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The Bjelica brothers and Tripkovic were charged, as members of the Army of Republika Srpska, with participating in the murder and torture of Bosniak civilians who were locked up in the Miladin Radojevic primary school in Kalinovik.
According to the indictment, the three accused, armed with automatic rifles, came to the school on August 1, 1992, or thereabouts, separated prisoners Suad Hasanbegovic, Edin Bico, Seid Keco and Hasim Hatic.
It is specified that they beat them up that night, after which prisoner Keco passed away, and the next day they killed the other three too.
The body of Hasim Hatic was never found, and bodies of other three persons were exhumed and identified in 2009.
“The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina would prove that the accused committed actions defined in the indictment with statements from witnesses, direct and indirect participants, guards from the school,” said the Prosecutor, Cazim Hasanspahic.
The Defence of the accused will present their opening argument after the Prosecution presented its evidence.
Novica Tripkovic said that his is not the nickname “Duke”, as specified in the indictment, but “Tesla”.
The Defence of the second defendant, Zoran Bjelica, said that the right of the accused to defence has been violated, because they were indicted under the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2003.
“Had they been indicted under the Criminal Code of former Yugoslavia, they may have confessed at the plea hearing or made a plea bargain,” said the lawyer, Milan Romanic.
The first defendant, Marinko Bjelica, said he was one hundred per cent disabled and had trouble following the trial.
The first witnesses for the Prosecution will be examined on April 17.
