Criminal Charges Filed Against Mice Paramilitary Formation in 1992, Witness Says

Testifying against former members of the “Mice” paramilitary formation, state prosecution witness Dragomir Markovic said he filed criminal charges against the group in 1992. The charges accused the group of the murder of approximately thirty civilians, as well as rape and robbery.

Defendants Dragan Marjanovic, Sasa Gavranovic, Vitomir Devic, Zoran Sljuk, Dragomir Kezunovic, and Dario Slavuljica have been charged with killing 28 Bosniak and Croat civilians. The victims were allegedly detained at the Teslic police station and were transferred to a prison in Pribinic. On the night of June 17 or 18, 1992, they were taken to Mount Borje and killed with firearms.

The indictment alleges that at the time Dragan Marjanovic was the commander of the First Military Police Squad of the Teslicka Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska, while the other indictees were members of that squad and also members of the “Mice” paramilitary formation.

Witness Dragomir Markovic is a former employee of the Law Enforcement Department of the Police Centre in Banja Luka. He said members of the “Mice” paramilitary formation came to Teslic from Doboj. Upon their arrival, they seized civilian, police, and military power.

Markovic said he filed criminal charges against the group on July 9, 1992. He said those charges include five of the six persons indicted before Bosnia’s state court for the murder of Bosniaks and Croats in the municipality of Teslic.

Defendants Sasa Gavranovic, Vitomir Devic, Dragomir Kezunovic, Dario Slavuljica and Zoran Sljuka were included in the criminal charges. Dragan Marjanovic was not.

“I have never heard of that name,” Markovic said.

Markovic said he was assigned the task of going to Teslic to process the group, which had been arrested by the Army of Republika Srpska and State Security. After a month-long review of the documentation involved in the case, he wrote up criminal charges against sixteen persons.

Some of the persons mentioned in Markovic’s charges were members of the “Mice” paramilitary formation, and others weren’t.

“According to my findings, they worked together,” Markovic said.

Markovic said that during his investigation of documentation involved with the case, he found a list of persons whom the formation had planned on arresting – mostly Bosniaks and Croats who were wealthy or involved in politics.

Markovic said the sixteen persons he accused in his criminal charges were taken to a prison in Banja Luka, and were ordered to remain under custody for three days. He said he found out later on that the court in Doboj ruled that the police center in Banja Luka were not authorized to keep the suspects in custody.

“The ‘Mice’ were taken to Doboj and were released,” Markovic said.

Prosecutor Dzermin Pasic included Markovic’s criminal charges in the case file. One of the defense attorneys said this could not serve as evidence.

A new prosecution witness will testify on March 19.