Selimovic et al: No proof of the accused being present

Witness Zoran Babic told the court that during the war he was a member of the reserve police force, and was captured in the Sanski Most region by the 5th Corps of the Army of BiH at the end of 1995.

“I was withdrawing with three other men when we were taken prisoner. We spent most of the day in the same place where we had been captured. We received some beatings and verbal taunting, but not to any extremes. We then were taken to a nearby hanger and put in the basement, where we stayed for one night. After that we were moved to the Police Station in Petrovac. Other men were also being held at the police station with me”, said Babic.

Witness Babic told the court he was held in the police station for 15 days, and was beaten regularly, but could not remember any interrogations.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Selimovic, Adil Ruznic and Emir Mustafic with crimes in Bosnian Krajina. The indictment alleges that Ruznic, Selimovic and Mustafic assisted in the detention of members of the Republika Srpska, RS Army and police as well as civilians in detention centers in Bihac, Cazin and Bosanski Petrovac in the period from 1994 to 1996.

According to the charges, the indictees physically mistreated prisoners, while examining them. It is further alleged that Ruznic was Assistant Commander for Security, Selimovic was Counter-intelligence Officer and Deputy Chief of the Military Security Section with the Fifth Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH and Mustafic was military policeman.

After 15 days of being held in the police station, the witness was moved to a plastic factory, also in Petrovac. Here he was interrogated by one man, but he could not recall any physical details of the man who interrogated him.

“I cannot remember any details of the man who interrogated me, it has been 15 years, and I am unable to recall any details about him and he did not introduce himself to me.” The witness was later moved to the prison in Bihac, and it was there that he heard a fellow prisoner say “Mehura gave us a good time in Petrovac.”

The witness was later exchanged and was released from prison on 27 January 1996. The Defence for the accused Selimovic told the court that the witness statement was at odds with documentary evidence, and, further to that, the witness did not recognise his client, but had only heard his name being mentioned by another prisoner.

The court was also shown a video from July 1995, showing two prisoners of war being paraded through Bihac naked. The defense for the three accused rejected the relevancy of this material being shown to the court, because none of the three accused can be seen on the footage.

The testimony of witness Miodrag Dianovic, recorded in November 1995 was read to the court as evidence. The statement details the witness’s experience as a prisoner of war after being captured by ABiH. The testimony recorded the harsh treatment shown to prisoners, including regular severe beatings, interrogation and attempts to force the prisoners to sign false statement. The statement states that it was Selimovic had decided who was to have been beaten.

Defense for Selimovic objected to the statement being tendered as evidence, as the witness is no longer alive and therefore cannot be cross examined, and it is also at odds with other existing evidence.

The trial continues on 14 March 2012. J.D.