Dolic: Information Obtained through Friendly Relations

The Defence of Darko Dolic examined two investigators from the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, who said they made some “omissions in their work” on an investigation into rape incidents in Prozor municipality in August 1993.

Miran Kristo told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that, during the course of a 2008 investigation into the rape of a few women in Prozor municipality, victims described one of the perpetrators as “a short person with black hair and a dark tan” and mentioned Mario Dolic and Zoran Calis.

Kristo is the chief of the Regional Office for Investigation of War Crimes in Mostar with SIPA.

“We found out that Edina Kmetas was raped in Druzinovici village in August 1993. She claimed to have been raped by Mario. However, when we showed his photograph to her, she said it was not the person who had raped her.

“Later on Suljo Kmetas recognised Darko Dolic on a photograph, saying he had raped his wife. I then wrote a report against him,” Kristo said.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Darko Dolic, former member of the Jastrebovi (Hawks) Reconnaissance Squad with the Rama Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, with having raped three women, one of whom was a minor, in Druzinovici village, Prozor municipality, at the end of July and beginning of August 1993.

He is also charged with having mistreated and physically abused Bosniak civilians.

Edina and Suljo Kmetas testified for the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then also for the Defence. On both occasions they claimed that Darko Dolic was the person who had come to their village in August 1993 and raped Edina.

Kristo said that he had not shown photographs of Darko Dolic, among other people, to Edina Kmetas before he wrote the mentioned report, adding he showed the photographs to her husband only.

“We made an omission in our work, because we filed the report on the basis of identification by one person only,” the witness said.

When asked by the Defence how he obtained the information indicating that the rapes had been committed by indictee Dolic, the witness said the information was obtained through “friendly relations and acquaintances”.

Second Defence witness Dalibor Tubic, who was formerly Kristo’s subordinate, said that no report or official note was prepared after the husband of the raped woman identified Darko Dolic.

“In other cases we would include the identification in a report, but we did not have the technical capacity to do so in Prozor,” Tubic said.

The next hearing is due to take place on December 2, when the Defence will examine a medical expert witness.