Nihad Bojadzic’s Authority

Witness Mustafa Andelija, former member of Zulfikar Squad with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, said that, following a Republika Srpska Army, VRS offensive on Mount Igman in mid-July 1993, he was deployed to that mountain with a part of the Squad in order to “help prevent the breakthrough”.

“I remember having seen Bojadzic on that mountain on the first day of the battles. I know that he was there and that he tried to stop our confused soldiers from running away in that chaotic situation using his authority. He arranged the defence lines. He was there until the fall of Igman at the beginning of August,” Andelija said.

The witness said that he saw Bojadzic in Bradina at the beginning of August 1993 following the withdrawal of ABiH units from Mount Igman.

Bojadzic, a former Deputy Commander of the “Zulfikar” Unit, is charged with having raped a Croat female detainee and beaten up captured members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, in “The Battle of Neretva” Museum in Jablanica in July 1993.

Besides that, he is on trial with having tortured and abused, in different ways, the Croat detainees, who were held in “The Battle of Neretva” Museum, as well as the Rogica Houses in Donja Jablanica, in the second half of 1993.

Witness Andelija said that he and other members of his unit stayed in Jablanica in September and October 1993, when he was not in the field performing combat tasks and that he had never heard that the restaurant in which his unit members used to eat was shelled.

“I do not remember that the restaurant was shelled at all. The restaurant was made of glass and wood. It had a big show-window next to the trunk road, so I would have seen that,” the witness said.

Among other things, Bojadzic is charged with having lined up captured Croats in front of a restaurant used by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Donja Jablanica in the second half of 1993 and ordered them not to move, while grenades were falling. Also, he ordered guards to keep their rifles pointed towards them, bringing their lives into danger.

Following the examination of witness Andelija, Bojadzic’s Defence gave up the examination of 18 planned witnesses.

Vasvija Vidovic, Defence attorney of Bojadzic, said that the Defence planned to invite only eight more witnesses and examine the indictee.

The next hearing is planned for December 11 this year.