Bosnian Army Troops ‘Systematically Executed Croat Villagers’

The court in Sarajevo on Friday heard a statement given in 1996 by witness Frane Kristo, who is now deceased, describing the killings of his fellow Bosnian Croat villagers in Dusina.

According to his testimony, Bosnian Army troops attacked the village shouting “Tegbir! Allah u ekber!” and then forced 35 to 40 villagers into one house.

“Vehid Subasic, who was called ‘Geller’ [‘Shrapnel’], told other soldiers that each should kill one [villager]. Several were killed,” said Kristo, adding that he had to pick up the bodies and put them in the garage.

Ex-Bosnian Army soldier Vehid Subotic is charged with taking part in the attack on Dusina, where he took 30 to 40 civilians and several disarmed Croatian Defence Council troops from houses and ordered that four of them be executed.

In another deposition given in 2002, which was also read to the court, the witness said that all the men were ordered to leave the house, and then “one of them gave an order that each soldier should kill one prisoner”.

“Every soldier approached a man, separated him [from the others], killed him,” said Kristo.

Defence lawyer Vukica Marjanovic said that if the witness had been in the courtroom, she would ask him about the discrepancies in his statements.

“In his first deposition he mentions Vehid Subasic, not Subotic, while in the second he does not. We claim that he did not know the accused,” said Marjanovic.

The trial is scheduled to resume on October 11.