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The Trial Chamber will consider the agreement in the coming days. During the hearing held today, the Chamber separated the case against Bajic from the case against indictee Mladenko Vrtunic.
The Prosecution previously reached a guilt admission agreement with Slobodan Dragic, who was sentenced to five years, as well as Predrag Bajic and Sinisa Babic. A Chamber’s decision concerning the latter agreement is still awaited.
As the trial of Vrtunic continued, the Prosecution presented its material evidence. In his defence Vrtunic said that he was neither present in the Kljuc area nor participated in the murder of two women in November 1992.
Defence attorney Mladenko Brkic said that he was not able to begin presenting the Defence’s evidence today due to a series of circumstances, specifically “domino agreements” reached by the other indictees in this case, insufficient financial resources and inability to establish contacts with his client.
“As part of our defence I would like to take a statement from a very important witness, who currently lives abroad and is afraid to appear before this Court,” Brkic said.
The Chamber said that Zeljko Budimir, who was not available to prosecutorial bodies in BiH, could not be examined as a Defence witness as a separate proceeding against him was underway for those same crimes.
As per a request by the Bihac Prosecution, Budimir was examined as a suspect in Serbia. The Chamber considers that he is in a different legal position now. Vrtunic will be examined as the first, and possibly the only Defence witness.
“The investigation against Budimir is in its final stage. We expect the indictment to be filed soon,” Cantonal Prosecutor Jasmin Mesic said.
Vrtunic is charged with having participated, in collaboration with Predrag Bajic and another person, in the physical mistreatment of Ale Strkunic and murder of his wife Fatma and her mother in Mali Rejzovici village, Kljuc municipality, in November 1992.
The trial is due to continue on June 3.
