounting Services premises and the rape of two protected witnesses, A and B.
 

The Appellate Chamber upheld the defence’s appeal, revoked the verdict and ordered a retrial which began in May.
 

At the retrial of four former HVO members – due to continue on July 20, 21 and 22 – witness statements given during the course of the first instance trial will be heard again.
 

Marko Radic, Dragan Sunjic, Damir Brekalo and Mirko Vracevic were sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison for crimes committed against Bosniaks detained in Vojno prison, near Mostar, in 1993 and 1994.
 

Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic, former reserve policemen who were sentenced by a first instance verdict to a total of 27 years in prison for war crimes against civilians in Zvornik, are due to appear before the Appellate Chamber on July 22.
 

One day later, new prosecution witnesses will appear at the trial of Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Marinko Ljepoja and Branko Topola who are charged with participating in the shooting of about 200 Prijedor residents at Koricanske stijene on August 21, 1992.

However, Ganic's defence team does not expect the decision on Serbia's request for his extradition to be delivered soon.

“It is very unlikely that we will get a decision for at least a week - possibly two,” defence attorney Stephen Gentle told Balkan Insight on the last day of the hearings.

The ruling is expected to be delivered on July 27.

Ganic was arrested on March 1 in London on an arrest warrant from Serbia, where he is considered a suspect in a war crime case. Serbia has requested his extradition to face trial in Belgrade.

Serbia suspects Ganic of war crimes related to his alleged involvement in an attack on a convoy of the Yugoslav People's Army, JNA, as it was leaving Sarajevo on May 3, 1992. The Serbian prosecution claims that 18 soldiers were killed and 22 wounded in the attack, but the number is contested.

Ejup Ganic was the head of the Bosnian Presidency for 48 hours at the time of the incident, taking the place of the late Alija Izetbegovic who had been kidnapped by the JNA and was being held hostage.

Ganic's defence team claims that the extradition request is politically motivated, a claim that that was echoed by Christian Schwarz-Schilling, a former High Representative in Bosnia who also testified as a witness in the Ganic hearings.

Over the two weeks of hearings, the court heard a number of witnesses from both sides, including politicians, human rights activists, and prosecutors.

James Lewis, who is representing the British prosecution which is on behalf of Serbia, argued that Ganic ordered attacks on a column of soldiers, on a military ambulance and on an officers’ club of the JNA.  

The prosecution invited Serbian deputy war crimes prosecutor Milan Petrovic to testify as a witness at the hearings. Petrovic claimed that Ganic, if extradited, would face a fair trial since the court is “objective and independent”.

According to the BBC, Petrovic said that there is no political influence over the court in Belgrade, claims the defence dismissed. The defence said that they can cite NGOs from Serbia who question the court's independence.

Serbia submitted to the court in London some 200 pages of documentation and two video tapes, claming that the documentation included new evidence about Ganic.

For its part the defence called a number of witnesses, including the former international prosecutor in the Office of the Prosecutor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Philippe Alcock.

During his 2005-2009 mandate, Alcock led the investigation into the incident for which Ganic is accused in Serbia. According to Alcock, no evidence of crimes committed by Ganic was found during his investigation. Alcock also said that Serbia's actions against Ganic are politically motivated.

Bosnia is still investigating the May 1992 incident, and Ganic is considered as one of the suspects.

The defence also called Damir Arnaut, a legal advisor to Haris Silajdzic, who is the Bosniak member of the Presidency. According to the AFP news agency, Arnaut said that after Ganic's arrest he had been involved in Turkish-mediated discussions between Bosnia and Serbia in an attempt to hammer out a deal involving Ganic.

This would have involved “Serbia allowing Ganic to face trial in Bosnia, in exchange for Bosnia not criticising a statement by Serbia's parliament about the Srebrenica massacre of 1995”.

The Serbian parliament adopted a declaration in March that condemns the crime in Srebrenica but does not call it genocide.

A representative from the Turkish embassy in the UK has followed the hearings in London since Ganic was arrested on March 1. 

During the hearings, Ejup Ganic gave an interview for The Sunday Telegraph saying that he fears being murdered in a Serbian prison if a British court sends him to Belgrade to face war crimes charges.

"If I go to a Belgrade prison I would be hanged, it would look like an accident or they would stage some kind of 'suicide'," Ganic said.

On the ninth day of his testimony at the trial of Radovan Karadzic, he said the RS government tried to establish central authorities, not because it wanted to "legalise crimes”, but because it wanted to stop them.

 
"The government invested efforts in centralising the power, because a wide range of unlawful actions, particularly those related to the non-Serbian population, were undertaken in the field. A proposal was made for abolishing crisis committees and autonomous regions in order to prevent those little dukes from forming their little armies, police forces and administrations,” Mandic explained.


Karadzic is on trial for genocide committed in seven Bosnian municipalities in 1992 and in Srebrenica in 1995, as well as crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war.


The indictment alleges that Karadzic, as President of Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of its armed forces, participated in a joint criminal enterprise, in collaboration with members of Bosnian Serb state bodies at the regional, municipal and local level, with an aim of forcing Bosniaks and Croats to leave those territories.

 
Mandic said the RS government appointed a republic inspector in 1992 and tasked the person with "visiting the local authorities and checking the lawfulness of work of local administrations in RS”.

 
After having been presented with a number of documents related to the work of "temporary collection centres" in Trnopolje, Keraterm and Omarska, near Prijedor, Mandic said he knew that Karadzic sent an official note to the RS government requesting it to "improve the living conditions in prisons controlled by civil authorities on the Serbian territories”.


Karadzic asked Mandic to confirm his allegations that the reception centre in Trnopolje was “of an open type”, but the witness was not able to answer the question.

 
"I do not know if it was an open or closed centre. This is the first time I have seen the document. Mr. President, these are military and police documents prepared back in 1993, so I do not know anything about them. However, if you have got any documents involving me as a participant or witness, I would like you to ask me about them. I have never seen these documents before. I feel useless,” Mandic said.


The Hague tribunal previously determined that Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje were detentions camps in which thousands of non-Serb civilians were detained, brutally mistreated, beaten up, raped and tortured in 1992.

 
Judges approved an additional two hours for Karadzic to question Mandic who will continue his testimony on July 16.

D.Dz.

Nikica Pervan said that Dolic was with him and other members of the squad at all times during those days.

Dolic, a former member of the Hawks Reconnaissance Squad with the Rama Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, is accused of raping a woman and threatening her by saying he would kill her in Druzinovici village in Prozor municipality in late July or early August 1993. He is also charged with having raped two Bosniak women in the same village in early August and mistreated and physically abused civilians.

 

"On July 31, 1993 we went to Crni vrh as our military positions at that location had been taken over by enemy. We did not know if the Second Battalion members were still at the location. Upon arrival, we saw members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Pervan, confirming the indictee was there as well.

 
He said that members of Hawks, including Dolic, returned to the base at about 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., adding they searched the terrain on the two following days as a member of their squad had not come back with them the day before.


"Darko searched the terrain with us. We went to the frontlines in the following days,” the witness said.


Responding to a question from the prosecutor, Pervan said he could not remember at which frontline they were, because they usually went wherever they were needed, but he could remember that Dolic was with them.


The trial continues on August 26 when two defence witnesses will be examined.

Acting on a motion filed by the State Prosecution, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has imprisoned Srpko Pustivuk, citing fears he might flee, that he may have committed war crimes against civilians and that he might disturb the proceedings by influencing witnesses and accomplices. 

"Besides that, the custody has been ordered due to the existence of extraordinary circumstances which indicate that the suspect’s release to liberty would result in a real threat to the public order, considering the way in which the crimes were committed and the consequences of the crimes,” says an announcement from the State Court. 

The State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, arrested Pustivuk in Bijeljina on July 13. 

Prosecutors suspect that Pustivuk, a former member of the Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station in Ilijas, participated in an attack against civilians in the village of Gornja Bioca, Ilijas municipality, in May and June 1992. Several people, including children, were killed. 

Pustivuk is also suspected of having arrested and captured Bosniak civilians who were then taken to detention camps and other detention facilities. 

His detention may last until August 13.

Momcilo Mandic blamed the SAOs, not the RS central government, for the arresting of civilians and said that is why they were abolished.

 

 "In my opinion, the SAOs came as a result of mistakes in organisation of the Serbian republic, because we actually made small states with separate powers – executive, legislative and judicial. Naturally, right-oriented staff members made inappropriate decisions and had inappropriate stands, especially at the beginning of the war.” Mandic said.

 

He began his testimony at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, on June 30 this year.

 

Karadzic, the former President of the Republika Srpska, RS, is charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise, in collaboration with members of the political and military leadership of the Bosnian Serbs, with the aim of deporting Bosniaks and Croats, as well as genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war.

 

The indictment alleges that starting in March 1992, Bosniaks and Croats living in municipalities controlled by Serbs were exposed to restrictive and discriminatory measures, groundless arrests, vexation, torture, rape, murder as well as the destruction of houses, cultural monuments and sacred buildings.

 

Karadzic, who was cross examining Mandic, presented the witness with an order issued in July 1992 by which the indictee ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, to open investigations into war crimes committed by “paramilitary group members and criminals”.

 

"The police conducted investigations on the entire territory of the republic. After having completed the criminal procedure, they referred certain crimes to competent prosecutions for further processing. We are talking about investigations related to paramilitary formations, whose members, who were armed, came to Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in the war, but, instead of participating in combat, they robbed people,” Mandic said.

 

Mandic said that the RS Justice Ministry proposed to the RS government in November 1992 to temporarily transfer war crimes cases from the military to civilian judiciary, considering the fact that the military judiciary “was not properly organised or efficient”.

 

"Had they listened to my proposal there would have been many fewer crimes and offences. Had this happened, we would now be able to present to the honourable court the names of people who were on trial and the criminal sanctions pronounced against them,” he said.

 

Karadzic objected to Mandic’s statement, adding the Serbian military judicial authorities pronounced several hundred years of prison sentences against Serbs who were found guilty of crimes against Muslims and Croats, while the other side did not pronounce similar verdicts.

 

"I am not saying that no verdicts were pronounced, but I am talking about being self-critical. Had we started doing it earlier, fewer crimes would have happened. I am just talking about preventive activities. As far as the Muslim side is concerned, I really do not know about someone having been processed for crimes committed against Serbs,” Mandic said.

 

Mandic will continue his testimony on July 15.

 

Kovac, former Commander of the Military Police Squad of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), was found guilty in July 2009 of war crimes in the Vitez municipality, and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.

His counsel appealed the verdict on the basis of substantial violations of procedure, in particular that the court allowed trial proceedings to lapse for 30 days without renewing them. The court agreed that this affected the proper pronouncement of the verdict.

The first witness was Vlado Alilovic, now the mayor of Vitez. He spoke of crisis meetings held in Vitez before the outbreak of Croat-Muslim hostilities, where town leaders discussed how they would react if war came. "Kovac was not present at any meetings, as far as I know,"
said Alilovic. "I know he worked in the police though."

The second witness, Bruno Busuk, agreed. "Ante Kovac never attended any meeting that I did," he said. "He never had anything to do with the arrests by the civilian police."

According to Busuk, Kovac was never in a position to order the detention of civilians. "His rank was the lowest rank," he said. "He had no power to make decisions."

Busuk did describe seeing the captive civilians. "They were mostly men, civilian men. They were free to come and go... There were some women, but they were the women that came to bring them food."

The third witness, Sulejman Kavazovic, was one of the prisoners who had been held by the HVO in Vitez. "I was arrested and held in the SDK," Kavazovic said. "Though I was in the TO [Territorial Defence], I was arrested as a civilian, I was not in uniform."

Kavazovic, who could only testify briefly because of health problems, said that he was not aware of prisoners being mistreated at the hands of Kovac. "I never heard about Ante Kovac beating anyone," he said.

The trial continues on July 23 then will take a break for the summer.

After being been captured near Kljuc, Lazo Bursac said he was taken to the Plastic Production Factory in Bosanski Petrovac where he was questioned by “Meha”. He identified Selimovic in the courtroom as that person.  

“Meha’s officer made me coffee and gave me a shaving kit. After that he gave me a piece of paper and a pen, telling me I should write down all I knew. (...) When Meha had read it, he asked me what had happened to his 15 men as I forgot to write down that I had heard they had been killed. So, I wrote that down as well,” Bursac said. 

Prosecutors accuse Selimovic, Ruznic and Emir Mustafic of assisting in and abetting the detention of members of the Republika Srpska Army and police and civilians in detention centers in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac from February 1994 to February 1996. 

The indictment alleges that Selimovic was Counter-Intelligence Officer, Operational Officer and Deputy Chief of the Military Security Service Section with the Fifth Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ruznic was Assistant Commander for Security Affairs and Operational Officer with the same section, and Mustafic was a member of the Military Police forces with the Fifth Corps. 

The witness said that some ABiH members beat him on the day he was arrested including a person known as “Hodza” who beat him while he was in Kljuc. 

“Hodza tied my neck and leg and roped me to a stick. (...) Later on he handcuffed me and hit me with baseball bats,” the witness recalled. He spent five days in Kljuc. 

After being held in Bosanski Petrovac, the witness was transferred to the “27. juli” military barracks in Bihac and then to Luke prison, saying the prison staff did not want to admit him due to his injuries. 

“They first took me to a hospital where I was examined by a doctor. (...) Medical treatment for my injuries was provided over the course of one month I spent in the prison. Everything was fair and correct, except for an incident that took place on the first morning when a man named Huso beat me up. He apologised later on,” the witness said. 

Bursac said he was questioned by Ruznic, whom he recognised in the courtroom, while he was held in Luke prison. 

“Adil had known me from before. I knew his family. I can say nothing but good things about them,” the witness said, adding the accommodation conditions, food and hygiene in the prison were good. 

“I got cigarettes. The food was extraordinary. I think I actually recuperated during the course of my stay in Bihac,” Bursac said. He was exchanged on December 23, 1995, after two and a half months in detention. 

The trial will continue on July 16.

Defence lawyers for Enes Handzic had intended to stage a courtroom confrontation between witnesses Sabahudin Gazic and Zvonimir Silic, but Gazic didn’t appear in court.
 

In November 2008 Gazic testified for the prosecution and spoke about the events in the Vojin Paleksic school building and other buildings in Bugojno in which members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, were detained.

