Local Justice – Curtic: Indictee not Present in Stupni Do

Miroslav Anic, also known as Firga, former member of the Maturice Special Purposes Unit of HVO, said that a guide was assigned to his unit during the course of its participation in a military operation in Vares in 1993, but he was not sure if indictee Curtic was the guide.“I can not say for sure that he was our guide. I can not say that he went to the village with us, but I am almost sure he did not, because we usually did not take our guides with us when we conducted military actions,” the witness said during his testimony before the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo.A proceeding against Anic is underway before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for crimes against civilians and prisoners of war committed in the Kiseljak and Vares area.“My unit participated in the military operation conducted in Vares. I can not give any statements in that regard, because a proceeding is being conducted against me before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I can only speak about the indictee,” Anic said.The indictment filed by the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecution alleges that Curtic was a member of the HVO forces in Vares. It further alleges that he was appointed a guide with the Maturice Squad prior to the attack on Stupni Do village on October 23, 1993. The Prosecution considers that Curtic was present in Stupni Do village on that day and participated in the murder of Bosniak civilians and setting their bodies on fire.“After the war I read Ermin Curtic’s statements about the events in Stupno Do village in a newspaper. He descried the happenings that took place in my group and Dominik Ilijasevic’s group. I believe the descriptions were incorrect. I do not think he told the truth about those happenings. I never saw him in Stupni Do,” Anic said.When asked by the Trial Chamber Chairman if he had seen the indictee before, the witness said he had not, adding he did not know anyone by that name prior to the trial.Dominik Ilijasevic, also known as Como, who testified in defence of Curtic, was sentenced before the Cantonal Court in Zenica to 15 years in prison for crimes committed against the population in the Vares and Kiseljak municipalities, including, among others, the murders committed in Stupni Do village.Defence attorney Nedim Dobojlic requested permission to examine “additional witnesses” during the course of the presentation of the Defence’s evidence, “because they are of great importance”.The trial is due to continue on February 15, 2011.S.U.———————————————————————————————–This article is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID.) The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of Balkan investigative reporting network (BIRN) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.