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Savic and Mucibabic: Guarding prisoners

5. November 2008.00:00
A Prosecution witness speaks about guarding civilians, who were detained in Kalinovik, and burning villages in the vicinity of this town.

This post is also available in: Bosnian

Milan Lalovic, former member of reserve police forces with the Public Safety Station in Kalinovik, said that he “guarded the men, who were detained by the police”, in a school building in Kalinovik up to July 1992.

“They first received some kind of invitations. Then they had to report to the Internal Affairs Secretariat, IAS, every day and perform civil duty. When they came to the IAS one morning, they were detained. We guarded them,” said Lalovic, who appeared as a Prosecution witness at the trial of Krsto Savic and Milko Mucibabic.

The indictment alleges that Savic was chief of the Safety Services Center in Trebinje, which was in charge of the Public Safety Stations in Kalinovik, Bileca, Gacko and Nevesinje. The Prosecution considers him responsible for the crimes committed in those municipalities. Mucibabic was a policeman in Nevesinje. He is charged with participating in the crimes committed in that town.

As indicated by Lalovic, the men were transferred from the school building to “Barutni magacin” (“Gunpowder Depot”), while some “men and women from Jelec, Gacko and Kalinovik” were brought to the school building.

“I was just standing by the door. Members of some paramilitary formations would come and forcibly enter the school building. Members of Seselj’s unit created disorder most of the time. I would always stay outside, as I did not wanted to become involved in it. I always informed my superiors about that,” the witness said, adding that there were no soldiers in the vicinity of the school, “just the police”.

Lalovic told the Court that, acting on “orders made by his superiors, commanders and chiefs”, he participated in burning of Socani village, together with “40 to 50 other policemen”.

The Prosecution examined Madzid Smajkic, investigator with the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, who participated in the search of Milko Mucibabic’s apartment in Nevesinje on September 7, 2007.

Smajkic said that he found a semi-automatic gun, some ammunition and two bombs in the indictee’s house.

Besides crimes against humanity, Mucibabic is charged with illegal production and sale of weapons.

The trial is due to continue on November 6, 2008.

This post is also available in: Bosnian