Bosnian Policeman Cleared of Abusing Serb Civilians

The Bosnian state court on Wednesday acquitted Habibovic of abusing prisoner Ladimir Dragic while he was detained in a village administration office in Stupari in the municipality of Kladanj in June 1992. The prisoner committed suicide afterwards.

The court found that Dragic “was tortured and abused, which led to his suicide”, but that the prosecution did not prove that Habibovic was responsible, said presiding judge Vesna Jesenkovic.

Jesenkovic said that the prosecution based its case on the testimony of a now-deceased witness who allegedly saw the abuse of Dragic.

“But in a statement that [the witness] gave to the police in Kozluk in 2005, he gave a completely different description, saying that he couldn’t see who abused Dragic because that room was dark,” Jasenkovic said.

“It is important to note that the material evidence, namely the police logbook, shows that Habibovic was not on patrol duty when Dragic was brought in and on the day when he committed suicide,” she added.

Habibovic was originally indicted alongside eight other policemen and soldiers from the Kladanj area, who are still on trial.

The verdict can be appealed.