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Prosecutor Edin Muratbegovic requested the Court to extend prohibiting measures, including a ban on leaving Cajnice municipality and contacting certain persons, so they would not influence the witnesses, against the three former members of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS.
“The indictment covers grave violations of the international laws. Following the confirmation of the indictment, the indictees have got the names of all witnesses, so there is a justified fear that they might influence the witnesses,” the Prosecutor said.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, confirmed the indictment, charging Milosav, Marijan and Slavko Jovanovic, as well as Stevo Jovanovic, with the murder of Bosniak civilians in Medosevici village in Cajnica municipality in June 1992.
Veljko Civsa, Defence attorney of indictee Milosav Jovanovic, said that he “cannot understand” the State Court’s decision to confirm the indictment, under which the four Jovanovics are indicted for war crimes against the civilian population according to the Criminal Code of BiH and not the Criminal Code of the former Yugoslavia, which is more favourable for perpetrators.
“The decision to stick to the application of the stricter law despite the clear decisions by the European Court for Human Rights and Constitutional Court is totally unreasonable,” Civsa said.
He mentioned that the State Prosecution’s allegations related to the existence of danger that they might influence witnesses were not supported by arguments and that one “cannot help but notice” the State Prosecution’s decision not to request prohibiting measures against fourth indictee Stevo Jovanovic.
The Defence of the two other indictees agreed with attorney Civsa, while Predrag Drinic, Defence attorney of Slavko Jovanovic, said that the three of the indictees had been under the prohibiting measures for more than a month and that they had not tried to contact any of the witnesses even once during that time.
The Court of BiH will render its decision at a later stage.
