Saric: Chief without Station

Radomir Njegus said that the Public Safety Station, PSS in Centar neither existed formally nor practically. He said that a group of people, who self-organised themselves, was present there. He told the Court that Goran Saric was with those people, because he was sent there to check the situation.

“They were within the legal system, as members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, but they did not have an organizational form, as you are saying,” the witness said, responding to questions made by Prosecutor Munib Halilovic.

Saric is charged, in his capacity as Chief of the PSS in the Serbian municipality of Centar in Sarajevo, with having participated in an attack against the civilian population in Nahorevo, Poljine and other neighbourhoods in Sarajevo.

He is charged with having ordered all men from Nahorevo to come to the local community building on June 19, 1992. About 100 Bosniaks were then taken to Jagomir hospital and detained in that building. A group of 11 detainees was later killed at Skakavac, while the others were either taken to a detention camp in Vogosca or transferred to territories controlled by ABiH.

Njegus said that he considered that the policeman of the Police Station located in the Pionirska dolina area, Sarajevo were members of “a reserve station”.

Dobrislav Planojevic was examined at the beginning of presentation of Defence’s evidence. He said that he sent Saric to the Pionirska dolina area in 1992 and asked him to “educate the reserve forces a little bit”.

“It was not possible to give a written decision to Goran Saric, because no organisational unit existed at that place. He went there as per an oral instruction only,” Planojevic explained.

Prosecutor Halilovic presented the witness with a document, which Saric signed as Chief of the PSS Centar. The witness responded by saying that somebody had to sign documents as the Station Chief in order for people to get their salaries.

“I think that the document mentions the Station due to administrative issues, salaries and so on. I claim that no elements for calling it a station existed,” the witness said.

The trial is due to continue on December 21, when the Defence will examine two more witnesses.
S.U.