Local Justice Ribic: People from Croatia Committed Murders in Jezero
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While I was in a cafe, I heard members of my unit say that three men were killed in Jezero and that the murder was committed by some men from Croatia, said Celikovic, former member of the Territorial Defence, TO and 102nd Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO in Odzak.
This witness confirmed that members of the Karlovac Brigade from Croatia and mercenary units called Gavranovi, Lisice and Handzarci were present in the Odzak area from April to July 1992.
Celikovic said that indictee Ribic did not perform any commanding function in that period of time.
According to the charges, Senahid Ribic, former member of the HVO 102nd Brigade from Odzak, unlawfully deprived civilians of liberty, physically and mentally abused captured civilians, murdered civilians, confiscated other people’s property and participated in setting houses on fire in Odzak in the period from May to July 1992.
Second Defence witness Zemir Bukvic said that, following the beginning of the war, he occasionally slept over in the indictee’s house in Proleterska Street in Odzak, adding that he belonged to the same unit as the indictee.
I never saw the indictee bring any commodities to his house. He did not have a car. He had a tractor. I never saw him driving an orange or yellow Fiat. He used his brother’s Renault, Bukvic said.
The witness told the Court that he heard, just before the Republika Srpska Army entered Odzak, that Pero Ljubicic was killed in the agricultural field, but he did not know who killed him.
Testifying in defence of the indictee at this hearing, witness Bosko Djuric said that a Croatian tank was parked in the vicinity of his house in Jezero village.
A tank was parked in the vicinity of the place. Once it had left, the houses in Jezero were set on fire, Djuric said.
Defence attorney Dzavid Slamnik announced that indictee Ribic would testify in his defence at the next hearing. Slamnik requested the Trial Chamber to undertake a reconstruction of events in Jezero village in order to see that, due to the configuration of the land, the Prosecution witnesses were not able to see who set the houses in Jezero on fire.
The Chamber did not accept the request, explaining that the situation in the field could have significantly changed over the past 20 years.
The trial is due to continue on November 12.
