Kovac: Son Appears as Witness

Ante Kovac’s son, Dejan, testified for the Defence, saying that he could not even imagine that his father might be arrested, because he “always treated Bosniaks in a correct manner and protected them”. He said that “all the people in Vitez” were shocked by his arrest.

Dejan said that when the crimes described in the indictment were committed in 1993 he was 14 years old. 

The State Prosecution charges Ante Kovac, Commander of the Military Police Squad with the Vitez Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, with participation in the capture and detention of Bosniaks in buildings in Vitez Municipality.

The indictment further alleges that Kovac raped witnesses A and B during 1993. 

The indictee’s son told the Court that his father was mobilized by the HVO at the beginning of the war, adding that he worked with “some military police unit” in front of the cinema in Vitez.

“My school was close to that place. I stopped by every day, but I never stayed long. I remember him standing with his colleagues in front of the cinema entrance. He was dressed in camouflage uniform. It was a typical HVO uniform. He never brought weapons when he came home,” Dejan Kovac said.

The witness said the conflict between the HVO and the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vitez began in April 1993, when many Bosniaks “were hiding in houses in the Croat part of town”.

“A couple of Bosniak families stayed in our house. Us children played with them, as we did not consider them different. There were even more families in a house close to ours. My father always treated them in a very correct manner. He protected them, because some groups of people would come and mistreat those people,” Dejan Kovac said.

The witness was asked about protected witnesses A and B, who testified as Prosecution witnesses at closed sessions, but the public was excluded from this part of his testimony.

At this hearing court expert Alma Bravo-Mehmedbasic, a psychiatrist, presented her findings and opinion. At the request of the Prosecution she examined protected witness B.

The court expert told the Trial Chamber that following a psychological interview and examination of witness B, and testing for the consequences of psychological trauma, she had determined that witness B suffered from “a severe form of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD”.

“We have determined that, due to a catastrophic incident, which was beyond the normal human experience, this person developed distinct PTSD symptoms.
Due to the duration of this disorder, the person’s mental efficiency and functionality have decreased. For this reason we have recommended that she be urgently treated in a mental health center,” Bravo-Mehmedbasic said.

When asked by the Prosecution whether the symptoms found in witness B were common for rape victims, the court expert said that they were “indeed common in sexual torture victims”.

The next hearing is due to take place on Friday, June 26.