A Common Soldier without Responsibility for Detainees

Hodzic’s Defence included 15 pieces of material evidence in the case file. Those included military forms and the indictee’s personal record. Defence attorney Nedzla Sehic said that, by presenting those pieces of evidence, she proved that Hodzic was “an ordinary soldier in ‘Zulfikar’ Squad and that he had no special authority”.

“It can be seen that, as an ordinary soldier, he had no authority in relation to prisoners. He neither detained nor released them. He was not able to order them anything,” Sehic said.

The Defence attorney also presented a few orders by the Command of the Ninth Mountain Brigade with the Army of BiH referring to taking prisoners from Mount Igman to perform works.

Sehic explained that those pieces of evidence confirmed that there was a system of persons, who guarded prisoners on Mount Igman, and determine when they could go out in order to perform labour, and that Hodzic was not a part of that system.

The Defence also presented evidence, confirming that Hodzic was detained in, as said by Sehic, Morinj detention camp of the Yugoslav National Army, JNA, in Montenegro in 1992.

“These pieces of evidence confirm that Hodzic was released from the detention camp in August 1992. One can see that he was very skinny and had weak body construction, which denies the testimonies by certain persons, who described him as a blond man with robust body. At the same time it denies the allegations by certain witnesses, who said that Hodzic abused them on Mount Igman on St. Vitus Day in June 1992,” Sehic said.

Nedzad Hodzic is on trial, along with Dzevad Salcin, for crimes committed on Mount Igman. The Prosecution of BiH charges them, as former members of the “Zulfikar” Squad of ABiH, with having participated in the torture and beating of prisoners on Igman.

The trial is due to continue on February 5, when the Defence of indictee Salcin will begin examining its witnesses.