Handzic, Nisvet Gasal, Musajb Kukavica and Senad Dautovic are charged with crimes committed against Croat civilians and HVO members in Bugojno area in 1993 and 1994, including at the Vojin Paleksic school building, the Marxist Center – Cloister, the Cultural and Sports Center, a furniture shop, a gymnasium, the BH banka premises and at the Iskra stadium.
 

The indictment alleges that Gasal was manager and Kukavica was commander of security at the Iskra stadium detention camp where about 300 Croats were held in inhumane conditions. Handzic, former Assistant Commander for Security with the 307th Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dautovic, former Chief of the Public Safety Station in Bugojno, are charged with participation in making plans for detaining civilians in Bugojno.
 

A summons will be sent to a different address for Gazic as he does not live at the address registered as his place of residence.
 

The trial will continue on August 25.

Mandic, the former Minister of Justice with the RS, said the government did all in its power to prevent events that were detrimental to Serbs as well as Muslims and Croats, “in those difficult times when it was starting from scratch”.

“The government undertook measures in order to prevent violations of human rights and international norms, but this not being enough, you undertook some measures within your level of authority. (...) You issued an order on the way prisoners of war were to be treated. I consider this was a necessary step as the coordination with the field staff was poor at the time,” Mandic said, responding to Radovan Karadzic’s questions.

Karadzic, the former RS President and Supreme Commander of its armed forces, is on trial before the ICTY for genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war.

He is charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise, in collaboration with other Bosnian Serb leaders, with the aim of forcing Bosnian Muslims and Croats to leave the territories claimed by Serbs.

Mandic began his testimony on June 30.

He said the Serb government never had “criminal intentions”, adding the local municipal authorities and crisis committees sometimes detained non-Serb women and children, but the RS government put an end to it by establishing the Central Commission for Exchange of Prisoners of War.

Mandic said the justice ministry made attempts to employ judges and prosecutors belonging to different ethnic groups for three months after the beginning of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina .

 “The idea was resisted in some parts of the republic and even in the assembly, as some delegates expressed their dissatisfaction with my proposals and your endorsement of non-Serb officials. Certain appointments were even prolonged until we discussed the issue with those who objected to them and convinced them this was the way it should be done,” Mandic said.

Karadzic will continue cross examining Mandic on July 14.

D.Dz.

Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic, and Slobodan Ostojic, all former members of the reserve forces of the Zvornik Public Security Station (PSS), were convicted in September 2008 of committing war crimes against civilians.

However, the Appellate Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina upheld the defence teams’ subsequent appeal, which said the verdict contained, “substantive violations of the Criminal Procedure Code and Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina” and overturned the judgment in September 2009.

Prosecutors had charged the indictees with taking part in the beating of prisoners held at detention facilities located at the Municipal Misdemeanor Court and DP Novi Izvor buildings in Zvornik from May 1992 to March 1993.

The defence said the verdict was based on “disputable and contradictory” evidence, a claim the prosecution said was baseless.

Lazarevic, deputy warden for the detention facilities, was sentenced to 10 years in prison; Stanojevic to seven years; and Markovic and Ostojic to five years each. Stanojevic, Markovic and Ostojic were prison guards at Novi Izvor.

During his original testimony Buljubasic, who was imprisoned at Novi Izvor from late May 1992 until the following July 15, said that some soldiers “carved with knives, crosses on the foreheads and other body parts of three prisoners.” However, Buljubasic also testified that he had never been beaten because Stanojevic said the witness had been “wrongly imprisoned.”

Isic, who was the community president in Glumina village at the beginning of the war, testified for the defence about the role of prosecution witness Ramiz Smajlovic, who he says was president of the Glumina Crisis Committee from 1991 until the beginning of the war in 1992. Smajlovic denies being part of the Crisis Committee and says Stanojevic and Ostojic beat him while he was imprisoned at Novi Izvor, beatings he also says Lazarevic watched.

The trial will continue on July 22 with a review of the testimony of Mustafa Halilovic, the last prosecution witness at the original trial. Closing arguments in the retrial have been scheduled for August 31.

 

Brian Giulieri

Prior to entering his not guilty plea, Alispago told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that he did not have enough time to read and understand the indictment due to the large amount of documentation. 

“You can bring here all experts from the world and let them read [the documents]. If any of them can understand this and tell me what I am charged with, I will agree to be imprisoned,” said Alispago.

Judge Jasmina Kosovic rejected the defence proposal that the hearing be postponed, explaining the indictment was confirmed on June 21 and that Alispago had enough time to consider it along with a team of five attorneys. 

Alispago is charged with having known about the attack conducted by his subordinates on Trusina village in the Konjic municipality on April 16, 1993 and having failed to undertake the necessary measures to punish the perpetrators. 

The prosecution alleges that 19 civilians were killed and four, including two children, were wounded during the attack. Three members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, were killed. 

Alispago told the court that data suggesting he had citizenship of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was not correct. 

 Alispago was arrested in February this year. He has been held in custody since. 

His case has been joined with that against Mensur Memic, Dzevad Salcin, Nedzad Hodzic, Nihad Bojadzic and Senad Hakalovic, former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with the same crime. Their trial is due to begin at the end of August.

Pustivuk, a former member of the Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station in Ilijas, was arrested in Bijeljina. He is suspected of having participated, together with other members of Republika Srpska Army and the police, in an attack against civilians in the village of Gornja Bioca during May and June 1992, causing death and severe injuries to villagers including children.

Pustivuk is also suspected of the arrest and capture of Bosniak civilians who were then taken to detention camps and other detention facilities.

E.M.

Prosecutors say Nikacevic should have received a longer sentence and pay the trial costs, while defence lawyers called on appeals judges to overturn the verdict and order a retrial due to violations of the Criminal Proceedings Code.

 

Nikacevic, a former policeman from Foca, was sentenced, in February 2009 for raping a woman in April 1992 and a girl in July 1992 whom he threatened, saying he would bring her younger brother “to watch what he was doing to her”.

 

He was also found guilty of having participated, in August 1992, in the arrest of Rasim Klapuh whom he handed over to military police. The court determined that Klapuh was then taken to the Penal and Correctional Facility in Foca. He has been missing ever since.

 

"After having reviewed the first instance verdict, the prosecution concluded that the court should have pronounced a much stricter sentence against Nikacevic and consider the severity of the crime’s consequences, because the two rape victims’ family life has been destroyed for good,” prosecutor Behaija Krnjic said, adding the two victims would be traumatised forever.

 

Defence attorney Izet Bazdarevic said the proposal was “groundless”, calling on the court to revoke the verdict and order a retrial.

 

"The two persons, who claim to have been raped, whose statements were the basis for the court’s first instance verdict, did not tell the truth. They are his neighbours who paid visits to his wife and him after the war. What made the two persons report innocent Nikacevic 13 years after the end of the war? This is the key questions that should be addressed by the court,” Bazdarevic said.

 

He said the two women reported Nikacevic so they would get the status of civil victims of war and a corresponding financial allowance.

 

Judges will render their decision at a later stage.

"Paras assembled us. I think this was the first and last time we were arrayed. We were informed about a big convoy. We were told the entire squad should go. No squad members were missing," said First Interventions Squad member Miljan Zubanovic, adding he did not join his colleagues on that day but went home.

Miroslav Paras, who was killed during the war, was commander of the Interventions Section with the Public Safety Station in Prijedor which consisted of two squads.

Zubanovic was testifying at the trial of Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic who are charged with participation in the shooting of about 200 men at Koricanske stijene on Mount Vlasic on August 21, 1992.

The indictment alleges that Jankovic was commander of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor and the other indictees were members of the Police Interventions Squad.

The second prosecution witness, Velibor Vrabicic, also a former member of the First Interventions Squad, did not join his colleagues escorting the convoy on August 21, despite the fact he was there when the squad was assembled.

"The convoy departed from a location near the stadium in Tukovi. Upon my arrival Paras told me to go back, telling me something like I was not capable of fulfilling the task. Me and him did not understand and like each other. He was rather close to some other guys, but he underrated me as a soldier," Vrabicic said.

He later heard that "something happened" on Mount Vlasic. He found out what it was when he was tasked to go to the location with several other colleagues.

"Upon our arrival we saw Simo Drljaca. Then I saw the mass grave. We were told to remove the corpses," the witness said, adding that some bodies were set on fire while the others were covered with rocks as it was not possible to access them.

When asked whether he found out who had committed the murders, Vrabicic said that "it was known that most murders were committed by our squad members", but he did not know who took part.

Drljaca, the former chief of the Prijedor police, was indicted before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, but has since died.

The trial will continue on July 16.

Among the more than 3,500 body parts buried so far in Potocari, near Srebrenica - victims of the 1995 genocide in the eastern Bosnian town - 30 belong to women.

Some of these women were killed by members of army and police of Republika Srpska after they stormed the UN Safe zone where mostly Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) lived, and proceeded to put to death thousands of men and boys. Others committed suicide. Some died of grief and trauma after seeing their men and children taken away.

 

Most of the 30,000 civilians expelled from the town after the Serbian takeover were women. Piled onto buses and trucks that took them away from their homes, many left alone, wondering what fate lay in store for their children, fathers, brothers, husbands and cousins.

For the last 15 years these women survivors have been retelling their stories about Srebrenica and about what they lost, fighting for the truth to emerge and for the memory of what the town experienced not to die.  
But while they talk about their lost children and family members, few speak about themselves and about the rape and murder of women in Srebrenica in July 1995.  

The exact number of rapes that occurred in the town in 1995 is hard to establish. “Women were raped and sexually abused during the fall of Srebrenica, although the extent of such abuse remains unclear,” Human Rights Watch concluded in its report from Fall of Srebrenica from October 1995.

 
In the judgment of Radoslav Krstic, sentenced in 2004 to 35 years’ prison for complicity in genocide, it was concluded that “sexual assaults were likely” after the fall of Srebrenica – but no figure was given.

Experts who have worked over many years with victims from Srebrenica say it is rare to hear women speaking about rape, mainly because of the stigma that surrounds rape and because even now, they are too overwhelmed by everything else that happened to them and their families to talk about their own personal experiences.

Rape as well as murder:

The United Nations proclaimed Srebrenica and the nearby enclave of Zepa “Safe Areas” in 1993.
After the Army of Republika Srpska, VRS, swept through the Drina valley of eastern Bosnia in 1992, tens of thousands of Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslim) refugees fled to the two enclaves. Surrounded by the VRS they lived in appalling conditions, desperately short of food, water and medicines.

Conditions were overcrowded. Before the war started, Srebrenica was a relatively small town of about 10,000. By the time it was proclaimed a UN Safe Area, the number had more than tripled.

In March 1995, Radovan Karadzic, president and supreme commander of the Republika Srpska issued a chilling directive concerning the long-term strategy of the VRS as regards Srebrenica.

Directive 7 specified that “by planned and well-thought out combat operations”, the VRS was to “create an unbearable situation of total insecurity with no hope of further survival or life for the inhabitants of Srebrenica”.  

On July 11, 1995, the VRS, headed by General Mladic, indicted 15 years ago by the Hague war crimes tribunal, entered Srebrenica. Thousands of men fled towards the woods in the hope of reaching territory under the control of the government in Sarajevo. Thousands of others left towards the UN base at Potocari, expecting protection from the UN Dutch battalion.

They did not get it. Instead, mass killings began on the morning of July 12. In just over seven days, about 8,000 people were killed.

According to the first-instance judgment pronounced in The Hague on June 10, 2010 in the case of eight former high-ranking military and police officers from Republika Srpska, 5,336 bodies have since been identified.

“The final number could be much more that 7,826,” the chamber added, while issuing the second genocide verdict since 1993, the year when International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, ICTY, was established. The first, in the Krstic case, came six years ago.

But the fate of the women left behind in Srebrenica still contains many unknowns. According to UN Secretary General’s Report on the fall of Srebrenica of November 1995, a UN soldier, on arriving in Zagreb from Srebrenica, told the media there that “the hunting season is in full swing” in Srebrenica, adding that “not only men but also women are targeted.

“Some are shot and wounded, others have had their ears cut off and some women have been raped,” the same soldier said.

Another member of the UN Dutch battalion, who testified during the Krstic trial, said much the same. “We saw two Serb soldiers, one of them was standing guard and the other one was lying on the girl, with his pants off,” he said.

“And we saw a girl lying on the ground on some kind of mattress. There was blood on the mattress and she was covered with blood. She had bruises on her legs. There was even blood coming down her legs. She was in total shock.”

The trial chamber in the Krstic case concluded that many people witnessed rapes in Srebrenica on July 12 but “could do nothing about it because of Serb soldiers standing nearby”.

“Other people heard women screaming, or saw women being dragged away… Throughout the night and early the next morning, stories about the rapes and killings spread through the crowd and the terror in the camp escalated,” the judgment added.

Kadir Habibovic, one of the witnesses at the Krstic trial, said he saw at least one bus full of women “being driven away”. He remembered hearing one of the Serb soldiers complaining that they were not getting a good choice of the women from Srebrenica.

The HRW report about fall of Srebrenica mentions rape, while noticing that women rarely speak about it. However, they registered one case, adding that journalists who met refugees from the town in Tuzla recorded others.

One journalist wrote that the women had said they saw Bosnian Serb soldiers taking two girls, aged 12 and 14, and another woman, away from Potocari. When the girls returned, they were naked, covered with scratches and bruises and bleeding from the assault.  

“Reportedly, there was no water to wash the blood off themselves, so they tried to wipe it off with clothes that people gave them,” wrote the journalist cited in the HRW report.

Another reporter cited in the HRW report wrote about a woman who said she watched with other women in Potocari with “half-closed eyes, pretending to be asleep, and hoping not to be next”, as four Serb soldiers raped a woman nearby.   

Other witnesses recalled observing rapes in silence. They said two soldiers took hold of the woman’s legs, raising them up in the air “while the third [man] began raping her. Four of them were taking turns on her. People were silent, no one moved.  She was screaming and yelling and begging them to stop. They put a rag into her mouth and then we just heard silent sobs coming from her closed lips.”

 

Few will speak out:

Though rape has been recognized as a factor in Srebrenica by one of the judgments, the ICTY has never actually indicted anybody for rape in Srebrenica.

Recently, however, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina indicted three former members of the Republika Srpska police, Dusko Jevic, Nedjo Ikonic and Goran Markovic, for rape in Srebrenica, among other things.

One victim testified at their trial this spring, under the pseudonym “113”, saying that she was raped on July 13 by one soldier, while the others were watching. “I begged them to let me go,” she told the judges.

