Karajic: Unlimited authority

The Prosecution examined three witnesses at the trial of Suljo Karajic, former member of the Fifth Corps of the Bosnian Army. The witnesses spoke about the murder of Mujo Pehlic in Vrnograc village, Velika Kladusa municipality.

The State Prosecution considers Suljo Karajic, former commander of the Military Police Squad with the Fifth Corps, responsible for the murder of the former member of the National Defence of the Western Bosnia Autonomous Region (ND WBAR).

The indictment alleges that, on December 6, 1994, Karajic and his subordinates, members of the military Police Squad, took detainee Pehlic out of the detention unit of the police station in Vrnograc and killed him after a short examination.

Protected witness G, former policeman, said that Karajic and “two or three” armed persons came to the police station in Vrnograc,one evening in December 1994.

“I saw Karajic entering the detention unit, where he spoke to Pehlic. Later on the two of them went out and I heard shooting. I went out and I saw Karajic standing there together with the people he came with, and Pehlic was dead,” witness G said.

During cross-examination conducted by the Defence, the witness explained that he did not see Karajic shooting at Pehlic. He also said that the persons, who accompanied him to the police station, could not have shot the man.

Witness G said that Karajic, who had “his own military police,” used to bring “Serbian civilians and prisoners, as well as WBAR supporters” to the detention unit together with his subordinates.

“Our commander told us that Karajic had full authority over the detention unit and we did not have anything to do with him. He did not talk to us or visited us,” the witness said, adding that Pehlic’s murder was the reason for which he left the police.

Witness Husein Cerimovic, former member of the working squad in Vrnograc, described how he personally took over Pehlic’s body and handed it over to his family.

“Pehlic’s wife asked me if I could go and collect his body. She told me that Suljo Karajic had killed him. I saw eight wounds on Pehlic’s body and they were in his chest and stomach area,” Cerimovic said.

The Prosecution then examined Sulejman Sahinovic as its third witness. The former member of the reserve police forces in Vrnograc said Agic Malic had organised the search in Vrnograc, when Mujo Pehlic was captured.

“I think that Agic should have known about Pehlic’s murder,” Sahinovic said.

Agic Malic testified earlier as Prosecution witness. He said that he did not hear that Karajic was responsible for Pehlic’s murder.

The trial is due to continue on June 12, when four new Prosecution witnesses will be examined.