Veselinovic: Sound of shooting

Prosecution witness Suljo Sehovic, who appeared at the trial of Rade Veselinovic, said that, on May 16, 1992 he was “taken to the Culture House in Hadzici”, adding that, on his way, he saw Veselinovic “shooting at a person known as Pepo”.

“They forced us to run. All of a sudden we heard shooting. I turned around and I saw a group of about ten men and Pepo, whom I had known from before, falling down. Rade was standing there. He had a gun and he was struggling with Miso Tomac. When we arrived to the House, Hasan Dervisevic told me that Rade had wounded Pepo,” Sehovic explained.

The State Prosecution charges Rade Veselinovic, as member of the Military Police Squad with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, with having participated in the “murder, detention and mistreatment” of the non-Serb population from Hadzici municipality in the course of 1992.

The witness said that he stayed, “together with about 50 Bosniaks”, in the Culture House for three days, adding that the life conditions were “very bad”.

Answering the Defence’s questions in the course of cross-examination, Sehovic said that, while he was detained, he never saw Veselinovic “mistreating or taking detainees out”.

“Three days later I was released home but I was prohibited from leaving my house. Then I joined a working squad. Over a period of a few months I lost 40 kilos, because I used to take all food packages, which they gave us, to my children at home,” the witness said.

Sehovic recalled “an occasion” when he saw Rade Veselinovic and a person named Nemanja Djokic “bringing Izet Ramic, Hare Mucic and policeman Nedzad, who were then detained in ‘Kula’ prison”.

The next hearing is due to take place on December 10, 2008.