Witness 113 first told her story to members of the association Women Victims of War in 2007. Asked in court why it had taken her so long to talk about the rape, she answered that she had felt ashamed.

Fadila Memisevic, president of the Society of Endangered People in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told Balkan Insight that few women from Srebrenica are willing to talk about rape.

“We work closely with the associations of women of Srebrenica and the ICTY… and many stories were told to us by women, but I can remember only one woman using explicitly the word ‘rape’,” Memisevic recalled.
“It is one of specifics of Srebrenica that women do not talk about rape,” Teufika Ibrahimefendic, a psychologist from Vive Zene, a women’s organization in Tuzla, told Balkan Insight.

Ibrahimefendic has worked with women victims of the war since the war ended. Many of her patients were and are women from Srebrenica who survived highly traumatic experiences.

“But they did not talk about rape even in 1995, when they arrived in Tuzla,” she said. “They were focused on the family members they had lost and since then they have been focusing on finding them,” she added. “It’s as if their personal traumas are less important, because they survived.”

Bakira Hasecic, director of the Women Victims of War association, agreed that women were reluctant to talk, but said some did talk in the end. “We managed to identify about 20 women from Srebrenica who told us they were raped in July 1995,” Hasecic said.

The first ICTY judgment recognizing rape was in 2001 in a case about Foca, in eastern Bosnia, where thousands of girls and women had been sexually abused during the war. This decision encouraged many to start talking more openly about this crime.

For years, several organizations in Bosnia have been lobbying for the rights of wartime rape victims, encouraging them to not only testify but also to speak out in public and identify those who committed the crime against them.

But Memisevic said that the stigma surrounding this crime still existed and was strong among people from a town like Srebrenica. “Life in that area was different during the war. They were totally separated from the rest of the world and suffered a lot,” she said.

“They do not even talk much among themselves about what happened. That extreme experience… makes people from Srebrenica not that close to each other in many ways,” Memisevic suggested.  

Ibrahimefendic agreed, adding that the trauma suffered by the people of Srebrenica still continued, 15 years on.

“So many people just disappeared in couple of days,” she said. “Now they have to find a way to live without all they left behind and to search for traces of their loved ones.”

Many survivors had also since left the country, becoming physically separated from what remained of their families. “Many of them are living on just to be able to attend the events in Potocari on July 11 when the slaughter is commemorated and mass burial is held for those whose bodies were identified,” she said.

The indictment, confirmed on June 16, alleges that Dronjak and Rodic committed crimes against humanity and crimes against prisoners of war.

Dronjak, a former manager of detention centres and detention camps in the Drvar municipality, and Rodic, a guard shift commander, are charged with participating in, establishing and maintaining a punishment and abuse system in the Slavko Rodic school building and the Kamenica detention camp in Drvar.

They are alleged to have organised the detention of civilians and prisoners of war in the buildings where prisoners were tortured, beaten up, murdered and forced to perform hard labour on a daily basis.

The indictment alleges that Dronjak and Rodic, acting in collaboration with detention centres and detention camp guards, policemen and military policemen with the Second Krajina Corps as well as their commanders, "deliberately participated in a joint criminal enterprise" from May 1992 to the end of 1995, assisting in and supporting the persecution of the non-Serbian population.

The two men were arrested in January and have been in custody since.

Their trial will begin within 60 days.

Women wept and whispered prayers as they finally laid to rest their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands, who were among over 8,000 Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) killed in only a few days after Bosnian Serb forces overrun Srebrenica on July 11, 1995.

The survivors sat by the graves dug out for their loved ones wiping off tears and emitting the air of loneliness in the midst of the swarming crowd.

Remains of the victims, who died at age from 14 to 78 years, were exhumed since the end of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war from numerous mass graves found in the area and identified through DNA analysis.

Their names were read out for over an hour as their coffins were carried from hand to hand to the freshly dug graves covering an entire hill.

Among the victims buried on Sunday were five relatives of 58-year-old Fatima Dautbasic.

Dautbasic, who lost 50 male relatives in the massacre, is still searching for her son, who was 21 at the time she last saw him, in July 1995.

“I wish I could find him, I wish he could finally find peace in Potocari,” Dautbasic told Balkan Insight.

“I am haunted by memories, I cannot stop hoping that my loved ones will suddenly appear, that they will come back to me, but nobody comes,” she added. “Potocari is the only place where I can reunite with my family.”

The mass funeral on Sunday brings the number of victims buried at the Potocari memorial cemetery to 4,522. The cemetery was built in 2003 across from an abandoned car battery factory that was the wartime base for Dutch UN soldiers.

At the time of the massacre, Srebrenica was declared a United Nation’s “safe haven” but a few hundred Dutch UN soldiers were not a match for heavily armed advancing Serb troops.

They stepped aside and watched as Serb soldiers came into their base in Potocari, where thousands of Bosniaks fled hoping for protection, and begun separating men from women to take them to the execution sites.

Many others were hunted down and shot while trying to flee through the forests to the territory then controlled by Bosniak-led government forces.

The remains of 6,481 massacre victims identified so far through the DNA analysis were in most cases found scattered among several secondary graves, where they had been moved from initial clandestine burial sites, in an attempt by Serbs to cover up the crime.

A number of international dignitaries joined the Srebrenica commemorations, most notably the president of Serbia Boris Tadic.

Serbia has for years denied the scale of the crime, the only episode of Bosnia's war to have been ruled a genocide by the UN war crimes tribunal and the International Court of Justice, both based in The Hague.

However, the Serbian parliament passed a resolution in March condemning the massacre and apologizing to the victims to the dismay of Bosnian Serbs who continue to deny that what happened in Srebrenica constituted genocide and to question the number of killed.

Upon the arrival in Srebrenica, Tadic was greeted by Kada Hotic, who lost her husband, son and two brothers in the massacre.

Hotic welcomed Tadic and said “we are receiving you in peace”.

Tadic’s presence in Srebrenica provoked different reactions from the crowd as some shouted “Bravo Boris” and others “Why did not you bring (Ratko) Mladic?”

Tadic did not address the gathering, but he told journalist that “he will do everything in his power to secure the arrest of Ratko Mladic”. Mladic, who led the Bosnian Serb troops involved in the killings, is believed to be hiding in Serbia more than 15 years since being indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal for war crimes and genocide committed during Bosnia’s war.

Ahead of the burial, the US ambassador to Bosnia Charles English read a letter from the American President Barack Obama to the gathered mourners.

“I believe that the horror of Srebrenica was a stain on our collective consciousness… fifteen years ago today despite decades of pledges of never again, 8,000 men and boys were murdered in these fields and hills,” the letter said.

It added that the victims “relied on the promises of the international protection but in their hour of greatest need they were left to fend for themselves.”

“We recognize that there cannot be lasting peace without justice and we know that we will all be judged by the efforts we make in pursuit of justice.”

Foreign dignitaries present in Srebrenica on Sunday also included French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and presidents of Montenegrin and Slovenian presidents Filip Vujanovic and Danilo Tuerk respectively.

While expressing compassion with the victims and survivors of the Srebrenica massacre, top international envoy to Bosnia, Valentin Inzko said he believed “honorable people will prevail over those who spread hate”.

“We believe that honorable people will prevail over those who question genocide in Srebrenica because such people have no future, they are not part of our civilization,” Inzko said.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Srebrenica in 2009 calling the massacre "the biggest war crime in Europe since the end of WWII" and "a symbol of the international community’s impotence to intervene and protect civilians".

All over the Europe, July 11 will be marked as a day of commemoration for the victims of Srebrenica. All Western Balkan countries except Bosnia have adopted resolutions condemning the crimes committed 15 years ago in Srebrenica. However, numerous initiatives to adopt such resolution in Bosnia have been blocked by Serb deputies in the country’s central parliament.

In a recent interview for an Austrian daily newspaper, top Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said that the killings in Srebrenica were a „cruel crime….but not genocide, because women and children were not killed”.

Also, the strongest Bosnian Serb opposition party decorated its founder, Radovan Karadzic, on Saturday, a day before the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.

Under the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, which ended the Bosnian war, the country was divided into two largely self-governing entities, the Republika Srpska and the Croat-Bosniak federation.

Srebrenica remains a part of the Republika Srpska and only a handful of massacre survivors returned to the town since the end of the war.

 

Up to 50,000 mourners are expected to attend the funeral of 775 newly identified victims, who died aged from 14 to 78 years, at a memorial cemetery in Potocari, near Srebrenica.

Among the victims who will be buried on Sunday are five relatives of 58-year-old Fatima Dautbasic.
Dautbasic, who lost 50 male relatives in the massacre, is still searching for her son, who was 21 at the time she last saw him in July 1995. 

“I wish I could find him, I wish he could finally find peace in Potocari where my two brothers and many other relatives have already been buried,” Dautbasic told Balkan Insight.

“I am haunted by memories, I cannot stop hoping that my loved ones will suddenly appear, that they will come back to me, but nobody comes…Potocari is the only place where I can reunite with my family,” she added. 

So far, 3,747 massacre victims whose remains had been exhumed from numerous mass graves around Srebrenica have been buried at the memorial cemetery in Potocari. The site was built in 2003 across from an abandoned car battery factory that was the wartime base for Dutch U.N. soldiers.

Over 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were captured and summarily executed in the space of a week after Bosnian Serb forces overran the town on July 11, 1995.

Many of the victims sought refuge in the U.N base in Potocari, but were taken away and killed when a few hundred Dutch U.N peacekeepers stepped aside before heavily armed Serb forces.

Others were hunted down and shot while trying to flee through the forests to the territory then controlled by Bosniak-led government forces.

The victims’ bodies were dumped in a number of mass graves, many of which have been exhumed since the end of the war. The remains were in most cases found in secondary graves, where they had been moved from initial burial sites in an attempt by Serbs to cover up war crimes. As the result, fragments of one person are often found scattered among several mass grave sites.

The International Commission on Missing Persons, established at the end of Bosnia's 1992-95 war, has so far established the identity of 6,481 massacre victims by analyzing DNA profiles extracted from bone samples of exhumed remains with those obtained from blood samples donated by relatives of the missing.

The partial remains of over 1,800 identified Srebrenica victims will not be buried yet because their families have chosen to wait in hope that the rest of the remains will be found as mass graves continue to be discovered in eastern Bosnia.

Selveta Alibasic is among those who decided to wait. The remains of her husband and son were recently found and identified. But while her husband’s skeleton is more or less complete, only four of her son's bones have so far been located.

Alibasic told Balkan Insight earlier that she believed she could not handle re-opening her child's grave to bury remains that might be found later and that she thus preferred waiting until she can put her loved ones "to rest in peace."

This year, one Catholic victim of the massacre, Rudolf Hren, will also be buried in Potocari.

Hren lived in Srebrenica before and during the war and was a member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His family agreed that he be buried with the other victims in Potocari, but with Catholic insignia on his grave and with a priest presiding over the burial. The Islamic community gave its approval, as well as families of other Srebrenica victims who are buried in Potocari.

Hren’s mother Barbara, who returned to Srebrenica after the war, told journalists that she wanted her son “to be together with his friends”.

“We have Slovenians, Germans, Romanians, Yugoslavs and Bosniaks in our family. They all come to visit me…I have everything I need to live, but my soul is empty because I no longer have my children,” said Barbara Hren, whose other son Ivan was killed in Srebrenica in 1992.

Many foreign dignitaries, including French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Serbian and Croatian Presidents Boris Tadic and Ivo Josipovic respectively, will attend the funeral in Potocari to pay respect to the victims of the massacre.

The mass killing is the only episode of Bosnia's 1992-95 war to have been ruled a genocide by the UN war crimes tribunal and the International Court of Justice, both based in The Hague.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Srebrenica in 2009 calling the massacre "the biggest war crime in Europe since the end of WWII" and "a symbol of the international community’s impotence to intervene and protect civilians".

All over the Europe, July 11 will be marked as a day of commemoration for the victims of Srebrenica. All Western Balkan countries except Bosnia have adopted resolutions condemning the crimes committed 15 years ago in Srebrenica. However, numerous initiatives to adopt such resolution in Bosnia have been blocked by Serb deputies in the country’s central parliament.

Bosnian Serbs continue to deny that what happened in Srebrenica constituted genocide and to question the number of victims.

In a recent interview for an Austrian daily newspaper, top Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said that the killings in Srebrenica were a „cruel crime….but not genocide, because women and children were not killed”.

On July 11, 1995, a TV presenter in the Bosnian Serb headquarters in Pale announced on prime-time news

that the Bosnian Serbian army, VRS, was “liberating Srebrenica in a strong attack”.

The news continued: “This took place after the Muslim side attacked the area outside the protected zone of Srebrenica and burned down some villages around the town.

“At this moment, the reception of the civilians and UNPROFOR representatives is going on. Everything is under control and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

“Every armed man will be treated in accordance with international conventions. At this moment, the [Muslim] soldiers are giving up their arms. During the night, it is expected that even paramilitary forces around Zepa will give up fighting… Muslims, especially those who did not commit any kind of crime, have no reason to be afraid.”

The same announcement was read out three times during the half-hour news broadcast. No pictures from the town were shown.

That day, Milan Gvero, Assistant Commander for Morale and Legal and Religious Affairs of the Army of Republika Srpska, VRS, spoke with Radovan Karadzic, supreme commander and Bosnian Serb president, also saying that “everything is going according to plan”.

Almost 15 years on, the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, ICTY, on June 10 pronounced a first-instance verdict for Gvero, sentencing him to five years’ jail for his role in the genocide committed in Srebrenica.

As the verdict was read out in court, the judge recalled that Gvero had issued a press statement on July 19, 1995, saying that the activities of the VRS were directed towards “neutralizing Muslim terrorists and not civilians.
“While the release of false information to the media and international authorities does not constitute a criminal act, the purpose of the release was not an innocent one,” the verdict said.

“The only reasonable inference as to the goal behind this communiqué is that it was intended to mislead, in particular the international authorities concerned with protecting the enclave, with a view to delaying any action on their part that might thwart the VRS’s military efforts,” it concluded.   

An important role in the war

The trial chamber’s conclusion was that “by disseminating false information”, among other things, Gvero contributed to the joint criminal enterprise, part of whose goal was to ethnically cleanse the Srebrenica area of eastern Bosnia. 

Gvero was sentenced together with seven other high-ranking military and police officials after a trial lasting two-and-a-half years. The prosecution and defence teams have until September 8 to appeal.

This was the first time that the ICTY trial chamber had recognized the role of propaganda in a verdict concerning the genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995.

