Murders in Orahovica Village

Witness Nezir Ahmic says that members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO detained him and other persons in a garage in Orahovica village.

“Suddenly a car arrived in front of the garage. They carried Edib Fejzic out of the car. He was wounded. His brother Edin was standing next to him, saying that Edib was not guilty of anything. A soldier, who was turned away from us, fired a short burst of bullets at Edib and then Edin. He turned towards us, but others took his rifle away. He then grabbed a shovel and began beating people. His face was distorted with rage. I could not recognise him,” Ahmic said.

He said that he found out that the soldier’s last name was Pravdic.

“I heard that his brother was killed that day, so that was the reason why he did that,” Ahmic said.

The Zenica Cantonal Prosecution presented statements given to the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, on previous occasions. In those statements Ahmic identified Franjo Pravdic as perpetrator of the murders. Ahmic responded by saying that “some names appeared, but I just kept saying that his last name was Pravdic, but I did not know which one.”

The Defence said that those “minutes were obviously tailored to suit the investigators’ needs, because they assumed in advance that Franjo Pravdic was the perpetrator,” adding that the witness “said, clearly and decisively without fear or revenge intentions, that he did not know who killed the Fejzic brothers.”

The trial is due to continue on July 10.