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Ivan Petrusic, former Commander of military police with the Croatian Defence Forces, HOS, in Ljubuski, said that he could hardly remember the indictee and that he did not know what the indictee’s function in Dretelj was. The witness confirmed that he sometimes visited that facility, where he saw Serb detainees.
When asked by indictee Buljubasic whether he had ever issued an order to him, Toni Rajic or anybody else in Dretelj, the witness answered negatively.
After that Buljubasic showed him two documents, giving orders to Rajic and Buljubasic, which were signed by Ivan Petrusic. The witness said that the signatures were not his and that he did not know about those documents. Petrusic explained that he could not have signed the document issued on August 9, 1992, because he was in Neum at the time.
“I am requesting you to order an expert examination of this signature,” the witness said.
Buljubasic, former member of HOS, is on trial, along with Ivan Zelenika, Srecko Herceg, Ivan Medic and Marina Grubisic-Fejzic, for having committed crimes against Serb prisoners in Dretelj. The Prosecution of BiH alleges that they participated in forcing detainees to perform forced labour and torturing them. Several persons died due to consequences of the abuse.
According to the charges, Zelenika was a HOS officer, Herceg was Commander of Dretelj, Buljubasic was Deputy Commander and Medic and Grubisic-Fejzic were guards.
Witness Petrusic denied having been the Commander of the military barracks in Dretelj, also denying that Buljubasic was his Deputy. He confirmed that he heard about a murder in Dretelj. When asked by the indictee what he did after that, Petrusic said that he did nothing, because Blaz Kraljevic, the then Chief Commander of HOS, was alive at the time.
“I was involved in Blaz’s security and security of the Headquarters. It was not my job to check what was going on in Dretelj,” the witness said.
Responding to questions by the fifth indictee, the witness said that “Marina was not a member of military police.”
The trial is due to continue on December 2.
