Victims Died Violent Death, Says Court Expert at Lukic Trial

Lukic, a former member of the Bosnian Serb Army, has been charged with the murder and mistreatment of civilians as well as other crimes in the Kljuc area in 1992.

Ratko Marcetic, a witness for the cantonal prosecution of Bihac, testified at the trial. He said he didn’t have any evidence with regards to the murder of Ibrahim Draganovic and Ibrahim Kumalic, but said he’d heard about the perpetrators during his stay in Pudin Han.

“On that day [the day of the murder], I saw two corpses in front of Haso Draganovic’s house, but I didn’t see Lukic on that day. I saw a crying woman. The police came soon after and took over the case. I attended their funeral,” Marcetic told the cantonal court of Bihac.

Court expert Miroslav Rakocevic presented his findings on the manner of death of the two victims at this hearing. He determined that Ibrahim Kumalic died a violent death, and said he noticed multiple wounds on the victim’s bones caused by the penetration of bullets.

Rakocevic said he believed Ibrahim Draganovic also died a violent death, most probably caused by firearms, although he didn’t find injuries on his bone matter.

“However, this does not exclude the possibility that bullets penetrated through the soft tissue and killed Draganovic. As the soft tissue has not been preserved, I assume he was killed in the same way as Kumalic,” Rakocevic said.

Lukic was originally charged in a case involving Predrag Bajic and four other defendants, who were sentenced to 5-13 years in prison. The proceedings against Lukic were separated due to his poor health.

The trial will continue on May 27.