Extension of Custody for Jovanovics Requested

Prosecutor Edin Muratbegovic requested a one-month extension of custody due to a suspicion that the suspects would influence witnesses while at liberty.  
 
Muratbegovic pointed out that there was a danger that he would influence the witness, who was the only survivor of the murders charged upon Jovanovics.
 
“Influencing the witnesses would have a negative effect on the further course of the proceedings,” he said.  
 
The Defence teams said that there were no grounds for extending custody and proposed that prohibiting measures be ordered instead.
 
“It is unreasonable to expect that somebody would influence a witness, whose family was killed… In my opinion, there is no risk at all that they might influence that witness,” said Veljko Civsa, Defence attorney of Milosav Jovanovic.
 
The Prosecution of BiH suspects the three Jovanovic’s with the murder of Bosniak civilians in Medosevici village in Cajnice municipality in June 1992. Stevo, Marijan, Slavko and Milosav Jovanovic are charged with having killed a Bosniak woman aged more than 80 and then set fire to her house, which burned down with the killed woman’s body inside, on June 4, 1992.
 
Besides that, the Prosecution alleges that Marijan, Slavko and Milosav Jovanovic killed four civilians, including two children, in the first half of June 1992, while one person died due to the consequences of beating. The Prosecution alleges that the Jovanovics committed these crimes as members of the Third Podrinje Light Infantry Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS.
 
The Defence teams said that the evidence did not even indicate that there was a grounded suspicion.
 
Predrag Drinic, Defence attorney of suspect Slavko Jovanovic, said that, according to his findings, the State Prosecution had previously filed the indictment, but it was returned to it for additional processing.
 
“This means that the Prosecution of BiH has already completed the investigation,” he said.
 
Prosecutor Muratbegovic said that the public would be upset should the suspects be released to liberty, but the Defence teams denied that.
 
On November 10 the Prosecution of BiH announced the filing of an indictment against the four Jovanovics.
 
They were arrested in mid-October. Following their arrest, the Court of BiH ordered them into custody due to a suspicion that they might influence witnesses and accomplices and destroy or hide the evidence material by staying at liberty.
 
The custody for Stevo Jovanovic was terminated on November 7.