Doomed by Local Residents
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Prosecution witness Veselko Ozegovic said that, on June 28, 1992 they came to his house in Bravsko village and told him to drive his tractor to the Post Office, because Obrad Ozegovic killed an Ustasha.
As he failed to respond to the call straight away, Petar Babic, who was armed, came to his house and ordered him to go there with his tractor, because they should bury the killed man.Almost all village residents were gathered in front of the Post Office. Two unknown young men were standing there, holding their hands up. Another man was lying dead. Slavko came out of the Post Office and ordered the two men to load the killed man onto the tractor trailer. He ordered me to follow the column. I thought we were taking him to the cemetery. However, he said that we would not bury them, but dump them into the Dervis pit, the witness said.
Veselko Ozegovic said that the two captives unloaded the killed man from the tractor trailer near the pit and that Stricevic fired two bursts of bullets at them.
One of them, the youngest one with curly hair, was still alive, but Milutin approached him and fired a bullet in his head. After that Slavko, Milutin and Obrad dumped them into the pit, witness Ozegovic said.
Stricevic, former member of reserve forces with Republika Srpska police, who allegedly acted in collaboration with Obrad Ozegovic and Milutin Babic, former members of the Republika Srpska Army, is charged with having killed three captives Mustafa Cikota, Emsud Smailovic and Sadko Burnic in the second half of June 1992.
According to the charges, after the local residents of Jasenovac village had escorted the captives to the Post Office in Bravsko village on June 28, 1992, Slavko Stricevic, also known as Svabo, physically abused them, while examining them, and punched their heads.
It is alleged that Obrad Ozegovic killed Sadko Burnic from his revolver. The indictment further alleges that Stricevic ordered the two other captives to load the killed captives body onto a tractor trailer and drove them, along with Babic, who too is unavailable to prosecution bodies, to the Dervis pit and killed them.
Witness Vajo Sobot found out, just before dusk, that three captives were in the vicinity of his house.
As we did not know what to do, we took them to the Post Office in order to call the Command and get further instructions. On our way one of them gave me his revolver and ammunition. Many people, almost all village residents, gathered there. Many of them hit the captives, but Branko Babic was particularly vigorous, beating them with his stick, Sobot said.
He told the Court that, half an hour later two armed men in military uniforms arrived. One of them shot one of the captives on his nape.
I do not know who he was. I felt awful when I saw the murder, so I went home. Slavko was present at that place, but I do not know whether he was armed and uniformed. I do not know who killed the young man, but people said, later on, that it was Babic.
Married couple Slavko and Dusanka Sobot testified about this event too. They attended the physical mistreatment of the captives in front of the Post Office. They said that Branko Babic, as well as indictee Stricevic, were particularly vigorous in mistreating them.
They told the Court that Obrad Ozegovic killed one of the captives in presence of all the local residents.
The main trial is due to continue on April 11. Dz.Dz.
