Mladic Addressing Srebrenica Captives

Malinic, former Commander of the Military Police Battalion with the Main Headquarters of VRS, said that Mladic addressed them at a football playground in Nova Kasaba on July 13, 1995, adding that military policemen under his command guarded about 1,200 captives at that playground.

Mladic, former VRS Commander, is charged with genocide against about 7,000 Bosniaks from Srebrenica, in the days that followed the occupation of the protected zone by the VRS on July 11, 1995.

Besides that, he is charged with persecuting Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, terrorising civilians in Sarajevo through a long-lasting shelling and sniping campaign and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.

Malinic, whose face was blurred during his testimony, said that members of his unit had written down the names of most of the captives before they were taken to Bratunac by bus in the evening on July 13. The witness said that the registering of captives was only interrupted during Mladic’s address.

According to Malinic, the list of captives was not sent by buses. When asked by the Prosecutor whether he considered it weird, considering the fact that Mladic told the captives that they would be exchanged, Malinic answered negatively, adding that he expected that the Bosniaks would be examined prior to being exchanged.

As he said, Malinic sent the list of captives to Lieutenant Colonel Jovo Jazic, Chief of Staff of the Protection Regiment with the VRS Main Headquarters. He said that the list should be kept in the Regiment’s archives.

Malinic said that he was in contact with the VRS Main Headquarters the whole day on July 13 and that he asked for backup due to the large number of captives.

He specified that he spoke to Mladic’s associates Milan Gvero and Radivoje Miletic, who were in Han-Pijesak, and that he personally informed Ljubisa Beara, Chief of Security of the Main Headquarters, about the number of captives held at the playground in Nova Kasaba.

The Hague Tribunal pronounced a first instance verdict against Beara, sentencing him to life imprisonment for genocide in Srebrenica, while Miletic was sentenced to 19 years in prison for having assisted in and supporting the commission of crimes in Srebrenica. Gvero was sentenced to five years in prison. He had already served most of his sentence when he died in Belgrade recently.

According to Malinic’s testimony, a VRS member killed one captive at the playground in Nova Kasaba, but he did it in self-defence.

The trial of Mladic is due to continue on Thursday, June 13, when the Defence will cross-examine Malinic.