Disarmament and Arrests of Serbs Necessary, Witness Says at Trial for Hadzici War Crimes

The witness, Ramiz Dupovac, testified at the trial of Djelilovic and seven other former members of Bosniak forces who have been charged with war crimes in the Hadzici area.

On the second day of his testimony, Ramiz Dupovac said he knew the Serb population was preparing to establish military units as of February 1992. He said the Serb community’s mobilization and possession of weapons presented a threat. As a result, the wartime presidency of the municipality of Hadzici rendered a decision to disarm the Serb population.

The defense presented Dupovac with some of the notes made on arrests that took place as a result of the disarmament. Dupovac confirmed that arrests were made for collaborating with enemy forces, possessing illegal weapons, or preparing an uprising against the legally elected authorities.

When asked by prosecutor Zorica Djurdjevic whether the wartime presidency made a decision to “put those individuals in isolation,” Dupovac said that he also participated in bringing about the decision to disarm the Serb population.

“In my opinion, this was one of the most important decisions [the wartime presidency made]. All persons, who received or possessed weapons, presented a danger. They presented a danger with or without weapons, considering the fact they could get weapons from the military barracks at any time,” Dupovac said. He said some people who weren’t arrested ultimately joined paramilitary formations.

When asked by the prosecutor if it was true that the entire Serb population was arrested, and not only the able-bodied, Dupovac said that at the time he had no way of knowing who had been arrested.

When Dupovac previously testified on April 9, he had said that following an attack on the public safety station in Hadzici by Serb forces in May 1992, the Bosniak population left to the Pazaric and Tarcin area. There they formed a crisis committee.

Dupovac, who was also a member of the wartime presidency during the war, said the local authorities faced problems caused by paramilitary units, which occasionally operated as far as Silos in 1992.

“Nobody was happy with those events, so a decision was made to strengthen the outside security of Silos,” Dupovac said. He said the local authorities couldn’t conduct criminal proceedings against the units, because establishment of courts was not under the jurisdiction of municipalities.

He confirmed that the families who searched for the missing from Hadzici objected to the release of prisoners from Silos, pending information about the fate of their missing family members.

Djelilovic, Fadil Covic, Mirsad Sabic, Nezir Kazic, Becir Hujic, Halid Covic, Serif Mesanovic and Nermin Kalember have been charged with acts of unlawful detention, inhumane treatment, physical and mental suffering and forcing detainees to perform forced labour.

According to the charges, at the time Djelilovic was the president of the municipal assembly, crisis committee and wartime presidency of the municipality of Hadzici, while the other defendants were members of military and police authorities, as well as managers of detention camps. Kalember was a guard in Silos.

The trial will continue on April 23, with the examination of a new defense witness. The cross-examination of Dupovac will be completed at a later stage.