Local Justice – Mostar: “I was shot by Skampo”

Following the reading of the indictment and presentation of introductory statements, the first Mostar Cantonal Prosecution witness says that her uncle was shot in Krkaca hamlet.

“We were on the ground floor of our house. As it was summer and hot, all the windows were open. I went to the kitchen window in order to see what was happening. I saw Skampo, opening my stable. He held a rifle ready to shoot in one hand and opened the stable door with his other hand,” witness Andja Zaric said.

She mentioned that her uncle Ivan Zaric and six other family members, including three minors, and Ankica Matic were present in the house at that moment.

“I told my folks what I had just seen. My uncle was shocked. He said that he would take a rifle and shoot. There was no rifle in the house. He then climbed on the bed in order to get a better view. We heard an explosion. My uncle fell down and said: ‘I was shot by Skampo’,” Andja Zaric said.

The indictment charges Skampo, former member of the 44th Brigade with the Fourth Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ARBiH, with having fired a hand grenade on Ivan Zaric’s house in Krkaca hamlet, Doljani village on July 28, 1993. Zaric died three days later due to the injuries caused by the explosion.

Responding to questions made by Prosecutor Vesna Pranjic, witness Zaric said that none of the men, who were present in the house at that moment, was a member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO. She said that her cousin Ante Zaric was a member of the HVO, but he was not in the house at that time.

When asked by Defence attorney Jasmina Maric whether she was sure that she saw Sabit Skampo that day, the witness said that she had known the indictee from before, because they used to see each other in a bus every morning, but he was older now.

Witness Ankica Matic described what happened in the house when the shooting was heard.

“One of the family members said that Skampo was entering the stable. My dad hurried up to see that. This was a stupid decision. I could have been hit as well. I was scratched by shrapnel. He climbed on the couch. It lasted a second only. The detonation was deafening. He fell down and gripped the couch. Andja and I took him up. It seems to me that he said: ‘I was shot by Skampo’,” Ankica Matic said.

Third Prosecution witness Mira Zaric confirmed that she saw her uncle Ivan Zaric entering the room and saying that he had been shot by Skampo.

Witness Matan Zaric, former member of HVO, said that, while he was on a mountain that day, he could see that stables in Doljani were on fire, adding that “more than 40 Croat residents were killed”.

The trial is due to continue on October 22.
S.G.