Local Justice – Ostojic: Injured Party Refuses to Testify
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Mirsad Ombasic, who was apprehended to this hearing by court police, because he failed to respond to earlier Court invitations, refused to testify, saying that he had already given a statement in the case against Ostojic.
“I have been giving statements for 16 years. I have had enough of this. I testified before this Court in April last year. I have still not received money for my travel costs. Nobody delivered the invitation to me, but they sent court police instead. I do not want to testify before this Court,” Ombasic said.
The District Prosecution charges Zarije Ostojic, former member of reserve police forces with the Special Unit of the Public Safety Station in Vlasenica with the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Army, with having participated in the beating of civilians in Susica detention camp during the course of 1992.
According to the charges, Ostojic and other members of that formation took Bosniaks out of Susica detention camp and beat them with “police batons, rifle butts, hands and legs”. Among other things, the indictment alleges that Ostojic beat Ombasic up twice.
Witness Ombasic said that he stuck by his earlier statement, but, although the Trial Chamber explained to him several times that he should testify because the composition of the Trial Chamber had changed in the meantime, the witness refused to do it. He was then allowed to leave the courtroom.
At this hearing Mirza Hukeljic, Prosecutor with the District Prosecution from Eastern Sarajevo, presented the Trial Chamber with a few pieces of material evidence, including some photographs and video recordings of Susica detention camp. Dragan Gotovac, Defence attorney of indictee Ostojic, said that most of the pieces of evidence presented by the Prosecution were irrelevant.
The trial is due to continue on November 2 this year.
