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Jevic et al: Killing People while Escorting Them

4. November 2011.00:00
Testifying at the trial of four indictees who are charged with genocide in Srebrenica, a protected State Prosecution witness says that, during the capture of Bosniak men, two of them were killed on the side of the road leading from Konjevic polje to Bratunac.

This post is also available in: Bosnian

Witness S-123 spoke about the indictees’ activities during the capture of the men, who came out of a forest in groups and surrendered. He said that he used to see indictees Dusko Jevic and Nedjo Ikonic during those days.

The witness and other members of the Jahorina Training Centre were deployed on the road between Konjevic polje and Bratunac with the task of guarding the road and “protect the civilian population from the surrounding villages from Muslim soldiers”.

The protected witness said that a member of that Unit was wounded, when men threw a bomb at them from the woods, adding that they surrendered later on and put a hunter and automatic gun on the ground.

“A man passed by and asked: ‘Why don’t you kill them?’. We went back, but he asked whose gun it was. One of them said that it was his. He took the gun and shot him on his chest. The man’s body flew back, while his legs stayed at the same place. He fired a burst of bullets at another prisoner,” the witness said.

When asked who the man, who shot the prisoners, was, the witness said that he did not know much about him, but he used to see him on Mount Jahorina and in the field.

“He would appear from somewhere. I do not think he was a member of our Company, but he used to hang around with us. He wanted to be around the commanders…When you mentioned some names during the course of the examination, it occurred to me that his name could be Sinisa,” the witness said.

He said that he did not see any of the chieftains when the murders were committed, but he thought that they had probably been informed about it. S-123 heard that other men were killed too while being escorted.

Jevic and Ikonic as well as Goran Markovic and Mendeljev Djuric are charged with participating in the forcible resettlement of the Bosniak population from the Srebrenica area and the murder of more than 1,000 men in Kravica.

The indictment alleges that Jevic was Commander of the Training Centre with the Special Brigade of Republika Srpska police, Djuric and Ikonic were company commanders and Markovic was a squad commander.

The witness said that he was member of Markovic’s Squad, while Ikonic was Commander of their Company.

S-123 told the Court that Jevic addressed a group of prisoners, ordering them to drop their weapons and lie down, holding their hands on their napes. The witness was not able to specify how many prisoners were present, but he just said “150, 200, 300”.

“I heard that they tied them and took them towards Konjevic polje later on. I think that he followed them. Later on I heard that some of them were killed…Also, people said that they were detained somewhere,” the witness said.

The examination of this witness is due to continue on November 10.

M.T.

This post is also available in: Bosnian