Counter-allegations by the Defence’s Ballistic Expert

In her expert findings Subotic denied the findings of several investigations conducted by Sarajevo police and UNPROFOR, who determined that mine-thrower grenades that exploded in a series of severe incidents in Sarajevo came from VRS positions.

Following an analysis of investigation materials and traces in the field, Subotic suggested and, in some cases, claimed, that the projectiles were fired from the direction of positions held by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Karadzic, the then President of Republika Srpska and supreme Commander of VRS, is charged with terrorising civilians in Sarajevo through long-lasting artillery and sniper attacks.
According to Subotic’s findings, the mine-thrower grenades, which killed six children and wounded five persons in Alipasino Polje neighbourhood, Sarajevo, on January 22, 1994, were fired from the direction of the “UPI” Institute, where ABiH forces were situated, and not from the surroundings of the Blind Persons Institute, which was held by VRS.Subotic came to a similar conclusion in the case of mine explosions, which killed eight and wounded 18 citizens in Dobrinja neighbourhood on February 4, 1994.

She said that Sarajevo investigators wrongly determined the direction from which the mines came. She noticed Latin alphabet letters on the mine remnants, adding that VRS mines were marked with Cyrillic alphabet letters only.

According to her testimony, the Sarajevo investigators incorrectly determined the direction from which a grenade, which killed 13 people queuing for water on July 12, 1993, came.
The witness denied a conclusion by Sarajevo police and UNPROFOR that the VRS opened mine-thrower fire on participants in a football match in Dobrinja on June 1, 1993, pointing out that the first investigation into the mentioned incident was conducted two years later and that the crime scene had been “contaminated” until that date.

She further indicated that a trace of one mine only was found on that occasion, while the second crater was found by Tribunal’s investigators in 2001. Contrary to the allegations in the indictment, Subotic said that the match was not played on a parking lot in front of a skyscraper, but on a nearby football field.

Although an explosion that killed 26 people queuing for bread in Vase Miskina Street on May 27, 1992 is not mentioned in the indictment, Subotic analysed the incident. According to her findings, the grenade was fired from a distance of “between 100 and 120 metres”, adding that the nearest VRS positions were located “between 1,700 and 1,800 metres” away.

In a special report focusing on explosions of modified air-bombs fired by VRS on targets in Sarajevo, Subotic said that 15 such projectiles hit the zone of military targets in the city with satisfying precision. She said that only one of the bombs completely missed its target.

As she said, when making her conclusions, Subotic considered the fact that 11 people were killed, while four citizens were severely and 39 lightly wounded in those explosions.
The trial of Karadzic, who is also charged with genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Muslims and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and taking UNPROFOR members hostage, is due to continue on May 15, when Subotic will present her findings about explosions at the Markale open market.