Protected Witness Describes Assault at Maric Trial
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The witness, known as S, said Maric came to her house in Kiseljak on July 17, 1993. He was accompanied by five other soldiers.
“They came to force me to leave my house, so they could accommodate Croat refugees in it. Maric entered the house. When I asked him not to force me to leave, since there were empty houses in the neighbourhood, he began beating me. He looks sick today, so something is completely different. At the time he was strong and hit me like a boxer. I remember each of his blows,” S said.
The witness told the court that after he beat her, Maric ran away to a nearby UNPROFOR compound. He was exchanged later on.
Maric, a former police commander and deputy commander of the Security and Information Service of the Croatian Defense Council in Kiseljak, has been charged with the assault and torture of prisoners of war and civilians in Kiseljak in the summer of 1993.
During cross-examination, Zdenko Tomic, Maric’s defense attorney asked S to describe his uniform.
“He wore a police uniform. He was dressed in a camouflage uniform during a solemn oath taking in Kiseljak. He didn’t look sick like he does today,” S said.
Maric told the trial chamber that her allegations were “made up.”
The trial will continue on May 18, when the first defense witnesses will be examined.
