Kovac: Birthday celebration in detention camp
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At the beginning of the Defence evidence presenting, indictee Ante Kovac testified in his favour, denying having participated in the capture and detention of Bosniaks in Vitez in April 1993.
“I did not bring anybody to the Radnicki University premises. I did not issue orders for capturing civilians. I saw some civilians being captured but I think this was done by various military formations, which were present in Vitez,” Kovac said.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Kovac, as commander of the Military Police Squad with the Vitez Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, with having participated in the capture and detention of Bosniaks in Vitez in the course of April 1993.
Kovac denied having been the commander of the HVO Vitez Brigade Military Police Squad in that period of time. He explained that he was “a military police sergeant”, which means that he commanded “a section containing about seven military policemen”.
“The Brigade’s Military Police Squad consisted of four Sections in April. It was commanded by a person named Ivo Petrovic,” Kovac said.
He added that, in May 1993 he got sick and took sick leave, which lasted for about a month. Upon his return, he was appointed as commander of the Brigade’s Military Police Squad.
Regarding the conditions in the Radnicki University premises, the indictee said that a member of the Vitez Brigade Command was in charge of food, adding that he “saw the detainees’ family members bringing them food and blankets”.
As indicated by Kovac, members of the Military Police Squad even “brought a bottle of brandy” to a detainee, so that he could “celebrate his birthday”.
“I know that some detainees were taken to other locations to dig trenches, but I repeat that military police members did not decide who would be taken. They may have escorted the detainees sometimes,” Kovac said.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Kovac with having raped witnesses A and B.
During the indictee’s testimony on this subject, the public was excluded in order to avoid possible disclosure of their identities.
The trial is due to continue on November 27.
