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Presenting his findings and opinion about the witnesses’ health condition, court expert Omer Cemalovic, neurologist and psychiatrist, explained that the third witness was “in a difficult and bad health condition”, so she was not capable of testifying before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH.
“Her condition is characterised by an extreme irritability and an incontrollable flood of words. As the trauma to which she was subjected has not been dealt with, it causes such emotional reactions,” the court expert said.
He said that it was not possible to predict when the witness’ condition might improve.
“During my conversation with her she would moan, cry. If she would appear in court, I consider that those things would happen again, so she should be exempted from that,” Cemalovic said.
He presented his findings and opinion at the trial of Vitomir Rackovic, former member of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, who is charged with having participated in attacks against Bosniak villages, detention, torture, forced disappearances of persons from the Visegrad area and rape in the period from May to the end of August 1992.
As alleged in the indictment, some of the unlawfully arrested persons have never been found. It is further alleged that bodies of some of the civilians were exhumed at Slap location in Zepa in 2000.
Speaking about the health condition of Nusret Cero and Safija Spiritovic, the court expert said that they were capable of testifying, but that breaks should be made during their testimonies.
“I consider that Cero is capable of participating in the court proceedings but breaks should be made during his examination every hour or hour-and-a-half,” he said.
The trial is due to continue on July 9.
