Bosnian Croat Fighter Tried for Killing Teenager

The trial opened at the cantonal court in Zenica on Wednesday with the reading of the indictment accusing Crepulja of killing the teenage civilian in the village of Ratanj on October 16, 1993.

According to the indictment, when Crepulja came to the house of Hasija and Suljo Kovacevic, he was armed, wearing a camouflage uniform and a hat decorated with the letter ‘U’ – possibly in reference to the Nazi-affiliated Croatian Ustasa regime in Croatia.

Crepulja was cursing and calling Hasija Kovacevic to get out of the house, and when her son Mirzet Cizmo asked him what he wanted, he opened fire without saying anything and killed him, the prosecution alleges.

The defence said it would prove that Crepulja was not in the area at the time, and that he was not a member of the Croatian Defence Council until October 18, 1993.

The defence raised the question whether there was any connection between the accusations and the fact that Crepulja’s parents and another relative were killed nearby.

“Only 50 meters away from the prosecution witnesses’ houses, there was a triple murder. The defendant’s father was slain, the soles of his feet were cut off, and his mother and relative were executed,” said defence lawyer Nikica Bodula.

The trial continues on October 14.