Bojadzic Prevented Attack on War Prisoner, Says Defense Witness

A protected witness known as S said he saw Nihad Bojadzic seize a knife from a Bosnian Army member attacking a prisoner of war, and had asked him “why did you do it?”

“Somebody probably injured someone,” said S.

Bojadzic was the former Deputy Commander of the Zulfikar Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is charged with stabbing the leg of a captured member of the Croatian Defence Council on police premises in Jablanica in July 1993. The soldier who was allegedly stabbed by Bojadzic is testifying under the pseudonym C.

S said that he worked as security guard at the hydroelectric plant.

According to S, the knife-seizing incident took place in the administrative building of the Grabovica hydro-electric plant between Jablanica and Mostar in June 1993.

On the day of the incident, S said he had come to the plant to find out when his next shift was scheduled. As he was approaching the administrative building, he said he saw Bojadzic and several other Bosnian Army members exiting a vehicle.

Noise was coming from a room in the administrative building and everybody headed in that direction, said S. After entering the room, S said he saw several Bosnian Army soldiers. He recognized Salem Dlakic, the commander of the military police at the time.

“Bojadzic seized the knife from that person [Salem Dlakic], attacked him, and yelled at him, ‘Why did you do that?’,” S recalled.

Afterwards, Bosnian Army soldiers took the man out of the room – S assumed they escorted the man to the hospital.

“At that moment I didn’t see blood,” he said.

When asked whether he saw Sead Brankovic in that room, S said he didn’t know Brankovic.

After additional questioning, S said he knew “a Sead, who had something to do with police.” The trial chamber told S that Sead Brankovic used to work at police.

Testifying as a state prosecution witness at a previous hearing, Brankovic had said that he had examined protected witness C, the soldier who had allegedly been stabbed by Bojadzic. Brankovic had said that during his questioning Bojadzic attacked witness C.

“Nihad took a knife from Salem’s vest and turned towards witness C. I was shocked…I just saw a blood-stained knife and him [Bojadzic] telling witness C to lick the knife,” Brankovic had said in his testimony.

The trial will continue on March 17.