Trial of Ilija Pavic Begins

Once the indictment was read, seven Prosecution witnesses testified about events related to the murder of Milorad Crncevic.

Milutin Crncevic, son of the killed man, said that after the war Tomislav Garic informed him that indictee Pavic had killed his father.
“I met Garic near ‘Dinara’ hotel. He told me that Ilija Pavic had killed my father,” Crncevic said.

He told the Court that he also asked Zdenko Andabak about those responsible for the death of his father, but he told him that he did not know who had done it, because he had been in Zagreb at the time.  

Garic and Andabak, who were proposed to testify, did not appear in the courtroom, so new summons will be sent to them.  

According to the charges, on August 8/9, 1992 members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, ordered the Crncevic family to come out of their house. Pavic allegedly killed Milorad Crncevic using firearms.  

Refik Velic, the family’s neighbour, said that he stood behind a curtain when the murder was committed and that he heard that Crncevic fell down.  

“I recognised Garic’s voice. He asked somebody to call an ambulance… Dragana Rosic came to our place, asking and begging for help,” Velic said.

Another neighbour Ahmet Musli said that he heard a short burst fire and that an ambulance arrived soon.  

“Crncevic’s wife came to our place. We gave her some lemon, sugar and water in order to calm her down. I later drove her to her apartment,” Musli said.   

Police investigator Goran Prskalo said that Pavic was invited for an interview as a witness on April 12, 2012 and that he admitted having committed the murder.  

Branko Stanic, former ambulance driver, was shown photographs on which he showed an approximate location at which wounded Crncevic was when they arrived.  

“Crncevic was lying on his back. He had blood on his groin area. We tried to put a bandage over his trousers, but we did not know where exactly the injury was,” witness Senad Duran explained.  

Rusmir Vejzagic, who used to work as a surgeon with the County Hospital in Livno, confirmed that Milorad Crncevic was dead when he was brought to the hospital and that he died due to injuries caused by firearms.

The trial is due to continue on November 20.