Protected War Crimes Witness Attacked in Bosnia

Police said on Monday that they arrested the suspect, who was identified on by the initials ‘N.K.’, after he stabbed the witness several times with a knife in Novi Gorazde in eastern Bosnia.

The motive of the attack on Sunday remains unknown, said the Centre for Public Safety in Eastern Sarajevo, where the suspect was handed over to prosecutors.

“The suspect was interrogated, but he responds with silence,” said spokesperson Danka Tesic.

The injured man was testifying anonymously in the trial of Dragan Sekaric, a former Bosnian Serb fighter charged with crimes against humanity including killings, rape and other abuses in the Gorazde and Visegrad areas.

The Bosnian prosecution said it condemned the attempted murder of the protected witness, and that it would “take extra measures in cooperation with the police in order to protect witnesses”.

Damir Alagic, the lawyer for the injured witness, said that this was not the first time that his client has been attacked, but the interior ministry in Gorazde did not react properly to prevent the most recent assault. He said that he intended to sue the authorities over the incident.

“I will file a lawsuit, and the Bosnian prosecution should do anything to ascertain how their protected witness was attacked,” Alagic said.

The cantonal hospital in Gorazde said that the injured man had undergone surgery, and that his condition was stable.