Indictee Rade Skoric Dies

The Trial Chamber announced that it rendered the decision to separate the case, because it received information about the death of indictee Skoric from attorney Fadil Abaz and indictee Dusko Maksimovic, who said that he attended his funeral in Laktasi seven days ago.
 
Skoric was on trial together with Savo Tepic, Dragoslav Bojic, Dusko Vujicic, Dusko Maksimovic, Radojko Keverovic and Ilija Kurusic for having participated in the detention, torture and other inhumane acts against Bosniaks and Croats.
 
According to the charges, Tepic was Chief of the Public Safety Station, Bojic was Commander of the Police Station in Kotor-Varos, Vujicic was an active policeman, Maksimovic, Skoric and Keverovic were reserve policeman and Kurusic was a member of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS.
 
The trial of the remaining six indictees, who are charged with crimes in Kotor–Varos, continued with testimony by Zikret Fific, who said that he was captured in Kukavice hamlet on June 25, 1992 and then transferred to other locations.
 
“Ilija from Buca, whose last name I did not know at the time, appeared in front of Stipe Zeba’s house and called out the names of five people: ‘Esad Muminovic, whose brother is in the woods, Samir Avdic…’ and took them behind Ante Zeba’s house,” the witness said, adding that he then heard burst fire.
 
The Prosecution then presented him with photographs on which he recognised indictee Ilija Kurusic, as well as Dusko Vujicic and Dusko Maksimovic. When asked by the Defence of Ilija Kurusic why he failed to mention Ilija in his statement given in 1992, the witness said that he did not know. The Defence then objected to the witness’ testimony.
 
Fific told the Court that the captured men were forced to run in front of a military transporter towards Kotor–Varos and that they were stopped within the hospital complex, where Dusko Maksimovic hit Muharem Skopljak in his genitals.
 
“When we were in the hospital complex, I recognised Rajko Skoric as well. (…) They ordered us to squat in a canal next to the laboratory building. Dusko Maksimovic hit people randomly with his legs. He did not hit me on that occasion,” Fific said, adding that Maksimovic cursed them and said that his brother had been wounded in Kotor.
 
He said that, at that location special policemen killed Miralem Avdic and Muharem Skopljak, whom he personally carried and put on a pile of other dead people, among whom he recognized his son-in-law Ramiz and five people, who had been separated in front of Stipa Zeba’s house before.
 
According to Fific’s testimony, the captured Kukavica residents were then taken to a prison behind the Municipal Court building, where Dusko Vujicic, whom he had known from before the war as a policeman, hit him twice at the entrance. He said that he was exchanged on July 19, 1992.
 
Testifying at this hearing, second witness Adem Skopljak said that he too was captured in Kukavice and that special policemen beat him and other local residents in a canal next to the dispensary. He mentioned that Dule Maksimovic hit a neighbour of his, while “saying in an excited voice that his brother was wounded.”
 
Witness Skopljak said that his brother Muharem was killed next to the Dispensary and that he saw a dog, belonging to the special policemen, slaughtering Tomo Budimir. Also, he said that the men were pushed against the wall by a dredger and that the beating did not stop.
 
Skopljak said that, while he was in the prison building he saw special policeman Dule, but also Dule Maksimovic, who told him that his family was in a safe place. He was not able to say anything more about special policeman Dule.
 
The trial is due to continue on December 8.