Sekaric’s Visits to Refugees on Zlatibor
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Branka Carapic said that indictee Sekaric was her pre-war neighbour in Gorazde and that she went to Serbia as a refugee at the beginning of the war, adding that she saw Sekaric there twice.
“I saw him in that resort for the first time. I gathered all the children and worked with them. Dragan Sekaric, known as Pive, appeared and brought some small presents for the children. We remembered that May 25 was our school’s annual day, so we spent time together. I gathered the children in one place, as I wanted to protect them from bad stories,” said Carapic, former teacher.
She said that Sekaric and his mother appeared in the refugee centre on Zlatibor some time later and that they brought some food and presents.
“We cooked meals and had drinks, so we always remember them by those good things,” Carapic said, adding that the indictee said that he wanted to go back to “his brothers in Gorazde, to his town”.
The witness said that it was known to her that Sekaric stayed at his grandma, grandpa and uncle’s in Uzice, Serbia, adding that they sent presents for the refugees.
Responding to questions by Trial Chamber Chairwoman Mira Smajlovic, the witness said that she did not know when Sekaric came to Serbia and that, apart from his visits to Zlatibor, it was not known to her where he went afterwards.
The Prosecution of BiH charges Sekaric, former member of the Territorial Defence and “Osvetnik” (“Avenger”) paramilitary formation, with having participated in an attack on Lozje-Kokino Selo village, Gorazde municipality, as well as the murder, rape and physical abuse of non-Serb civilians in Visegrad.
The indictment alleges that he committed those crimes from April 1992 onward and during 1993.
Prosecutor Seid Marusic read the indictment, which had been further specified in the meantime. After that the Prosecution and Defence said that they had no new pieces of evidence, so it was concluded that the evidence presentation was completed.
The Prosecution is due to present its closing statement on January 26.
