Baricanin: Batko’s Team

Zoran Vatislav told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that a neighbour of the Balvanovic family told him that “Batko and his team” had visited their house. Witness Vatislav said that neighbour Mirko Glisic told him that five members of the family had been taken away on that occasion.

“I knew the Balvanovic family very well. They were like family to me. Later on I learnt that two female members of the family were taken to some house. One of them then jumped through the window and suffered a spinal injury. (…) I found out that a Zoran rescued the second woman from Batko,” Vatislav said.

The State Prosecution charges Baricanin, who was accompanied by Veselin ‘Batko’ Vlahovic, with having treated civilians who were forcibly detained in Grbavica, Sarajevo, in an inhumane manner by causing them physical injuries and suffering and robbing them in July 1992.

The indictment alleges that Baricanin and Vlahovic forcibly took three civilians away and killed them at an unknown location.

Vlahovic, a former member of paramilitary formations, is himself currently on trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for murder, rape and physical and mental abuse of Bosniak and Croat civilians committed in Sarajevo in 1992 and 1993.

During the course of her testimony, Kristina Breskin-Kovacevic, a former nurse at the Military Hospital in Sarajevo, said that while she worked at the hospital, she met a woman whose last name was Balvanovic. She said that the woman told her that she had jumped through a window in order to run away from Batko.

Avdo Huseinovic, author of a documentary titled “Bloody Dance in Sarajevo”, testified as the third witness at this hearing. He said that a part of his documentary was dedicated to wartime events in Grbavica.

“I was thinking whether to include the stories about Grbavica in the documentary, because many people refused to speak about those events in front of the camera. People were afraid to talk about Batko and his doings because he was still at large,” Huseinovic explained.

During a closed part of the hearing, the State Prosecution showed part of the documentary.

After that, the Defence asked witness Huseinovic why his documentary mentioned Sasa Baricanin as one of the “closest associates” of Batko. The witness responded by saying that this piece of information was given to him by protected witness S3.

Testifying at this trial on May 18, 2011, witness S3 said that during the course of his detention in Grbavica, he had to carry out orders given by indictees Baricanin and Veselin Vlahovic.

The trial is due to continue on June 29 this year.