Court Expert Describes Human Blood Found in Susica Hangar at Ostojic Trial
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Ostojic has been charged with war crimes in Susica in the municipality of Vlasenica. The court expert testified upon the invitation of the district prosecution of Eastern Sarajevo.
Ostojic, a former member of the reserve police forces of the Special Unit of the Vlasenica public safety station, has been charged with participating in the assault of civilians at the Susica detention camp during 1992.
At the beginning of the hearing, Ostojic’s defense attorney proposed that the trial chamber forego court expert Maja Martinovic’s examination, on the grounds that on one occasion Martinovic denied that she was a court expert.
The prosecution explained that Martinovic was an employee of the Federal Police Administration, and as such was an expert from a state-level body. The trial chamber rejected the defense’s proposal.
Maja Martinovic said she inspected the hangar along with a team from the State Investigation and Protection Agency in 2008, upon an order issued by the state prosecution. She said they found several brown traces at the hangar.
Martinovic said a preliminary analysis on the possible presence of blood was conducted at the crime scene, and positive or slightly positive reactions were noted in certain areas.
Martinovic said smears and wall chips were tested in a lab in order to determine the presence of blood of human origin at the site. Some samples tested positively, while other produced negative results. Certain samples revealed the presence of micro-traces.
During cross-examination, Martinovic said the state prosecution’s order didn’t contain names, but only a description of the crime scene and the location. She said she heard about Ostojic’s involvement in the case when she read the invitation to conduct an expert analysis.
The defense said it considered Martinovic’s expert analysis irrelevant to the case.
The prosecution included a report on the crime scene inspection, the findings of court experts and photo documentation in the case file as material evidence.
The trial will continue on May 26. At the next hearing, a prosecution witness who failed to appear at today’s hearing with the consent of the chamber, will be examined and the prosecution’s material evidence will be presented.
