Convict Bajic Defends “an Innocent Man”

Bajic, who was sentenced, after having admitted guilt, to 13 years in prison for having killed seven civilians and raped two women, said that Vrtunic was “an innocent man in prison”.

“I addressed this Court because I can simply not bear the fact that this man is held in prison for no reason on my conscience. He did not attend the happenings in Ale Strkunic’s house, which are charged upon him. Besides me, Mile Stancevic and Drasko Krajcer were present,” Bajic 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.

Bajic said that they got drunk in a café and tried to figure out how to get some more money.
“I do not even know who got an idea that Ale certainly had money and that we should go there and take it away from him. Mile broke the door down and smashed the window, when Ale came out. We asked for money. He said that he did not have any, so Mile began cutting him. Ale then said that he had some money outside, so I went to the yard with him, while Mile and Drasko stayed inside the house, where Ale’s wife and mother-in-law were,” Bajic recalled.
He said that Strkunic found the money and managed to flee and that, when he met the two other guys later on in order to divide the money, he found out that Mile had killed the two women.

Objecting to this testimony, Cantonal Prosecutor Jasmin Mesic presented an entry from a report on Bajic’s examination during the investigation, when he said that he was accompanied by Mladenko Vrtunic and Zeljko Budimir and that Budimir killed the two women.

“I do not even know why I mentioned those names at that moment, knowing that I had never socialised with Mladenko Vrtunic, because he was much older than me,” Bajic said, adding that what he said at the hearing today was “the only truth”.

Testifying in his defence, indictee Vrtunic said that he was not present in Kljuc on November 21, 1992, when the murder was committed, but he was at Mahovljani airport, near Banja Luka.

“I caught a cold easily and had problems with my spine, so I was allowed to undergo medical treatment at home from November 22, 1992. This is confirmed by a movement certificate. I headed towards Kljuc between 9 and 10 on the 22nd. I think that I arrived in Kljuc at around 6 p.m.,” Vrtunic said.

He said that it was not clear to him at all how and why he was associated with this crime.

The presentation of evidence was completed with this testimony. After that the parties presented their closing statements. Prosecutor Mesic called on the Court to sentence the indictee, while Defence attorney Mladenko Brkic called for a verdict of release.

The verdict is due to be pronounced tomorrow, July 9.