Witnesses Describe Civilian Killings at Milan Lukic Trial

Witnesses testifying at the Milan Lukic trial described the defendant’s involvement in the murders of civilians Ibrahim Draganovic and Ibrahim Kumalic in 1992.

The cantonal prosecution of Bihac has charged Lukic, a former member of the Army of Republika Srpska, with the murder and mistreatment of civilians as well as other crimes allegedly committed in the municipality of Kljuc in July 1992.

Witness Nada Draganovic said that on the night of the murders she slept at Ramiz Draganovic’s house. According to Draganovic, that night Bosnian Serb soldiers attacked the home.

“Ramiz’s wife Mina opened the door after they broke the glass in the door. We didn’t dare move. We heard screaming and moaning and Fata Draganovic said, ‘They killed my Ibro [Ibrahim Draganovic].’ We didn’t dare leave the house until morning. At about 7am Ibrahim Draganovic’s body was found at the doorstep, while Baja [Ibrahim Kumalic] was found dead in the yard,” Draganovic said.

Mina Draganovic said that seventeen people slept at her house on the night when of the murders.

“I heard noise in the yard after 10pm. I recognized Ibrahim Kumalic’s voice. He called my husband and asked him if Ibrahim and Fata were at our house. I opened the door and saw Ibrahim, who was followed by three armed soldiers. Ibrahim [Kumalic] kept saying – give them the money, they will kill us . They asked where my husband was. When I said he was sleeping, one of them approached the mattress, pulled the blanket, and pointed his flashlight at him. As they were leaving the house, I heard a burst of gunfire. Fata came back to the house and said, crying, that they killed Ibrahim. Another round of bullets was fired. We didn’t dare move,” Mina Draganovic said.

On the following day they found the bodies of Ibrahim Draganovic and Ibrahim Kumalic, she said. She said she saw Kumalic’s body lying beside a car in the yard.

She said that Mile Mrljus, who was on friendly terms with her husband, came to their house later.

“He [Mrljus] wanted to speak to him in private. My husband told me later that he had told him that they had let the Bajic brothers and Milan Lukic pass the checkpoint and enter the village that night, adding that they committed those things. My husband said that he didn’t recognize any of the soldiers,” Mina Draganovic said.

Witness Halida Draganovic said that her brother-in-law told her that their neighbour Milan Lukic had set her house on fire, and that Ibrahim Draganovic and Ibrahim Kumalic were killed.

Testifying at the same hearing, witness Almir Draganovic said that he was hiding underneath a bed the night when Draganovic and Kumalic were killed. He said that he recognized Predrag Bajic’s voice.

“I frequently played football with Predrag, whom we called Gagi, before the war. He was the only one talking that night. I recognized his voice, but I didn’t dare tell anyone,” he said. Almir Draganovic said that Mile Miljus had told him that the Bajic brothers and Sinisa had killed Ibrahim Draganovic and Ibrahim Kumalic.

The trial will continue on March 16.