Witness Says Momir Nikolics Allegations are Lies
This post is also available in: Bosnian
As far as Momir Nikolic is concerned, it is widely known in Bratunac that he said lies and untrue things, not only about me, but also about other people in order to improve his own position and acquit himself of crimes, which were charged upon him What he said he saw is a lie for sure, Deronjic said.
Nikolic, the then Security Officer with the Bratunac Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, admitted guilt, before the Tribunal in 2003, of having persecuted Muslims from Srebrenica. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He testified for the Prosecution against several persons, who were indicted for Srebrenica genocide.
Testifying at Mladics trial in June last year, Nikolic described his meeting with the indictee in the vicinity of Konjevic Polje on July 13, 1995.
He said that, after having promised to Muslim captives that they would be exchanged, the general made a hand gesture, indicating that they would actually be killed. Nikolic mentioned Nenad Deronjic as one of the persons, who were present during the conversation.
However, during his testimony Deronjic denied having been present at the checkpoint in Konjevic Polje on that day.
Mladic, the then Commander of VRS, is charged with genocide against about 7,000 Srebrenica Muslims in the days that followed the occupation of the enclave by VRS on July 11, 1995.
Deronjic said that, in the mentioned period he was on duty at the Police Station in Srebrenica and that he did not leave the town.
By his testimony, Deronjic indirectly denied an allegation by a protected witness, who accused him, while testifying at the trial of Radovan Karadzic, former RS President, of having participated in the shooting of 15 Muslim captives on the banks of River Jadar in Konjevic Polje on July 13, 1995.
During the cross-examination the Prosecutor presented Deronjic with several documents issued by Zvornik police, according to which he was deployed to Srebrenica on July 21. The documents further indicated that he had been involved in combat activities prior to that date.
While not denying the authenticity of those documents, the witness stuck to his allegation that he worked at the Police Station in Srebrenica as of July 12 and that he did not leave the town for the next nine days.
During the hearing today Mladics Defence presented the judges with witness Milan Pejic, who worked in a hospital in Ilidza during the war. Pejic said that hospital staff offered medical assistance to everyone, irrespective of their ethnicity, including Muslim and Croat soldiers and civilians.
Also, he described general Mladics visit to the hospital during which he visited the wounded and shook hands with everybody, irrespective of their ethnicity.
The prosecutors are due to cross-examine Pejic tomorrow, July 23.
The indictment charges Mladic with the persecution of Muslims and Croats throughout BiH, which reached the scale of genocide in seven municipalities, terror against civilians in Sarajevo and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.
