Exchange of Serb Citizens

Witness Izet Brazdic said that, on June 15, 1993, right after taking over the function of President of the municipality wartime Presidency, he received a request from the Public Safety Station in Kladanj to “solve the status of Serb citizens, who were accommodated in the school building in Stupari”.

“The document was signed by Selman Busnov of police. I remember that the letter requested the wartime Presidency to determine the status of the persons, who were accommodated at that place in agreement with, if I remember well, the Army of BiH for the sake of their own protection,” Brazdic said.

According to his testimony, considering the fact that the wartime Presidency did not participate in bringing those persons to those premises, the witness refused to give a concrete response regarding their status.

“I considered that it would mean that we were taking the responsibility for something in which we had not participated from the very beginning… We said that the status of all citizens, including Serbs, was determined by the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which guarantees security and freedom, so we ordered them to act in accordance with the laws,” Brazdic said.

The witness said that, a few days later the Public Safety Station sent another letter to the wartime Presidency, requesting mobilisation of Serb citizens from Stupari. He said that this request too was rejected.

“The mobilisation was conducted in 1992, as per a decision by the wartime Presidency. We therefore considered that it was impossible to do it again,” Brazdic explained, adding that, after that he collaborated with municipal commission in order to help organise the exchange of all Serb citizens from Stupari, which happened in July 1993.

Selman Busnov, former Chief of the Public Safety Station in Kladanj, is charged, along with Safet Mujcinovic, Zijad Hamzic, Nusret Muhic, Ramiz Halilovic, Nedzad Hodzic, Osman Gogic and Kahro Vejzovic, former members of the Territorial Defence, as well as military and civil police, with the unlawful detention of the Serb population, as well as beating and inhumane treatment.

Responding to questions by the Defence teams, Brazdic said that Serb citizens, who were accommodated in Stupari, lived in “better conditions and had more food than people in Kladanj”.

The trial is due to continue on Friday, September 5.