Earlier, the Hague prosecution indicted the former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic for manipulating the media after taking power in the mid-1980s.

The role of the media and propaganda was mentioned also in the indictment and trial of Momcilo Krajisnik, the former Bosnian Serb assembly speaker sentenced in 2009 to 20 years’ jail. But he was not actually convicted over this issue.

In the Krajisnik verdict, the trial chamber concluded that the media played an important role in the Bosnian war. It noted that in September 1991 the Serbian military took over television and radio installations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to broadcast “Serbian programmes that intimidated other nationalities, and barring Muslim leaders from the radio while giving leaders of the SDS unlimited access”.

The Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, was the governing Bosnian Serb party at the time.

One former ICTY prosecutor, speaking anonymously, told Balkan Insight that the aim in proving the role of propaganda was to establish “the connection between the leadership’s desires and the acts of those on the ground”.

The goal was to show how the atmosphere created in the media before the wars started in former Yugoslavia made it easier for people to commit war crimes.

“Propaganda aimed to create a situation in which people believed they wouldn’t be punished if they committed a crime, or even killed people,” the same prosecutor explained, “for example by honouring paramilitaries who were often former criminals and granting them an amnesty for all the bad things they had done”.

In order to establish the role played by propaganda in the genocide committed in Srebrenica, the prosecution referred to the orders issued by Karadzic in March 1995.

Directive 7 ordered the Bosnian Serb army to “repel all attacks on RS [Republika Srpska] territory and carry out combat operations to inflict on the enemy as many losses as possible, both in personnel and equipment”.

The goal was to capture territory, “crush and destroy” the other side’s forces, and, “by force of arms, [to] impose the final outcome of the war on the enemy, forcing the world into recognizing the actual situation on the ground and ending the war”, the Directive said.

To achieve this, the Directive emphasized the need to use more “aggressive propaganda”.

The VRS, organized along much the same lines as the Yugoslav People’s Army, JNA, had a Sector for Morale, of which Gvero was in charge and a sub-department for information and political propaganda activities, the Centre for Information and Propaganda.

According the verdict, Gvero’s duty was to “disseminate information and propaganda for the troops in support of [Serbian] war aims, in the preparation for and during the course of combat operations”.

Directive 7 states that “externally, a more aggressive propaganda and information presence should be maintained, aimed at gaining allies... unmasking the biased and hostile activities of certain individuals and parts of UNPROFOR [the UN peacekeeping force] and some humanitarian organisations, undermining the enemy’s fighting morale.

“This is to be achieved through planned and organised information and propaganda activities, coordinated from state level.”

The “state” level referred to the Bosnian Serb wartime headquarters in Pale, a village near Sarajevo, where the press centre was run by Karadzic’s daughter, Sonja.

Only media from Republika Srpska and Serbia were allowed into Srebrenica following the Bosnian Serb armed forces assault on the town in July 1995.

One Serbian journalist, Zoran Petrovic-Pirocanac, from Belgrade, was allowed to film in the area during the attack and during the killings. His tape was carefully edited before it was aired, however, and no dead bodies were shown when it was broadcast.

The tape has since been used as evidence in different cases before the ICTY and before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of the images aired after the fall of Srebrenica showed the Bosnian Serb commander, General Mladic, who led the VRS attack, saying: “My fellow Serbs… I am offering you today as a gift this city of Srebrenica!”
Mladic was indicted for war crimes 15 years ago but remains at large and in hiding.

Proving connections will be hard

While Gvero is the first senior military official to be sentenced for his propaganda role in the war, no journalists have been put on trial.

Mark Thompson, author of Forging War, a book about the role that the media played in the collapse of Yugoslavia, told Balkan Insight that it would be hard to prove the connection between specific acts of propaganda and crimes against humanity or genocide.

“Without those connections, it is impossible to claim that ‘direct and public incitement to commit genocide’ took place,” he said. “The statutes of the [Hague] Tribunal do not criminalise propaganda or even incitement through the media, as such. If they did, think how many journalists would have been indicted!” he added.

“We may choose to criticise this as a shortcoming of the statutes, but that is a different matter,” he continued.

Thompson said connections between the media and decision-makers in the war had been established “on a massive scale” in the work of a number of researchers. But establishing connections was not enough for indictments.

The prosecutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo have until opened no investigations into the role of the media or of those who controlled the media in war crimes committed in the 1990s.

The war crimes prosecution office in Serbia opened an investigation into the role of the media last March but the results of this probe have not been released.

Jasna Sarcevic–Jankovic, from the Serbian war crimes prosecutor’s press office, told Balkan Insight that the probe was still ongoing, and “by law”, information on its findings could not yet be disclosed.

Speaking at a conference in Belgrade, this spring, Serbia’s chief prosecutor for war crimes, Vladimir Vukicevic, recently complained that his office was not receiving much cooperation from the media in its investigations.

Thompson believes the role that journalists and media played in the 1990s should be more widely discussed. “Journalists in each country need to tackle this problem through their professional organisations,” he said.

“But, of course, this is very difficult to do when the same journalists who participated in the manipulation [of information] are still active and influential,” he added, “and when those organisations remain thoroughly politicized, in a context in which states are still more or less reluctant to admit what really happened during the 1990s”.

Fifteen years after the genocide committed in Srebrenica, when more than seven thousand men were killed, 775 victims will be buried in Potocari.

 

The convoy with the remains of the killed people briefly stopped in front of the Bosnian Presidency building in Sarajevo, where several thousands of citizens and Haris Silajdzic and Zeljko Komsic, Bosniak and Croat member of the Presidency, paid respects to the victims.

Ispracaj Srebrenicana

According to the list of identified victims, 774 Bosniaks and one Catholic, Rudolf Hren, will be buried in Potocari this year.

 

Hren, former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, lived in Srebrenica before and during the course of the war. His family said they wanted him to be buried together with other victims in Potocari, with catholic insignia on his grave, while the burial ceremony will be led by a priest.

Ispracaj Srebrenicana

Following the short break, the convoy continued to Potocari. It is expected to arrive later today.

 

The Serbian forces occupied the protected zone of Srebrenica in July 1995. They forced women and children to leave the town, capturing and killing most men, more than seven thousand, at various locations.

Ispracaj Srebrenicana

Ispracaj Srebrenicana

Ispracaj Srebrenicana

D.Dz.

He is currently being held in the Penal and Correctional Facility in Banja Luka, where he is serving another sentence handed down by the Basic Court in Prijedor.

On July 12 Ratko Dronjak and Dragan Rodic, who are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes against prisoners of war, will enter pleas. The indictment alleges that Dronjak was commander or manager and Rodic was a guard and guard shift commander in detention centres in the Drvar area in which Bosniaks and Croats were detained from 1992 to 1995. The detainees were allegedly mistreated, killed and forced to perform hard labour on a daily basis.

Zulfikar Alispago, former commander of the "Zulfikar" Squad with the Main Command Headquarters of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is charged with participation in the murder of Croat civilians and soldiers in Trusina village on April 16, 1993 is due to enter his plea one day later.



On Monday the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will hear appeals to the first instance verdict, by which Miodrag Nikacevic, former policeman from Foca, was sentenced to eight years in prison for crimes committed in the Foca municipality in 1992.

On the same day the retrial is due to continue before the Appellate Chamber in the case against Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic, who were sentenced by a first instance verdict to a total of 27 years in prison for crimes committed in Zvornik. The retrial of Ante Kovac, former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, who was sentenced by a first instance verdict to 13 years in prison for crimes committed in Vitez, is due to continue on Wednesday and Thursday.

On July 12, 13 and 16, the trial of Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic, former policemen from Prijedor, who are charged with shooting of about 200 civilians at Koricanske stijene in August 1992, will continue.

New defence witnesses are due to testify at the trial of Nisvet Gasal, Musajb Kukavica, Enes Handzic and Senad Dautovic, who are charged with crimes against Croats from Bugojno, on July 14.

On that day and also on Friday the state prosecution is due to continue presenting evidence at the trial of Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic, former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with crimes against Serb civilians and soldiers committed in detention centres in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac.

On Thursday, the trials are due to continue in the case of Darko Dolic, former HVO member, who is charged with crimes committed in Prozor, and Zeljko Ivanovic, former policeman, who is charged by the prosecution with participation in genocide committed at Srebrenica in July 1995.

Fifteen years later many of those accused of crimes at Srebrenica have appeared before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

BIRN Justice Report writers have gone through the verdicts and reconstructed the events of those days in 1995.

It began in March that year when the Supreme Command of the VRS issued a directive for further action – directive 7 – which developed the strategy regarding protected areas and the complete physical separation of Srebrenica and Zepa.

According to the directive, “planned and well thought out combat operations should create conditions of total insecurity, intolerance and lack of perspective for further survival and life for the inhabitants of Srebrenica and Zepa.”

Three months later, on July 6, the VRS attacked Srebrenica and intensive shelling followed. The target of the attack was the city itself, as well as the observation stations of the Dutch battalion of UNPROFOR.

On July 9, VRS Drina Corps penetrated four kilometers into the enclave, stopping only a mile from the town of Srebrenica. Later that day, Radovan Karadzic, President of the Republika Srpska (RS), encouraged by the military successes and the surprising lack of resistance of the Muslims and lack of significant reaction from the international community, issued an order granting the green light to the Drina Corps to capture Srebrenica.

Srebrenica, juli 1995. godine

Thousands of Muslims from Srebrenica began to flee to the Dutch battalion base in Potocari on July 10, desperately seeking protection. While the majority of women, children and old men fled to Potocari, men gathered in the surrounding villages later that night formed the column that moved in the direction of Tuzla, which was under the control of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The column contained 10,000-15,000 men, some soldiers and some civilians. Only third were armed.

NATO forces began to bomb the VRS tanks advancing toward the city but stopped following threats that the VRS would kill Dutch troops and shell the base in Potocari.

Destiny's Decision

The VRS took the protected enclave, including the town of Srebrenica, on July 11. Ratko Mladic, along with other generals, walked triumphantly through the empty streets celebrating the “victory”.

About 20,000 -25,000 refugees were gathered in Potocari by the evening of July 11. About 300 men were inside the UN base while 600-900 others were crowded outside. The conditions were terrible with little food and water and searing July heat.

As the humanitarian crisis escalated in Potocari, Mladic and other VRS officers held meetings at the Hotel Fontana with members of the Dutch battalion and Muslim refugees to discuss the fate of Srebrenica.

On July 12, at the final meeting, Mladic promised that he would provide buses to transport refugees, and that Srebrenica inhabitants could choose whether they would go or stay. On the same day, the decision is made to separate Muslim men in Potocari and to kill them.

“You can survive or disappear. ... For your survival, I demand the following: that all of your men who attacked with weapons and committed crimes, and many did so, against our nation, hand over their weapons to the VRS ... after the surrender of weapons you can ... choose to stay on the territory ... or if that is appropriate, to go where you want. The desire of each of you will be respected,” said Mladic.

The fears of many Srebrenica inhabitants that they would not survive the next day came true.

Approximately 50 buses arrived in Potocari and members the VRS and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP RS) of RS started to separate men aged 15-65 from women, children and the elderly.

The men were taken to a building called "The White House" in Potocari. Before entering, they were forced to hand over personal documents which were then destroyed. Some were detained and then executed and killed. Others were transferred by buses to different detention facilities in Bratunac.

The segregation of men continued throughout the night of July 12 by members of the Bosnian Serb forces. Some men were killed and women were raped.

On July 12 and 13, some of the men and boys who had gone through the woods to territory controlled by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina were detained in different locations. Some surrendered.

About 6,000 men were captured in the late afternoon of the July 13. The largest group was captured on the road between Bratunac and Konjevic Polje, where the forces of the MUP RS were deployed.

In the evening, MUP RS and the VRS, acting on the orders of Mladic, took the prisoners to a meadow at Sandic and a football pitch in Nova Kasaba. When the UN troops visited Srebrenica the next day they did not find a single Muslim alive.

On July 13, units of the Drina Corps were deployed in the area between Zvornik and Vlasenica and participated in the capture of Muslims who had surrendered. They took them - along with men from the Potocari – to temporary detention sites in Bratunac, Cerska and a warehouse in Kravica.

Muslim detainees were forced to surrender their property, including documents, wallets, watches and food. They were kept in cramped conditions, given just a little water and almost no food.

The Killings

The first major execution occurred in the afternoon of July 13 when about 150 Muslims were shot dead in the valley of Cerska, near the main road between Konjevic Polje and Nova Kasaba. On the same day, executions also started in the Sandici meadow and near the “Vuk Karadzic” school in Bratunac.

One of the biggest massacres of the Srebrenica genocide was committed in the late afternoon at the Farming Cooperative Kravica where earlier that day 1,000-1,500 Bosniaks were transferred from the Sandici meadow. In the evening, when the warehouse got crowded, the soldiers of the VRS and MUP RS dropped hand grenades inside and start firing at people.

Vuk Karadzic in Bratunac

The executions of prisoners in the warehouse continued in the early morning hours of July 14.

At the same time a meeting was held between members of the civil authorities and the VRS, where they discussed the unstable situation in Bratunac caused by the large number of prisoners. They also openly talked about the killing operation.

In the morning of July 14, the majority of Muslim men from Bratunac were transported by buses and trucks to Zvornik. The column was longer than a kilometre and a half. The men were detained at various locations. The largest concentration camps were in schools in Grbavci and Petkovci.

Prisoners in these areas underwent a brief but scary period of detention in an atmosphere of terror that was maintained by sporadic killings and beatings. With their spirit broken, men were taken to be shot in a field in Orahovac, at a dam in Petkovci and in a gravel pit in Kozluk.

On the early morning of July 14, a convoy of 30 buses arrived at a school in Grbavci near Orahovac where about 1,000 Bosniaks were located in the school gym. In the afternoon, the prisoners were transferred in groups from schools in Grbavci to nearby locations in Orahovac by a small truck. They were then taken to execution sites where they were lined up and shot in the back.

On the same afternoon, members of the VRS brought another large group of 1,500-2,000 prisoners from Bratunac to the school in Petkovci. Conditions were miserable. It was very hot and overcrowded, people were not given any food or water, and some prisoners were so thirsty that they drank their own urine.

Later that day, prisoners were put into smaller groups. They were told to take off their shirts and shoes, and their hands were tied behind their backs. The detained men were taken first to a nearby meadow to be shot, and then to the dam in Petkovci where about 1,000 were killed.

