Identification in front of Courtroom

Witness Rosa Subotic said that her husband Janko was taken away along with other men from Duzice village in Gornja Breze, during a weapon search operation conducted by police.
 
Subotic said that she hid behind their house with her child, adding that, from there she could see a car arriving in front of their house and three soldiers coming out of it. While testifying in the courtroom, she pointed to indictee Dedic, saying that he was one of those soldiers.
 
“This man here grabbed him by his hand and pushed him in front of himself crudely. They went in and out of the barn quickly. I could not see whether they entered the house or not. Soon after that they took him into the car and drove him away. I recognised this man. He had black hair and was thinner at the time,” Subotic said, pointing to the indictee.
 
According to witness Subotic’s testimony, she did not see her husband until October 1992, when he was exchanged, “beaten up and blind”.
 
“When he recovered a bit, he said that, two or three days after having taken him to the Police Station, they took him back home in order to search for weapons, which he did not have. He said that they beat him up. The indictee was the first person he mentioned, saying that he was worse than anybody else. He said that they killed Zdravko and beat Momcilo, who died in his hands,” Subotic said.
 
The witness said that her husband, who died in 2006, told her that Dedic once stuffed a lit cigarette into his mouth.
 
The Zenica Cantonal Prosecution charges Dedic with having participated in the beating of Serb civilians during the collection of illegal weapons in June 1992. The indictment alleges that two people died due to consequences of the beating.

During the cross-examination Dedic’s Defence presented witness Subotic with statements given during the investigation, in which she said that her husband had never told her the names of the persons, who beat him, because he did not want his children to revenge.
 
Witness Subotic said that it was true, adding that she recognised the indictee in front of the courtroom right before the hearing and that she had not known him before.
 
“I heard a lot about the happenings in the police station and prison while listening to my husband’s conversations with others,” Subotic said.
 
Defence attorney Ramo Ajkic objected to witness Subotic’s testimony, saying that it was contradictory, fabricated and false. He announced that he would file a criminal report against the witness because of that.
 
The Trial Chamber warned Ajkic that mentioning his intentions meant putting pressure on the Court.
 
The trial of Dedic is due to continue on January 16 next year.