Basic and Sijak: About Dismissed Mayor

“Taib Gogic, Mayor of Olovo municipality, was dismissed at a Municipal Assembly session. However, he continued behaving irresponsibly, so it had to be stopped,” said witness Jasmin Helja, former member of the wartime Presidency of that municipality.

Testifying at the request by indictee Basic, he said that they informed the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s top leaders that “Taib was not under control”.

As he said, the Military Security of the First Famed Olovo Brigade conducted an interview with Gogic on January 25, 1994. He said that he found out that the State Security Service did not participate in that interview.

The indictment alleges that Basic was Chief of the wartime State Security Service Section in Olovo.

Basic and Sijak, former military policeman with the 122nd Light Brigade of ABiH, are charged with having raped protected witness A on January 25, 1994. According to this witness, the interview with Gogic was conducted on that same day.

Witness Helja said that he had a quarrel with the indictee, because he did not want to tell him why he failed to examine Gogic.

He said that he knew witness A, that she was a delegate to the Olovo Municipal Assembly and that she “actively participated in it”.

Witness Midhat Hasanspahic said that he was recruited by the State Security Service, as per Basic’s invitation, from October 1993 to February 1994.

“I had two tasks – the prevention of information leakage and problems related to functions performed by certain persons, like Taib Gogic,” the witness said, adding that Basic told him that an interview should be conducted with Taib.

The trial is due to continue on September 10.