Members of the Zvornik Brigade of the VRS transferred about 1,000 men in schools in Rocevic near Zvornik. On the morning of July 15, several dead bodies lay around the school, and later that day most detainees were taken out and executed on the bank of the Drina River, near Kozluk. No one survived.

Members of the column of Bosniaks from Srebrenica – who had not surrendered or been captured – continued to move towards the territory controlled by the Army of BiH. When they came to the area controlled by the Zvornik Brigade there was heavy fighting.

On July 16, the men who were detained two days earlier at the school in the village of Pilica, north of Zvornik, were loaded onto buses with their hands tied behind their backs. They were taken to the Branjevo Military Economy Farm where members of the VRS lined them up in groups of 10 and shot them. Between 1,000 and 1,200 people were killed. The members of the 10th Sabotage Detachment of the VRS were involved in the murders as well as members of the Bratunac Brigade, who arrived at the Economy Farm in the afternoon.

While the killings were carried out at Branjevo, a group of 500 men from Srebrenica detained in the House of Culture in Pilica tried to escape but failed. They were immediately executed with automatic weapons and hand grenades.

According to witnesses who were nearby, the noise caused by gunfire and grenade explosions lasted for 15-20 minutes. Members of the Bratunac Brigade of the VRS participated in these killings.

On July 16, while executions were still being performed in Pilica, a corridor several hundred meters wide was opened on the defensive positions of the VRS near Zvornik, allowing a significant part of the column of Bosniaks to move into territory controlled by the BiH Army.

After July 16, the murder of a small group of Bosniak men in the area of Kozluk and Nezuk continued. On that day, the burials began of murdered Bosniaks in mass graves.

A month and a half later, members of the VRS and MUP RS participated in an organised effort to hide the killings in the zones of responsibility of the Zvornik and Bratunac Brigades. They exhumed and re-buried the bodies from the original mass graves.

Fifteen years later, about 7,000 people from Srebrenica have been exhumed and identified. Some of the missing have never been found.

 

Also see:   

Srebrenica sentences total 476 years

Srebrenica's days of hell

Barisa Colak, Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Miras Radovic, Minister of Justice of Montenegro, signed agreements on legal support in civil and criminal affairs and mutual execution of criminal court decisions. The agreements were signed in Sarajevo.

 

The two states have undertaken to offer legal support to each other in civil and criminal affairs, guarantee equal rights and free access to courts and execute court decisions in criminal cases.

 

The agreement on execution of court decisions allows citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro or persons with permanent residence there to serve their sentences in either of the two countries after second instance verdicts have been delivered against them.

 

The signing of these agreements should lead to “improvement of the international legal aid and strengthening of cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro ”.

 

At the beginning of 2010 Bosnia and Herzegovina signed similar agreements with the Republic of Serbia and an Agreement on Mutual Execution of Court Decisions in Criminal Affairs with Croatia .

A.A.

"We came here out of solidarity with survivors, but also to voice our hope that crimes such as Srebrenica will never happen again," said 21-year-old Nermin Glibanovic, who joined the marchers as they left the village of Nezuk, 110 kilometers northwest of Srebrenica on Thursday.

They are to retrace the path taken over hills and through dense forests by some 15,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men trying to escape mass killings in Srebrenica after the town, which had been declared a United Nations "safe haven" in 2003, was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces on July 11, 1995.

Hundreds were killed along that path 15 years ago as the exhausted men were under almost constant machine gun and artillery fire while trying to flee to the territory then controlled by Bosniak-led government forces.

In Srebrenica itself, Serbs separated over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from women and summarily executed them over the following days.

Their bodies were dumped in a number of mass graves, many of which have been exhumed since the end of the war.

Their remains are in most cases found in secondary graves, where they had been moved from initial burial sites in an attempt by Serbs to cover up war crimes.

The marchers, including people from across Bosnia, but also from abroad, are expected to reach Srebrenica on Saturday evening, only hours before the commemmoration and burial ceremony for 775 newly identified victims is set to take place.

The burial and ceremony, which is expected to be attended by 50,000 people from Bosnia and abroad, will take place at a memorial cemetery in Potocari, near Srebrenica. The cemetery was built in 2003 across from an abandoned car battery factory that was the wartime base for Dutch U.N. soldiers.

Edin Buric, who works for the organizational committee, told media in Bosnia and Herzegovina that this year the remains of 774 Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and one Catholic will be buried, all killed 15 years ago in what is considered the biggest massacre in Europe since World War II.

The Catholic victim who will be buried on Sunday, Rudolf Hren, lived in Srebrenica before and during the war and was a member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His family agreed that he be buried with the other victims in Potocari, but with Catholic insignia on his grave and with a priest presiding over the burial. The Islamic community give its approval, as well as families of other Srebrenica victims who are buried in Potocari.

So far some 3,831 victims have been buried at the memorial.

Many international and regional dignitaries, including French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Serbian President Boris Tadic and Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, are expected to attend the funeral.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Srebrenica in 2009 calling the massacre "the biggest war crime in Europe since the end of WWII" and a "a symbol of the international community's impotence to intervene and protect civilians".

All over the Europe, as well as in the region, July 11 will be marked as a day of commemoration for the victims of Srebrenica. All the countries in the region except Bosnia and Herzegovina have adopted resolutions condemning the crimes committed 15 years ago in Srebrenica.

Bosnia has not adopted this resolution as political parties from Republika Srpska, one of the two entities in the country, have rejected every attempt to pass the motion in the state parliament.

The Srebrenica massacre is the only episode in Bosnia's brutal 1992-95 war to have been ruled a genocide by the UN war crimes tribunal and the International Court of Justice, both based in The Hague.

This was revealed at a hearing at which state prosecutors asked he be held in custody for an additional two months to allow them to complete their investigation and identify other perpetrators.

Kos, a former member of the 10th Reconnaissance Squad with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, is suspected of having participated in the murder of about 1,000 people at the Branjevo military farm in Pilica, near Zvornik, in July 1995.

"We are determining the identity of Bratunac Brigade members. Besides that, we need to identify the people who took members of the 10th Reconnaissance Squad to Branjevo farm," said prosecutor Dubravko Campara.

He said that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had issued warrants against the alleged accomplices, former members of the 10th Reconnaissance Squad who live in Serbia.

"They do not have Serbian citizenship. We are currently discussing the issue with our colleagues in Serbia in order to locate and deprive them of liberty," Campara said.


Prosecutors say Kos, a Slovenian citizen, should remain in custody as he may flee, influence witnesses and alleged accomplices and disturb the public order and peace.

The defence did not object to the motion to keep Kos in prison, but lawyer Dusko Tomic asked the court to exclude the public so he could deny certain allegations made by the prosecutor and enable Kos to address the trial chamber to describe what "he is going through" in the Penal and Correctional Facility in Zenica.

"We are discussing a possible settlement with the prosecution. Presenting some pieces of information in public would be disastrous for Kos and his family," Tomic said.

Judges will render a decision at a later date.

Kos was arrested at the border crossing between Serbia and Croatia on April 19 and extradited to Bosnia two months later.

Continuing his testimony in his own defence, Alija Osmic, a former military policeman with the 307th Brigade of the ABiH, said he and other guards tried to protect the Croats detained in Donjici village in the Bugojno municipality from being beaten up in July 1993.

"We tried and struggled as much as we could to protect them. We defended those people, because between 20 and 25 soldiers from Vakuf and members of the "Sejtani" ("Devils") Unit came. In the end we could not do anything," said Osmic.

He said that Mario Glisic, Ivan Keskic and Miroslav Fabulic were most brutally beaten in front of the garage in Donjici, adding that Enes Handzic, Assistant Commander for Security with the 307th Brigade, arrived some time later and stopped the abuse.

The state prosecution charges Osmic with participating in the detention, torture, murder, forced labour and inhumane treatment of Bosnian Croats in the Bugojno area during 1993 and 1994.

The indictment alleges that Osmic and other members of the ABiH, the Public Safety Station and the Bugojno Defence Headquarters detained Croats, who were mentally and physically abused, in garages in the village of Donjici in July 1993.

The trial of Handzic for crimes against Croats from Bugojno is ongoing before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Osmic repeated his previous statement that he was not guilty of the murder of Vlatko Kapetanovic in July 1993, adding the crime was committed by a man named Osman Sego.

"Enes Sijamija told me to shoot Kapetanovic. When he realised I was not going to do it, he told me to stop and ordered Sego to do it. (...) I would not have been there had I known that he would be killed. I certainly did not want to see him dead," Osmic said.

Prosecutors claim that at the end of July 1993 Osmic participated in the beating of Croats, who were detained in the Marxist Center-Cloister in Bugojno. The indictment alleges that he and another ABiH member loaded a detainee into the trunk of a black Mercedes, drove him away and killed him.

During the course of cross-examination, the prosecution pointed to several differences between Osmic’s statements given in 2009 and at his trial on July 5, when he spoke about the murder of Kapetanovic and the beating up of detainees.

"I was arrested on September 9. I gave the statement five hours later. I may have said something without much thinking, as my brain did not function as good as today. Can you image how stressful the situation was?" Osmic said.

The defence says there is "no collision" between the statements.

The trial will continue on August 26.

A.A.

Momcilo Mandic, in his fifth day of testimony at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, said he knew that Bosnian Muslims had more than 150,000 soldiers in "various paramilitary formations like the Green Berets or the Patriotic League" prior to the general mobilisation that took place in April 1992.

"The police knew about the activities related to the establishment of paramilitary units. Through the mobilisation process, the police forces were put under the command of the Territorial Defence. All military forces, including reserve and military forces and paramilitary formations became united," said Mandic.

When asked by Karadzic whether arms were brought to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the help from people living in Arabic countries in 1992, Mandic said he knew that arming and training of Bosnian Muslim reserve forces was organised with the help of the Zagreb Islamic Community in Croatia.

Hague prosecutors charge Karadzic, the former RS President, with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war, as well as participation in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of removing Bosnian Croats and Muslims from the territories claimed by Serbs.

During his cross-examination, Karadzic asked Mandic if the RS government had intended to remove Muslims and Croats from the territories claimed by Serbs. Mandic said he had never seen a document that would support the allegation, adding "there were no such attitudes".  

Mandic said the decision made by the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on complete mobilisation to be undertaken on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 6, 1992, was a proof of "total failure of the republic".

"It clearly proves that the pressure put by political parties caused the failure. By recruiting residents of other countries, members of the Party of Democratic Action divided the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The division was not caused by my letter of April 1, 1992 pertaining to the establishment of a Serbian ministry of internal affairs, although some people implied this was the reason," Mandic said.

Mandic said that, "due to the decision on establishment of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Bosnia and Herzegovina", he was accused of war crimes in Sarajevo. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a second instance verdict in February acquitting him of charges of crimes against humanity and crimes against civilians committed in Sarajevo and Foca during1992.

"I am sure that the verdict of release was passed down only because of the foreign members of the chamber," Karadzic said, adding that, "Serbs are dissatisfied with the work of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina".

Trial Chamber chairman O-Gon Kwon told Karadzic his comment was "totally inappropriate".

Mandic will continue his testimony on July 13.

Radomir Pantic, former commander of the First Company with the Special Police Unit from Zvornik, said he was on the road leading from Bratunac to Konjevic polje on July 13 when he saw a convoy of captured Srebrenica residents. They were escorted by people dressed in Jahorina squad uniforms.

Pantic was testifying for the prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the trial of Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic. They are charged with participation in murders and forcible resettlement of Bosniaks from Srebrenica. The indictment alleges that Jevic was commander of the Jahorina Training Center, Djuric and Ikonic were company commanders and Markovic was a squad commander with the center.

The prosecution alleges that on July 12 and 13, members of the First and Second Company of the Training Center participated in the capture of several thousand Bosniaks and the shooting of about 1,000 men at the Kravica Agricultural Cooperative.

Pantic began his testimony on June 21. That testimony was interrupted until a lawyer was appointed to assist him, because prosecutors are investigating him in connection with crimes at Srebrenica. Pantic decided to continue his testimony at this hearing despite the warning from his lawyer that his answers were self-incriminating.

"This man is accusing himself by his statement. Mr. Pantic, you may be indicted in any case, but I am proposing to you not to answer the question,"
lawyer Rade Golic said.

Prosecutor Ibro Bulic objected, saying he had selected questions that would not incriminate Pantic, adding that he would not use any statements the witness gave at this trial during the course of the investigation.

Speaking about the passage of the convoy of men, Pantic said they had previously come out of the woods and surrendered. He said that members of the Second Special Police Squad from Sekovici then searched them, because a murder had been committed prior to that.

He explained that a bomb had been thrown from the forest in the early morning hours, killing a policeman from Zvornik.

When asked whether he could assume that the captured Bosniaks would be executed, Pantic said he did "not have the slightest idea", adding he thought they would be exchanged.

The trial will continue on August 23.

M.T.

In the 15 years since the killings, 24 people have been brought to justice by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

Eighteen were originally indicted for genocide committed in this UN safe area, and so far three first instance verdicts for the crime have been handed down.

Others have been found guilty of aiding and abetting genocide including Radislav Krstic, former commander of the Drina Corps, and Drago Nikolic, former Chief of Security of the Zvornik Brigade. They received 35 years in prison.

“Horrendous crimes that were committed after the fall of Srebrenica are well known: the mass murder of more than 7,000 men and the forcible transfer of women, children and the elderly in this part of eastern Bosnia. These crimes were committed with such a degree of brutality and depravity that has not been previously seen and are among the darkest moments in modern European history,” reads the verdict in the case of Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan Jokic, sentenced to 15 and 9 years respectively in January 2005 for crimes in Bratunac.

Among the longest sentence was the one given to Ljubisa Beara, former Chief of Security of the Main Staff of the Army of the Republic of Srpska,VRS. He was sentenced to life by the ICTY. Vujadin Popovic, former Chief of Security of the Drina Corps of the VRS, also got life after his ICTY trial, while the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Milorad Trbic, former Assistant Chief of Security of the Zvornik Brigade, to 30 years.

Hague judges described Beara as the “driving force behind the killings”. They said he was the oldest officer in the security services and had the clearest picture of the scale of the killings.

“His energetic efforts to organise sites, hire personnel, provide the equipment and supervise the executions points to his steadfast determination to kill as many people as soon as possible. Beara was a man resolved to destroy the group by killing all of its members to which he could get,” the judges concluded.

Besides Beara, two others from the Main Staff of the VRS were also sentenced, Radivoje Miletic, Chief of the Department for Operations and the Administrative Officer, received 19 years. Milan Gvero, Assistant Commander for Morale, Legal and Religious Issues, was imprisoned for five years.

