Ivan Medic Defense Requests Acquittal

Ivan Medic’s defense said in their closing statement today that Medic did not commit crimes against civilians in Dretelj. Medic’s defense attorney, Emina Hasanovic, requested that the court hand down a not guilty verdict.

The defendants in this case are Ivan Medic, Ivan Zelenika, Srecko Herceg, Edib Buljubasic and Marina Grubisic-Fejzic, all former members of the Croatian Defence Forces.

They’ve been charged with participating in the torture of detainees and forcing them to perform hard labour at Dretelj during the Bosnian war. The prosecution alleges that several detainees died as a consequence of their abuse.

According to the charges, at the time Medic was a guard, Zelenika was an officer, Herceg was the commander of Dretelj, Buljubasic was the deputy commander, while Grubisic-Fejzic was a guard.

Defense attorney Emina Hasanovic said in her closing statements that no one denied that “a horrible crime” happened in Dretelj in 1992. However, Hasanovic said the Bosnian state prosecution hadn’t provided sufficient evidence showing that Medic was guilty of detainee abuse.

“He neither established nor participated in the establishment of Dretelj. He didn’t examine or kill anyone. He didn’t force anyone to perform labour. He didn’t influence the conditions in Dretelj. He didn’t have a driver’s license or drive a car within the barracks complex. He didn’t treat anyone in a discriminatory manner,” Hasanovic said.

Then Medic addressed the court. He said he hoped the real truth about the crimes committed at Dretelj would be revealed and that the perpetrators would stand trial.
“I never participated in arrests or examinations. I didn’t want to. The only thing I wanted at that moment was to defend my homeland, so we could live together again,” Medic said. He also said that Poskok had never been his nickname.

Defense attorney Hasanovic said Medic was at Dretelj only temporarily, and couldn’t have influenced the set-up or living conditions in that facility. Hasanovic commented on testimony provided by witnesses who spoke of physical and mental abuse in Dretelj.

“None of the witnesses said that the defendant hit them, as alleged under the indictment. For that reason, the defense considers that a verdict of release would be the only fair decision,” she said.

With regards to claims by witnesses that Medic had sexually abused two detainees, Hasanovic said the testimony of one of the witnesses was contradictory. “It might be that there was a mix-up of identities,” she said.

Hasanovic said not a single piece of evidence associated Medic with the deaths of Bozo Balaban and Nenad Markovic.

According to Hasanovic, the prosecution failed to prove Medic’s association with the other defendants or his awareness of the system of abuse in place at Dretelj.

“The prosecution hasn’t proven that Ivan Medic knew about the attack or that anyone told him, at any given point, what his role was in that attack,” she said.

Grubisic-Fejzic’s defense will present their closing statement on March 10.