People Called out and Shot

A recording of a State Prosecution witness’ testimony was played at the trial of Vehid Subotic, who is charged with crimes in Dusina, Zenica municipality. The witness said that he heard a burst of fire that followed the taking away of some men in late January 1993.

Mirko Kegelj, who was examined in Busovaca, because he was not able to appear before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for health reasons, said that he, his father and other family members were among local residents of Dusina village, whom members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, escorted to his uncle’s house on January 26, 1993.

He said that Halid Helvida, whose father’s name he could not remember, called some people’s names out, adding that a soldier, whose name, as he heard, was Vehid Subotic, then took them out of the house. The witness said that the soldier told him that those men were taken for an examination and that nothing bad would happen to them.

“They were taken to a relatively-close location. I heard shooting. It was a burst of fire,” Kegelj said.

Subotic, former member of the Seventh Muslim Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH, who was allegedly accompanied by other persons, is charged with having separated eight Croats from a group of people on January 26, 1993 and escorted them to a house, where he ordered soldiers to kill them. Subotic is on trial for several other murders of Croats in Dusina.  

Halid (son of Ismet) Helvida and Halid (son of Hasan) Helvida testified as Defence witnesses at this hearing.

Halid (son of Ismet) Helvida told the Court that he was not member of ABiH at all, but member of a working squad in January 1993. He remembered having stayed in his house on January 26, 1993, adding that he had had some stomach problems, which caused vomiting, a day before.  

“I did not even leave my house, because I was sick,” the witness said, adding that he heard, later on, that “some problem had happened”, but he did not know anything about it. During his examination the judges noticed that the witness remembered the date, when he fell sick, but he did not remember the date of his son’s wounding.

Witness Halid (son of Hasan) Helvida said that he was not present in Dusina during the commission of the crime. As he said, he performed his civil duties, working in a military factory in Zenica. He said that he was not able to arrive in the village until the evening hours, because ABiH had “blocked the passage” at the Lasva interchange due to combat activities.

“I heard that some men were killed. That was all I heard. I have no clue who committed the murders,” he said.

Third Defence witness Sulejman Barucija said that he and his family had left Dusina two days prior to the crime and returned a day after the murders.

“I stayed at my uncle’s in Zenica,” Barucija said, adding that he and his family left the village out of fear caused by the fact that “Croats opened fire at our houses”.

During his examination the Trial Chamber told Barucija that witness Kegelj said that he saw him in Dusina on the day of the murders. When asked why Kegelj would say such a thing, the witness said that he did not know.

The trial is due to continue on April 11.