Popović i ostali

According to court judgments, more than 7,000 men were killed in different places in Srebrenica, while women and children were transported by buses to the territory under the control of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The majority of mass executions were at the warehouse in Kravica; schools in the villages of Orahovac, Petkovci and Rocevići; the House of Culture in Pilice; the Military Farming Cooperative in Branjevo; and the banks of the Drina River at Kozluk.
Some like Drazen Erdemovic, a member of the 10th Sabotage Detachment of the VRS, who admitted his crimes and was sentenced to five years in prison for participating in the killings at Branjevo Farm, expressed remorse.

“Buses were coming. They were getting out the men in the groups of 10. We started to shoot at them. I do not know whether these people looked at me. I do not know how many people I killed and I do not want to know. It destroyed me. I wanted to save one man, but we were not allowed. They said they did not want to have witnesses of the crimes,” said Erdemovic, admitting his guilt before the ICTY.

Dragan Obrenovic, a former Deputy Commander of the Zvornik Brigade, who was sentenced to 17 years, also expressed regret for his part in the killings at Branjevo.

“When I found out for the plan to kill prisoners, I took responsibility for it and supported the execution of the plan as acting commander of the Zvornik Brigade. (...) I thought long about it and the same thought is always follows me – the guilt. Thousands of innocent victims suffered. What were left are the graves, the refugees, everything is destroyed and it was a general disaster. I bear part of the responsibility for it,” he said in court.

Obrenovic was the deputy of Vinko Pandurevic, commander of the Zvornik Brigade, who is sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes against humanity and whose verdict stated that he knew of the mass executions of the captured man in Zvornik.

“We knew that they were shooting people, there was no talk about exchange. When I saw children among the captives, I was not felling well because they did not set them aside. What kind of great Serb heroes we are when we shoot at children ...,” said Tanacko Tanic, a former member of the Zvornik Brigade, who testified about the crimes of his fellow soldiers before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The head of the Engineering Team in the Pandurevic’s brigade was Dragan Jokic. Jokic was on trial with Vidoje Blagojevic, commander of the Bratunac Brigade, who was sentenced for failing to prevent killings at the Vuk Karadzic school in Bratunac where at least 50 people died.

For this murder the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina also sentenced Mladen Blagojevic, a member of the Bratunac Military Police Brigade, to seven years.

Judges determined that Blagojevic and Jokic did not have “a major role in the execution of crimes”, but that the “practical assistance” they provided significantly contributed to the carrying out of the genocide.

The Court made a similar conclusion when it came to the responsibility of Ljubomir Borovcanin, Commander of the Joint Forces of MUP RS, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for failing to prevent killings committed by his subordinates. ICTY judges ruled
there was no evidence that Borovcanin knew of the plan of expulsion and murders, but that he contributed to its realisation.

Borovcanin, among others, had control over the Second Special Police Detachment from Sekovici, whose nine members were sentenced for aiding in the genocide before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The verdict found they were involved in the transferring of a column of Bosniaks to the Farming Cooperative in Kravica on July 13, 1995 and killing more than 1,000 men.

For these crimes, Milenko Trifunovic was sentenced to 33 years in prison; Brano Dzinic and Aleksandar Radovanovic got 32 years; Petar Mitrovic, Slobodan Jakovljevic and Branislav Medan received 28 years; and Zoran Vukovic and Radomir Tomic got 31 years.

Vaso Todorovic, who pleaded guilty to the crimes, told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that Borovčanin came to Kravica when the shooting began and did nothing to stop it. Hague judges came to similar conclusions, saying in the verdict, “the first and only step that is taken by Borovcanin after he saw the traces of the shooting were that along with his men he left the warehouse in Kravica as quickly as possible”.

And the trials continue for crimes at Srebrenica.

Seven former members of the army and police of the RS who are indicted for genocide are currently appearing before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Radovan Karadzic, former President of the RS, and Zdravko Tolimir, Deputy Commander of the VRS Main Staff for Intelligence and Security Affairs, are both indicted for genocide in The Hague. Also on trial in The Hague for crimes at Srebrenica are Momcilo Perisic, Chief of Staff of the Yugoslav Army, and Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatović, chiefs of the Serbian State Security.

Indicted by the ICTY is Ratko Mladic, former Chief of Staff of the VRS. He has been on the run for more than a decade.

 

Also see: Srebrenica's days of hell  

Srebrenica: Genocide reconstructed

This is protected witness S1 telling the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina how he survived genocide in Srebrenica. Only about 10 of the thousands of men who were trapped in the town during those days in July 1995 are still alive to tell what happened when more than 7,000 men were killed.
    
Kravica, Petkovci and Branjevo are some of the places where large numbers of men from Srebrenica were executed. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina have so far sentenced 14 people to nearly 300 years in prison for these crimes.

Fifteen years later, Birn Justice Report tells the stories of three survivors.

Kravica – July 13, 1995

Kravica

After the fall of the safe area in July 1995, S1 together with thousands of other men marched through the woods towards Tuzla. He was captured on July 13 by Serbian soldiers and taken to the warehouse of the Kravica Farming Cooperative.

S1 told the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that after his capture he believed Ratko Mladic, chief of staff of the Army of the Republic of Srpska,VRS, who said that the prisoners would be exchanged. He had no idea that waiting for him would be the hardest night of his life.

“Nobody knew where they were taking us. We … came to a large hall. At the entrance there were two soldiers with automatic rifles. The hangar was completely full. There was even no place to stand. Somehow, I scraped towards the wall and bent down.

“When the last person entered the warehouse, the shooting started. We did not know who or what they were shooting at. Bombs and [bullets] were fired until darkness. I lay down on the concrete and waited for my fate.

“People were crying for help, but there was no humanity or help there. I was completely silent. I closed my eyes and waited to be killed. All the men fell. Blood was everywhere. While I was lying down, I could hear the cries and screams. Everyone was panicking.  

“When the shooting stopped I remained laying among the dead bodies, listening to outside noise and laughter. Everywhere was blood. I lay on one dead man and put over me another two of them. I stayed that way for the next 24 hours.

“Somebody began to cry out ‘Salko, Salko ...’ they cursed his Turkish mother and killed him. Then someone said, ‘Adila, water ... Adila, water ....’

“After that they started to collect the dead. I listened to the stevedores in front of the hangar. I heard them saying: ‘Sprinkle the dead with the hay. It is enough for tonight. Wash the asphalt.’

“On the night of July 14, I managed to escape from the hangar and to get to Zepa through the forest.”

 

Petkovci – July 14, 1995

Škola u Petkovcima

As S1 made his escape, the agony of witness P had just begun. He told the ICTY that he was brought to the stadium in Nova Kasaba where he was transported by truck to Kravica, spending the night under the awning with more than 100 men. He was then driven in the direction of Zvornik.

 “We were brought near some school in Petkovci. They ordered us to pull off the trucks and to sing ‘Long live the Republic of Srpska’ and ‘Srebrenica is the Serbian’. About 20 soldiers formed two lines, and while we were running between them they beat us with rifle butts, feet, hands...

“I climbed to the school’s second floor, and I know that I entered classroom number three. People were entering until the classroom was full. I think there were around 300 men there. They came in and took [many] men out, and we could hear the shooting around the school, but no one dared to look through the window.  

“I did not feel well. I was dizzy. I do not know what happened. I suddenly came to my senses a little and saw that there were only 15 to 20 people in the classroom. I saw blood on the tiles. The soldiers came and said: ‘The next four’.

“We left and they told us to strip. I saw a whole bunch of clothes, shoes, documents and other personal belongings. They tied our hands behind the back. I knew that the end was approaching. As I walked, I felt the blood under my bare feet. Three men were lying dead in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs.

“There was a truck in front of the school. The night had already fallen. We climbed into the truck and we did not drive long, maybe 10 to 15 minutes. We heard gunfire and noise. I saw a large field of men who were killed, laying dead. Their faces were turned to the ground and all of them were tied.

“They ordered us to get in the line. After that, I do not know what happened. I heard gunfire. They shot at us in the back, in the head. I fell over those who were already executed. While I was falling, I had a feeling that I would survive. I tried to put my head between those who were already killed. I do not know how much time passed. I was probably unconscious again.

“Then I heard voices and single shots. They shot in the head the ones that survived. One of them approached me. I heard the steps. He kicked me with his boot and said: 'He is dead'.

“After that I felt that I was suffocating. People were falling over me. I had no air. I tried to pull my head out of the corpses. I heard moans and movements - somebody else was alive too, so we decided to escape. We stepped over the dead bodies and fled into the forest. "

Pilica – July 16, 1995

Vojna ekonomija Branjevo

The road of protected witness Q also started at the stadium in Nova Kasaba where he was taken with more than 1,000 men. Although the soldiers told them that they would be transferred to territory controlled by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Q was taken to Zvornik. He told the ICTY a story of unimaginable suffering lasting two days.

 “The bus was headed in the direction of Zvornik and we came to the school in Pilica. They put us in the sports hall which was packed with people. One could hear the gunfire and noise, people were begging for help behind the school ... The whole next day we spent in that hall.

“In the morning of July 16, the soldiers came and said that all young people will be exchanged. After we got out of the school we had to line up against the wall, because they wanted to tie our hands behind our backs.

“Three buses were parked and we entered into the second. We took the same road we came there on and we came to a meadow where I saw many dead bodies. The soldiers took out the tied people. They were taken on the lawn and killed. They shot all of them individually, that's what I could see from the bus.

“When the first bus emptied, it came to our turn. I was also taken to a meadow where the bodies were laying. They ordered us to stop so we stopped. A group of soldiers fired at us with automatic rifles. I threw myself to the ground. My hands were still tied behind my back, and I fell on my stomach. One man fell on my head. I think he was killed instantly. I felt the hot blood flowing all over me.

“The shooting continued. I heard that they said not to shoot in the head but in the back. I was shot in the back, but I was just grazed by the bullet. I stayed lying down. I heard them asking whether there are injured and some people responded. They were killed. I heard one man crying for help. He begged them to kill him. They just said: 'Let him suffer. We will kill him later'.

“All this lasted about four hours.

“After a while I ran and hid under the bridge. I wandered for days through the woods and decided to surrender myself. I was taken to camp Batkovic near Bijeljina where I was exchanged at the end of December 1995.”

Also see:  Srebrenica: Genocide reconstructed

Srebrenica sentences total 476 years

 

Merima Husejnovic is BIRN - Justice Report journalist. merima@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is BIRN online weekly publication.

Testifying for the defence, Galic told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina he met Dolic on the evening of July 31, 1993.

"He told me he was wounded on both sides of his behind. I examined the injuries, but they had already turned into scars," Galic said, adding he saw Dolic at Makljen at breakfast and at supper time until August 7.

Dolic, a member of the "Hawks" Reconnaissance Squad with "Rama" Brigade of the HVO, is charged with participating in the abuse and intentional causing of physical and mental suffering and robbery of civilians from the Prozor area in August 1993.

The indictment alleges that Dolic raped protected witness S3 in Druzinovici village and minor witness S1 in Lapsunj village at the end of July or beginning of August.

The second defence witness bus driver Vlado Beljo told the court that he drove Zlata Ruvic to Bugojno a few times. "Zlata told me what she had experienced in Druzinovici village during the course of the war. She said she saw a cousin of hers being raped. Mirko Dole drove the two of them to Prozor to see a doctor," Beljo said.

Ruvic testified in March for the prosecution, saying that soldiers, who introduced themselves as Calis and Dole, mistreated Druzinovici residents.

The defence asked the court to bring Ruvic and Beljo together at the next hearing. Ruvic claimed previously that she did not know Beljo and that they had never travelled together.

The trial will continue on July 15.

Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina accused Jakupovic, a member of the First Company with the First Battalion of the 17th Krajina Brigade, of killing a member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, in a building in which Croat men were detained in the village of Slimena on June 9, 1993.

Jakupovic is already imprisoned in Banja Luka where he is serving another sentence handed down in 2009 by the Basic Court in Prijedor.

His trial will begin within 30-60 days.

Marko Radic, Dragan Sunjic, Damir Brekalo, and Mirko Vracevic are accused of having unlawfully arrested and detained civilians in Vojno and subjected them to inhumane treatment including forced labour, rape, beatings, and murder.

The four were all found guilty in February 2009 and sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison. Both the prosecution and the defence appealed the verdict.

Prosecutors called for harsher sentences, to reflect what they saw as the severity of the crimes.

The defence asked for a retrial because they believed the first had violated both the Bosnian Criminal Code and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The appeals chamber overturned the original verdict in April 2010 and granted a retrial.

"The defendants all stand accused for their direct participation in these crimes," said prosecutor Jude Romano in his opening statement. He spoke of the conditions in which civilians were held, describing them as being "crammed like sardines". "The prisoners were told: 'welcome to hell'," he said. "This hellish reception was designed to create an atmosphere of perpetual fear."

At the end of proceedings, Damir Brekalo asked to read a statement to the court. He is currently on a hunger strike, protesting the refusal of the court authorities to allow him to undergo medical treatment by a physician of his choice. The court claims that Brekalo can only be securely treated at the hospital in Mostar.

Brekalo claims that his life would be at risk if he underwent the treatment there, comparing the current system to when UDBA, the Yugoslav state security administration, allegedly killed dissidents and other undesirables.

"I would urge you to let me undergo my operation or let me starve to death," he said.

The court also heard a request from the counsel for Vracevic who claims he is unfit to stand trial due to his deteriorating physical and mental health, despite the previous testimony of medical experts to the contrary. Vracevic wishes to present further medical evidence that shows he is no long capable of following the events of his trial.

The case continues on July 7 with opening statements from Brekalo and Vracevic.

Obrenovic and Nikolic have refused to testify, because they are preparing to act as witnesses at other trials before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

Defence lawyers for Milorad Pelemis and Slavko Peric objected.
 
“I do not understand how a person can refuse to testify. The indictees would not have the right to adequate defence [if they are] not given a chance to cross-examine them. I consider the court should insist on having Obrenovic and Nikolic appear as witnesses, because this is a slap in the face of the judicial bodies and an attack against the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Miodrag Stojanovic, Peric’s lawyer.
 
Momir Pelemis, former Deputy Commander and Chief of Headquarters of the First Battalion of the Zvornik Brigade with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, and Slavko Peric, former Assistant Commander for Security with the same battalion, are charged with participation in genocide at Srebrenica in July 1995.
 
