Did Not See the Accused

Witness Vjekoslav Grabovac, a former member of the Croat Defence Council (HVO) said that he upheld his statement of 3 March 2011 and reiterated that the attack on Stupni Do village had began in the early morning hours without specifying the date but that he had not seen the accused on that day.

“I was tasked with leading a group of 20 to 25 soldiers headed by Dominik Ilijasevic to Veliki kamen hill, where we later heard sporadic shooting coming from the direction of Stupni Do,” Grabovac said.

Dominik Ilijasevic, also known as Como, was sentenced before the Cantonal Court in Zenica to 15 years in prison for the crimes in the areas of Vares and Kiseljak municipalities, including the killings in Stupni Do.

When asked by Defence Counsel for the accused Nedim Dobojlic whether he knew Curtic, the witness replied that he had never seen him, the day of the attack being no exception.

According to the indictment, as a guide of a part of the Maturice Unit which was under the command of Miroslav Anic, on 23 October 1993 Curtic led the soldiers to Stupni Do village. As stated, he is charged with hitting and robbing Muamera Mahmutovic and Besim Parangalaj after the attack on the village.

Following the plea of guilty, the Court of BiH sentenced Miroslav Anic to 15 years in prison for the crimes in the areas of Kiseljak and Vares.

Grabovac said that before the attack on Stupni Do around 4 a.m. Ivica Rajic had carried out the line-up, where three groups later had set off but that he did not know in which direction two groups had gone.

The Hague Tribunal sentenced Ivica Rajic, commander of the 2nd Operative Group of the Croat Defence Council in the Central Bosnia Operative Zone, to 12 years’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the crimes in Stupni Do in 1993.

The trial will resume on 15 April.