Knowing the Defendant

The witness, Safija Cirkin, testified at the trial of Mitar and Rade Vlasenko and Drago Koncar. The defendants are charged with participating in the persecution of the non-Serb civilian population in the area of Kozarac and the municipality of Prijedor from May 24-August 1992.

The indictment alleges that the defendants also committed murders and enforced disappearances.

Safija Cirkin said that she fled from Kozarusa during the war. Without specifying the date, she said that upon her return she found out her house had been destroyed.

She said she went to a nearby field in order to get some soil for her plants, when she discovered the remains of a headless body.

“The corpse was 50 or 60 meters away from the house, by the river. It was headless. I asked my daughter to come and told her those were not animal bones,” Cirkin said.

Cirkin’s daughter contacted a neighbour, who told them to cover the bones. The neighbour had the body carried away, after which the remains were examined. It was determined that the remains belonged to a member of the Cirkin family.

Cirkin said that she met defendant Mitar Vlasenko after the war, and that he used to work for her.

“I own some land, so he did work in the field,” Cirkin said.

She said that she didn’t know Rade Vlasenko and Drago Koncar.

The trial will continue on March 13.