Poor Memory

Kovacevic recalled having seen Hasija Kovacevic crying in front of her house, because her son Mirzet was killed.  

“She said that somebody shot at him, but she did not know who it was,” the witness said, adding that he did not see the killed person’s body.

The Prosecutor presented the witness with a statement he gave during the investigation in 2013, when he said that the killed person’s mother told him that Ivo Crepulja had killed her son by opening a burst of fire at him from a rifle.  

The witness confirmed that it was true, explaining the differences between his statements by the fact that he had a poor memory.

The indictment charges Crepulja, a former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, with having killed a minor civilian in Ratanj village on October 16, 1993 without any cause or reason.  

Responding to Defence’s questions, the witness said that he did not know Ivo Crepulja well and that he would not be able to recognise him.  

Towards the end of the cross-examination the indictee asked the witness how far the military barracks of the Army of BiH were and about the name of that place. The witness responded by saying:

“Why don’t you introduce yourself? Why don’t you say that your name is Ivo Crepulja? Can you see how your attorney is mistreating me? You know very well where that place is. You were born there. When this is over, we can go to Ratanj together,” Kovacevic said.

The trial is due to continue on January 13.