Killed by a Projectile

As per a request by the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zeljko Karan, court medicine doctor from Banja Luka, presented his findings about the way in which six people, who were killed in Sijekovac in March 1992, had died.

As he explained, he made his findings about three people on the basis of documents made during a forensic examination in Prnjavor in 1992 in which he did not participate.

On the basis of those documents, Karan said that Milan, Vaso and Petar Zecevic died violently, most probably due to being shot by a projectile fired from an automatic gun.

“I must say that the forensic report made by Dr. Mirko Pronanovic in Prnjavor is rather general and bad. The photographs I received are not usable, so I can only say that those people had injuries caused by a penetration of a bullet, which most probably caused their death,” Karan explained.

Also, he said that an autopsy report from Prnjavor said that injuries made with sharp objects were present on the bodies as well. He said that it was “not true”.

“Doctors, who do not have much experience in court medicine, make such mistakes. Those injuries are definitely caused by a penetration of bullets, but some of them are made by bullets entering, while others by bullets coming out of the bodies, so they look different. I am claiming that responsibly. I know that,” Karan said.
Zemir Kovacevic, former member of the Interventions Squad with the First Bosanski Brod Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, is charged with having committed crimes against Serb civilians in Sijekovac village, acting in collaboration with unidentified members of the Croatian Defence Forces, HOS, and Croatian Army, HV.

The indictment alleges that Kovacevic participated, along with the others, in an attack on Sijekovac, where he took 15 adults and four Serb children, some of whom were killed, from their houses into a yard.

Speaking about the three other bodies, which were subjected to forensic examination in Banja Luka in 2000, Karan said that it was also determined that they died violently, considering the fact that numerous bullet-caused injuries were found on the bodies. As he explained, by examining the bodies, it was not possible to determine the distance from which they were shot at, because ballistic data was missing.

“We found multiple fractures of chest, collar and pelvic bones, as well as rib fractures, on one of the bodies. This is a classic example of a burst of fire. Not a single injury was found on the skull,” Karan said.

The trial is due to continue on Wednesday, September 25, when the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina will present its material evidence.