The indictment alleges that about 600 Bosniaks were detained in inhumane conditions in the Cultural Center in Pilica on July 15 and 16, 1995. It is further alleged that VRS members executed them “without a trial” inside the building and in its immediate vicinity on July 16. The prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina alleges that the two indictees knew about the murders.
 
After pleading guilty to crimes committed in Srebrenica before the ICTY, Nikolic, a former VRS captain, was sentenced to 27 years in prison. Obrenovic, former Deputy Commander of the First Zvornik Brigade, was sentenced to 17 years after also pleading guilty.

The trial will continue in the second half of August.

D.E.

 

Goran Saric, a former commander of the Special Police Brigade with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP RS, was testifying at the trial of Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic. They are charged with participation in the murder of several hundred men and the forcible resettlement of several thousands of Bosniaks from Srebrenica.

The indictment alleges that Jevic was commander of the training center based on Mount Jahorina , Djuric and Ikonic were company commanders and Markovic was a squad commander
 
Saric said he was familiar with an order issued by Tomislav Kovac, the then Minister of Internal Affairs of RS, on July 10, 1995 about the establishment of a combat group.
 
The witness said that Ljubomir Borovcanin was appointed as commander of the group. He was sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, to 17 years in prison. Saric said Jevic was his deputy and performed the function of second-ranking officer with the combat group.  

Saric said that Kovac’s order specified that the combat group would be composed of the Second Special Police Squad from Sekovici, First Company with the Special Police Unit from Zvornik, Mixed Company of the Republic of Serbian Krajina , Serbia and Republika Srpska and a Jahorina Training Camp company.

“The only unit mentioned in the order that can be associated with me was the Second Police Squad from Sekovici. I did not command the remaining units,” Saric said.

The Second Special Police Squad and Saric were situated in the military zone in Vogosca area at the time. The witness said he returned the Squad to their base in Sekovici, “as per Kovac’s order”.
 
He said that the training camp on Mount Jahorina was not a part of the Special Brigade, but it was formed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, for training special policemen and young soldiers. He said Jevic was sent to the camp as per a decision issued by MUP.  
 
The prosecutor presented the witness with several letters copied to the Combat Group Headquarters in Vogosca and asked him if the information about two companies from Jahorina situated on the road between Konjevic polje and Kasaba was important for him. Saric responded by saying this was not important to him, because the unit was not directly subordinated to him.
 
The prosecutor presented as evidence a letter saying that the MUP units from Konjevic polje and Kravice searched the terrain in Sirkovici, Pobudje and Kaldrma.
 
Saric was not able to remember the letter or his order on the establishment of a combat group in Kravica-Konjevic polje region, composed of the Fifth Special Police Squad from Doboj, two companies from Jahorina and police forces from Zvornik, whose task was to search the terrain in Pobudje region on July 17 “in order to completely clean the right side of the road between Milici and Drinjaca”. The order was copied to Jevic as well.  
 
“The only reason for this letter was to convey an order issued by the Pale headquarters. I would receive instructions from the minister based in Pale and convey them to Borovcanin,” Saric said.  

The trial will continue on July 8.

The TV Justice crew visited Srebrenica 15 years after the genocide. In the other part of the show you can see a feature about life in this town today.

 

The United Nations workgroup for displaced persons visited BiH in June of this year. In this months show we have interviewed Phillip Grant, Director of the TRIAL Law center about the importance of locating all missing persons in BiH.

 

At the end of the show you can see what Rogatica citizens think about the work of the BiH State court.

 

TV Justice is a thirty minute program produced each month by BIRN journalists with the help of the FLASH production team. The show is broadcast on 11 independent TV stations on local and satellite channels as of January 4^th.

 

BROADCAST TIMES:

 

BHRT

 

-         Wednesday, 07.07. - 19:30

-         Thursday, 08.07. -12:45

 

SARAJEVO CANTON TV

 

-         Saturday, 10.07 - 17:05

 

TV HAYAT

 

-         Saturday, 10.07.-14:15

 

VOGOSCA TV

 

-         Thursday, 08.07. – 22:00

 

 

ZENICA RTV

 

-         Sunday, 11.07. – 10:30

-         Thursday, 15.07. – 21:15

 

 

 

TUZLA CANTON RTV 

 

-         Monday, 12.07. -18:00

 

RTV SLON

 

       - Friday, 09.07. – 16:05

 

ZIVINICE TV

 

-         Thursday 08.07. – 21:15

-         Friday 09. 07. -  17:00

 

TVOSM

 

-         Wednesday 14.07. – 23:00

 

SLOBOMIR TV

 

-         Wednesday, 14.07. – 20:30

-         Tuesday, 20.07.- 20:30

 

 

NTV 101

 

-         Tuesday, 13.07. – 17:00

-         Sunday, 17.07. – 14:00 i u 02:00

 

 

You can receive additional information about the TV Justice magazine through the tvjustice@birn.eu.com email address.

 

Responding the questions from Radovan Karadzic, Mandic, the  former Assistant Minister for Internal Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then Minister of Justice of Republika Srpska, said the SDA did not respect the agreement concluded with the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS.

“As far as I know, president, you asked for the agreed concept for forming the government and governmental bodies, administration bodies, to be respected on several occasions. You are a rather quick-tempered man and your reactions can be boisterous, but no pressure was put on anyone to do anything beyond the inter-party agreement or law,” Mandic explained.

He began his testimony on June 30.  

Karadzic, former President of the SDS and Republika Srpska, is on trial, before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for genocide committed in seven Bosnian municipalities in 1992 and Srebrenica in 1995, as well as crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war.  

Mandic said that he noticed, at the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1992, that a huge number of Muslim and Croat military deserters, who did not want to serve the Yugoslav National Army, were employed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He added that even some “volunteers, who could hardly speak the Serbian-Croatian language” were employed at the time.

“We met some people who did not know the language very well and they could not move around Bosnia and Herzegovina , but they were employed as reserve policemen. This generated fear and distrust among the MUP staff,” Mandic said.

The witness blamed the selective recruitment of staff upon Avdo Hebib, the then Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs for Uniformed Police Forces, saying he worked “as per orders from the SDA party” and “against the systematization and law”.  

“Hebib was creating parallel armed police forces. He activated reserve policemen and he armed Muslims and Croats who were reserve soldiers,” Mandic said.  

Mandic said the behaviour of the Muslim population, under the leadership of the SDA, generated fear among the Serbian people, which resulted in the establishment of the Serbian People’s Assembly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian municipalities and a Serbian board with the MUP of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

Judge O-Gon Kwon admonished Karadzic, saying  he had spent about six hours, out of 20 hours approved for the cross-examination of Mandic and told him he should “concentrate on more relevant questions”.  

“I am charged with a joint criminal enterprise. I do agree it existed, but it was not implemented by Serbs. We must prove what the challenges were and what threats Serbs faced. We must complete the mosaic showing who controlled the situation and wanted the war. Muslims and Croats created an illegal army,” Karadzic responded.  

The next hearing will take place on July 8.     

Radio Justice Report

Handzic, the former assistant commander for security with the 307th motorized brigade,  is accused along with three others of crimes committed in Bugojno against Croat civilians and Croatian Defence Council, HVO, members in 1993 and 1994.

 
Haris Haznadarevic, a formerARBiH member, said he questioned, “as per Handzic’s order”, an HVO member who was detained at the Iskra stadium on October 23, 1993.

 
“Handzic gave me a list of questions I should ask. I was supposed to ask if he carried a rifle, whether he shot from it and whether he had any objections to his stay in prison. After having questioned him, I gave the notes to the secretary and told her to convey to the chief that my proposal was to release the man,” Haznadarevic said.

 
The witness said that a few days later he saw the HVO member in Bugojno. Haznadarevic said he assumed the man had been released by Handzic.

 
“I could not issue any orders. The only person who could do that was the assistant commander for security,” he said.

 
Haznadarevic told the court that he wanted to help a friend rescue her friend,Josip Kalajic, who was detained at the stadium in 1993.

 
“Upon our arrival to the entrance they asked us if we had permission. When we said we did not have it, they told us to speak to Enes Handzic,” Haznadarevic said.

 
Azrudin Sukara, also testifying in Handzic’s defence, said that military policemen were tasked with searching apartments in Bugojno to find HVO members and disarm them following the break-out of conflict in July 1993.

 
Sukara said that during the search of the building in which Handzic lived, they saw the indictee, who “was surprised” and judging by his questions, “did not know what it was all about”.

 
The trial will resume on July 14.M.T.

Aleksandar Juic, a former member of the "Student Brigade" with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, was a prosecution witness at the trial of Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic.

They are accused of supporting and abetting the detention of members of Republika Srpska Army and police and civilians in detention centers in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac from February 1994 to February 1996.

Juic said he was captured by members of the 502nd Mountain Brigade with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH,  in the vicinity of Bihac in November 1994.

 
“They brought me and another VRS member to Bihac in an open minivan. They thought that the people who were standing by the road would lynch us. (...) During the course of an oral examination in a military building, they looked at us as if we were black sheep. They slapped us. They did not threaten us, but they did curse us,” Juic said.    

 
 The indictment alleges that Selimovic was counter-intelligence officer, operational officer and deputy chief of the Military Security Service Section with the Fifth ABiH Corps. Ruznic was assistant commander for security affairs and operational officer with the same section and Mustafic was a member of the military police squad with the Fifth ABiH Corps.

 
The witness said that, after having been questioned in Bihac, he was transferred to the “27. juli” military barracks where he was brutally abused.  
 
“We were briefly questioned in an office as a projectile hit some location in the vicinity. The windows broke due to the detonation. (...) A short time later they forced us to walk on the broken glass,” Juic said. 

 

He claims to have been transferred, together with other prisoners, to the “Rad” factory in Cazin where he stayed for two months. During the course of his stay, he was questioned again but not physically mistreated, unlike other prisoners.

 

Juic was then transported from Cazin to the “Luke” prison in Bihac where he spent a month before being exchanged. The witness said the day of the exchange was the worst day of his life as he was beaten badly.  

“They took us out of our cells and told us we would be exchanged. They blindfolded us and told us to lie down in the bus. Then they started mistreating us. They beat all of us with all kinds of things, stick, rifles, legs. This lasted for three hours,” Juic said.  

 
The next hearing is scheduled for July 14.

D.S.

 

Witness KS1 said he drove a bus of civilians from Prijedor to an exchange in Travnik on August 2. “About a hundred people got on my bus in Tukovi. The bus was packed with people. The second bus was also full. Policemen got out of the bus when we stopped at Koricanske stijene. At that moment I knew what was going to happen. I went back to a cliff. I heard someone saying: ‘The first 10 should come out’,” the witness said.    

 
He said there were nearly 20 buses and trucks in the convoy.

 
The indictment alleges that Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja took part in escorting a convoy of civilians and selecting about 200 men who were then shot at Koricanske stijene.

 
The prosecution claims that the convoy moved from Prijedor towards Travnik, transporting Bosniaks and Croats.

 
They allege that Zecevic, Knezevic, Civcic and Ljepoja were members of the Public Safety Station, PSS, in Prijedor and Topola was a guard in Trnopolje detention camp at the time.

 
Witness KS1 said the convoy was stopped prior to its arrival at Koricanske stijene and the men were separated from the others.

 
“After having passed Knezevo (Skender Vakuf), we took an old forest road. We stopped near a spring. All passengers got off the buses. A policeman ordered the men to align themselves, telling other passengers to go back to the buses,” the witness said.

 
He said the policeman’s name was Darko Mrdja. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, sentenced Mrdja to 17 years in prison for participation in the killings.

 
The witness said the men were then taken to Koricanske stijene and killed.

 
“I could hear shooting, individual bullets being fired. There were a few bursts. I heard one or two bombs exploding. It seemed to me that this lasted for a long time, for 40 minutes I think,” KS1 said. He said he was standing behind a cliff in the vicinity of the crime scene, accompanied by “young policeman Djuric”.

 
Gordan Djuric, a former member of the Police Interventions Squad from Prijedor, pleaded guilty before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2009. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

 
The witness said the bus which had brought the men to the location went back to Prijedor, while the men’s luggage was disposed of a few kilometers away.

 
He said that he saw “professor Paras” on that day, adding he drove a police vehicle. Miroslav Paras, commander of the Police Interventions Squad, was killed during the war.

 
The trial continues on July 23.

The former Minister of Justice of the RS was continuing his testimony before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

Mandic said the government was informed in the summer of 1992 that "ethnic cleansing of the Serbian part of the Ilidza municipality was underway".

"The government was informed that Nedeljko Prstojevic, president of the Serbian municipality of Ilidza, fired some Muslim workers and did not guarantee their safety. I was tasked with talking to him. I told him to stop, because the legal state should not be blocked and people should not befired just because they were not Serbs. I explained to him this was the government's attitude and he could not ask for an ethnically clean state," said Mandic on his fourth day of testifying at the ICTY.

Karadzic, the former RS president, is on trial for participation in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of permanently removing Bosnian Muslims and Croats from the parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina claimed by Serbs by committing genocide and crimes against humanity.

The indictment alleges that members of the Bosnian Serb leadership, the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Republika Srpska Army and paramilitary units from Serbia took part in the joint criminal enterprise.
Mandic repeated an earlier statement that many members of Serbian paramilitary groups arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. He added that Biljana Plavsic, former member of the RS Presidency, who was sentenced by the Hague tribunal to 11 years in prison, was responsible for their presence.

"Plavsic was not capable of performing her job. She performed it in an exhibitionist way. She wanted to become the people's leader and become popular during the course of the war. She was like a bridge between Bosnian Serbs who participated in the war in Bosnia and those coming from other countries," he said.

Prosecutors showed two recordings of meetings held between Karadzic and Plavsic on one side and Zeljko Raznatovic, known as Arkan, on the other. But Mandic said he could not comment on whether the recordings proved the support of Bosnian Serb leaders to paramilitary units.

Raznatovic, former leader of the "Serbian volunteer guard" or the "Arkan's Tigers" paramilitary unit, is mentioned in the indictment against Karadzic as a member of the joint criminal enterprise. He was indicted before the tribunal for murder, rape and other inhumane acts, but was killed in Belgrade in 2000 prior to being arrested.

D.Dz.

Protected witness KA1 escorted the convoy of Prijedor residents who were transported to Travnik on August 21, 1992. He said the bus broke down and after a few hours on Mount Vlasic he travelled back with other members of the Interventions Squad of the Public Safety Station, PSS, in Prijedor.

Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Zeljko Stojnic and Dusan Jankovic, former members of the Interventions Squad, are charged with participating in the killings of 200 people at Koricanske stijene. The indictment alleges that Jankovic was commander of the squad.

"Babic, Stojnic, Cetic, Mrdja, Djuric were in the bus... I do not know who else was there. The bus passengers spoke to each other. Someone said that the people who had come out of the bus were taken to a cliff and shot at," KA1 said.

Gordan Djuric and Ljubisa Cetic were also charged with the same crimes and pleaded guilty during the course of their trial. They were sentenced to eight and 13 years in prison. Darko Mrdja was sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, to 17 years.

The witness said he first heard about the events at Koricanske stijene while he was driving in a minivan towards the convoy departure point in Tukovi village.

"While the minivan passengers were talking to each other, they said something like 'something is going to happen today'. (...) There were some insinuations suggesting some people would be killed," KA1 said, adding that prior to his departure for Tukovi he saw Petar Civcic talking to Jankovic in the police station corridor.

The trial of Civcic, Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Marinko Ljepoja and Branko Topola, who are charged with the same crimes, is also underway before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Witness KA1 testified at that trial in February this year.

The witness said that Jankovic left Tukovi driving in a police VW Golf, adding he was on "the top of the command chain" and often issued instructions to squad commanders.

KA1 said the convoy stopped in the vicinity of Trnopolje when Civcic and Mrdja gave him a bag, instructing him to collect all money and jewellery from the bus passengers.

The trial continues on July 12.

Lazo Radosevic and Lazo Beslac, former members of the 11th Krupa Infantry Brigade, said they found out about the murder of men in the Petar Kocic school building in Krupa only after Ostojic's arrest in 2008. Ostojic was the brigade’s commander.

"When commander Ostojic was unfortunately arrested, I found out that he was charged on the basis of command responsibility, because Joja Plavanjac killed some prisoners. Ostojic was a good commander. His approach was good, so I was surprised by his arrest. I can say nothing but good things about him," said Radosevic, former chief of communications with the 11th Krupa Brigade.

Ostojic, Gojko Klickovic and Mladen Drljaca are charged with forcible resettlement, murder, torture and other crimes committed in the Krupa area during1992.

The state prosecution charges the indictees with the detention of non-Serbs in the school building in Jasenica and the Petar Kocic school building in Krupa town, where they were beaten, questioned and forced to perform labour.
The indictment alleges that Joja Plavanjac killed 11 male detainees at the Petar Kocic building in the first half of August 1992.

Radosevic said he knew that some refugees from the area were accommodated in the school building in Jasenica, but he said he did not know about the prison in Jasenica or Krupa town.

"The school building was used as a shelter. It was a reception center for refugees. (...) I did not count them, but I think most of them were Serbs and there were some Muslims as well. Nobody guarded them, so they could walk freely and go out," he said.

Beslac, a cashier with the brigade, said he did not see any guards in the vicinity of the school building in Jasenica, adding that at the time he did not know that crimes were committed in Krupa during the war.

"When the media announced Ostojic's arrest I was surprised and shocked.
According to my opinion, the man was a professional, who would not have allowed any unlawful actions to be taken," said Beslac.

Defence lawyers also questioned Savan Knezevic, another brigade member, who said that Ostojic took over the position of commander in Krupa on July 17, 1992. State prosecutors claim he took over command on July 14.

The trial continues on August 17.

A.A.

Ganic was arrested in London on March 1 at the request of Serbia, which alleges his responsibility for war crimes related to an attack by Bosnian troops against a column of Yugoslav Army, JA, troops in Sarajevo at the start of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war.

The Serbian prosecution claims that 18 soldiers were killed and 22 wounded in the attack and wants Ganic extradited to face trial in Belgrade.

Ganic, who has been under house arrest in London for the past two months, denies the charges against him and claims they are politically motivated.

The alleged crime as well as Ganic's role in the incident were previously investigated by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, based on claims from the prosecution in Republika Srpska. The case was dismissed by the ICTY in 2003 because of insufficient evidence.

The hearing at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court is expected to last six days.  

During the hearing, the prosecution is expected to call two representatives of the Belgrade prosecution and one witness.

Ganic's defence team will call 11 witnesses, including two of the international community’s former high representatives to Bosnia and current and former politicians from the region, as well as historians and human rights representatives. Sonja Biserko, the director of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, is expected to be the first witness to testify for the defence, followed by Christian Schwarz Schilling, former German politician and High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Alic was acquitted in April 2008 of crimes against prisoners of war during Operation Storm, the offensive launched in August 1995 against the forces of the Serb Krajina in Bosnia and Croatia. In 2009, the prosecution appealed the verdict. The court granted a retrial which began in April.

In the indictment, it is alleged that Alic had effective control over Tewfik al-Harbi, a self-described "mujahideen" who allegedly murdered four Serb prisoners during Operation Storm.

Al-Harbi was not a soldier within Alic’s "Hamze" battalion, but he regularly went on operations. Prosecutors allege that the relationship between al-Harbi and Alic was that of a subordinate to a superior and that Alic failed to prevent the crimes or investigate them.

The first trial was marred by inconsistencies in witness testimony. Witnesses including Durakovic contradicted earlier statements they had made to the State Investigative and Protection Agency (SIPA), who investigated the case.

Durakovic had originally claimed that Alic was a "low-level commander", but at trial said he was "just an ordinary soldier", undermining the prosecution's argument that Alic had been in a position to prevent the crimes and also to investigate them. "You do not remember almost any important fact that you told SIPA," the judge said.

Elkasovic was also not clear on whether Alic had a position of authority. "Sefik Alic was supposed to be an assistant commander of either security or intelligence, but I can't remember which," Elkasovic said. "I can't be sure whether he was actually assigned to this position."

The case continues on July 12.

Radio Justice Report

 

He is accused along with seven other members of the squad in the "execution, without trial” of several hundred captured Bosniaks at the Branjevo military farm in Pilica village on July 16.

"The prisoners were detained in the school building in Pilica. They were transported by buses from the building to the execution location at Branjevo farm. Only two prisoners survived the executions," alleges the indictment.


State prosecutors say that Boskic knew that the detained men would be shot and he executed orders issued by Dragomir Pecanac and Milorad Pelemis.

Boskic was arrested at Sarajevo airport in April 2009 after being deported from the United States where he was on trial for immigration fraud. He is alleged to have "concealed some pieces of information about his membership in armed forces during the course of the war conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina".


He is now in custody along with Vlastimir Golijan, Zoran Goronja, Stanko Savanovic and Franc Kos, former members of the reconnaissance squad, who were arrested at the beginning of this year.

The trial of Pelemis, deputy commander and chief of headquarters of the first battalion with the Zvornik VRS brigade, and Peric, assistant commander for security with the same brigade, is underway before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are accused of participating in the murder of Srebrenica residents at the Pilica Cultural Center and at Branjevo.

M.T.

Mandic, former justice minister with the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Plavsic was responsible for inviting paramilitary groups from Serbia to come to Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said they came to help “the Serbian people in its historical fight in Bosnia and Herzegovina ”.

 

“When there was nothing more to take away from non-Serbs, the group would rob Serbs. Police minister Mico Stanisic wanted to put an end to this. I wanted the same,” Mandic said.

 

Karadzic is charged before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, with participation in a joint criminal enterprise in collaboration with Bosnian Serb leaders and leaders of Serbian paramilitary forces and volunteer units from Serbia. Prosecutors allege they shared a joint goal of permanently removing Bosnian Muslims and Croats from the parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina claimed by Bosnian Serbs.  

 

Plavsic, the former president of Republika Srpska, was sentenced by the ICTY in 2003 to 11 years in prison for participation in the persecution of the non-Serbian population. Stanisic is currently on trial for participating in persecutions based on political, racial and religious affiliation. Both are mentioned in the indictment against Karadzic as participants in the joint criminal enterprise.  

 

Mandic said that most paramilitary members were criminals, adding he therefore thought that by inviting those units Plavsic “violated justice and Republika Srpska legislation”.  

 

“Biljana should have been dismissed and arrested. Had this been done, there would have been fewer people at The Hague now. Legalists should have been given an opportunity, instead of giving it to those who advocated for Serbs’ unity. (...) Plavsic is not a nationalist but an evil person who did that for personal reasons,” Mandic said.  

 

Mandic said the RS government received information about a large number of captured civilians and prisoners of war, who were “not treated in line with the Geneva Convention on Human Rights Protection” in 1992.  

 

“We received information from the field about individual cases of inhumane treatment of prisoners, both civilians and prisoners of war. In an attempt to establish a legal state, the government decided to form a commission. Its goal was to send some people to the field. Those people were supposed to check what was going on and inform the government and presidency so the situation could be improved and further violations of human rights avoided,” he said.  

 

Karadzic is charged with the detention of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats in various buildings in which living conditions were created in such a way as to lead to the physical destruction of those groups. This was done by cruel and inhumane treatment, which included torture and physical and mental abuse.

 

Mandic will continue his testimony on July 6.

 

 

 

The case against Mensur Memic, Dzevad Salcin, Hodzic, Nihad Bojadzic and Senad Hakalovic, who are charged with crimes against civilians and prisoners of war, was delayed until August 23.

 
“The findings and opinion of the team of psychiatrists indicate that indictee Nedzad Hodzic is not capable of following the beginning of the trial. The trial chamber ordered the experts to reassess Hodzic’s capability prior to August 20,” said trial chamber chairman Saban Maksumic.

 
The five are accused of having participated in “a previously planned and prepared” attack on Trusina in the Konjic municipality on April 16, 1993.

 
The indictment alleges that during the attack on Gaj hamlet in Trusina, 18 civilians and four members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, were killed while four people, including two children, were wounded.

 
Memic, Salcin, Hodzic and Bojadzic were members of the “Zulfikar” Special Purposes Squad with the Main Command Headquarters of the ARBiH, and Hakalovic was a member of the “Neretvica” 45th Mountain Brigade with the ARBiH.

 
The prosecution alleges that Hodzic “commanded an attack from one direction” which resulted in the death of civilians, while Bojadzic, former deputy commander of the “Zulfikar” Squad, ordered his subordinates to attack Trusina. Bojadzic is charged with participation in the shooting of captured civilians and HVO members who had surrendered.

Prosecutors have proposed joining the case with one against Zulfikar Alispago.

Alispago, known as Zuka, is the former commander of the “Zulfikar” Squad with the headquarters of the main ARBiH command. He is charged with having known about the attack conducted by his unit on Trusina.


The indictment alleges that Alispago, as the squad superior officer, failed to undertake the necessary and reasonable measures to punish perpetrators of the crime.

J.Đ.

State prosecutor Slavica Terzic said the letters, decisions and orders sent to the Public Safety Station, PSS, in Prijedor could prove that Jankovic performed a managerial function in the summer of 1992.

 

“I present, as prosecution evidence, a letter dated August 1, 1992, requesting an engagement of 300 policemen in the Trnopolje, Keraterm and Omarska reception camps. The letter was signed by Dusan Jankovic on behalf of Simo Drljaca, chief of the PSS in Prijedor,” Terzic said.

 

Prosecutors allege that Dusan Jankovic was commander of the PSS in Prijedor and participated in escorting a convoy of civilians travelling from Prijedor to Travnik on August 21, 1992.The indictment alleges that about 200 men were separated from the rest of the convoy on Mount Vlasic and shot at Koricanske stijene.

 

Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic and Zeljko Stojnic, former members of the Interventions Squad with the PSS in Prijedor, are also charged with participating in the killings.

 

Among other documents presented was an order issued by the Crisis Committee in Prijedor in June 1992 requesting the PSS form an interventions squad.

 

Defence lawyers for Jankovic objected, questioning the relevance and lawfulness of most pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution.   

 

The next hearing is scheduled for July 6 when the prosecution will examine protected witness KA1.

D.S.

In October last year, Kujundzic, the commander of the “Predo’s Wolves” unit with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, was found guilty of crimes against humanity. The appeal will be presented on July 8.

On the same day Elvir Jakupovic, former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH, who is charged with the murder of a Croatian Defence Council, HVO, member in Travnik in June 1993, is due to enter his plea before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The trial of Mensur Memic, Dzevad Salcin, Nedzad Hodzic, Nihad Bojadzic and Senad Hakalovic, former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with murder of Croat civilians and prisoners in Trusina village in the Konjic municipality in April 1993, is due to begin next week. The hearings are scheduled for July 5, 7 and 9.

Three trials for genocide allegedly committed in Srebrenica in July 1995 are due to continue next week. Former members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP RS, Dusko Jevic, Mendeljev Djuric, Goran Markovic and Nedjo Ikonic are due to appear in court on July 5 and July 8. The trial of Zeljko Ivanovic continues on July 8. On July 7 the case of Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric, former members of the Frist Brigade’s Command with the VRS Zvornik Brigade, will continue.

The trial of Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic, who are charged with the murder of about 200 civilians from Prijedor committed at Koricanske stijene in August 1992, is due to continue for four days next week – from July 5 to 8. Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Petar Civcic, Branko Topola and Marinko Ljepoja, are also charged with the same crimes. They will appear in court on July 6.

On the same day new defence witnesses are due to testify at the trial of Gojko Klickovic, Mladen Drljaca and Jovan Ostojic, who are charged with crimes committed against the non-Serbian population of Bosanska Krupa in 1992.

The defence is due to present evidence at two trials for crimes against Croat civilians in Bugojno in 1993 and 1994. Nisvet Gasal, Musajb Kukavica, Enes Handzic and Senad Dautovic are due to appear before the court on July 7, while Alija Osmic will continue testifying in his own defence the following day.

On July 7 prosecutors will continue presenting evidence at the trial of Mehura Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic, former members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with crimes committed in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac. The trial of Darko Dolic, former HVO member, who is charged with crimes committed against civilians in the Prozor municipality, is due to continue the following day.

Three retrials will continue before the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina next week.

They includes the retrials of Sefik Alic, who was acquitted, by a first instance verdict, for crimes committed in Bosanska Krajina; Marko Radic, Dragan Sunjic, Damir Brekalo and Mirko Vracevic, who were sentenced for crimes committed in the Vojno detention camp, near Mostar; and Ante Kovac, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes committed in Vitez.

D.Dz.

The country court in Doboj – which is intended to hear lower level war crimes cases – has completed just one trial in 15 years. Twelve other cases from the area were transferred to the state C