Local Justice – Perkovic: Verdict for Derventa Crimes on Wednesday
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The District Court in Doboj is due to pronounce the verdict on Wednesday, June 13.
During the main trial witnesses confirmed that indictee Perkovic participated in the abuse of civilians, who were held in detention camps in the former JNA Centre, Rabic military hangars, the school building in Zelenika or various other premises in the Derventa area, District Prosecutor Slavko Krulj said.
He pointed out that witnesses identified Ivica Perkovic as the person, who mistreated them during their detention. The Defence said that none of the witnesses statements, given during the identification of Perkovic, matched each other.
In his closing statement Defence attorney Kresimir Zubak called on the Trial Chamber to acquit his client of the charges, because the Prosecutor has not proved, beyond reasonable doubt, the crimes charged upon Perkovic.
We cannot even single out two of the witnesses, whose testimonies about a certain event were even somewhat similar. The witnesses said one thing to police, another thing to the Prosecution in Doboj and a completely different thing to the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Zubak said.
He said that the indictment was unfounded, because the named individuals, were not civilians, but members of the armed forces of Republika Srpska and former Yugoslav forces.
We are therefore talking about prisoners of war. The Defence has proved this by presenting documents issued by a relevant Derventa municipality service and the former Military Post in Derventa, Zubak said.
The Prosecutor said that they were civilian detainees, who had received formal decisions about their membership in military formations, which they requested in order to fulfill their right to pensions and disability benefits.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed the indictment against Perkovic, former member of the 103rd Derventa Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, charging him with having intentionally caused severe bodily injuries and suffering of Serbs, who were detained in the Derventa area, during April, May and June 1992.
After having confirmed the indictment, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina transferred the case to Doboj judicial authorities for further processing. The District Prosecution accepted the indictment filed by the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Prosecutor Krulj proposed to the Court to sentence Perkovic according to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The trial before the District Court in Doboj began in March this year.
A.G.
