Prozor Area War Crimes Described at Maric Trial

Maric, a former member of the Croatian Defense Council, has been charged with participating in acts of murder, torture and other inhumane acts in the municipality of Prozor from November 1992 to October 1993.

Masovic, a member of the board of directors of the Institute for the Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said 34 graves had been found in the Prozor area, including 31 individual and 3 mass graves. The biggest mass grave was found in Lapsunj. The Lapsunj mass grave contained the bodies of 21 victims from the Prozor area.

Masovic said 46 men and 7 women were still considered missing from Prozor. One of the missing persons is a minor. Two other missing persons are more than 80 years old.

Masovic said most of the victims were Bosniaks.

The prosecution filed a report issued by the Institute for Missing Persons as material evidence. The report contains a list of the missing, including eight names mentioned in the indictment against Maric and six individuals who’ve already been exhumed.

Witness Omer Kmetas also testified at this hearing. Kmetas said his village of Druzinovici was the last village in the municipality of Prozor to deport Bosniaks from the area in September 1993.

“Nikola Maric, also known as Nidzo, came to my door. He said, ‘Get ready. You are going to your people, to Alija and Alija’s army.’ There’s no room for Muslims here any more. He pointed his rifle towards me and asked me to open all the rooms for him,” Kmetas said.

Kmetas said Maric was dressed in a black uniform. The defense then said that Kmetas had said that Maric wore a camouflaged uniform in 2009.

“I think I said he was in a black uniform at that time as well,” Kmetas said.

Kmetas said local residents of Druzinovici were transported to Kucani with two trucks. Kmetas said he and his brothers were told to get off the truck – they were accommodated in a fire brigade station in Prozor. After drunk soldiers beat his brother up, they were transferred to a secondary school in Prozor.

Kmetas said they were detained at the secondary school until mid-December, when he was transferred to the Heliodrom detention camp. He said that upon his arrival to Heliodrom, he found out that his wife and children had been transferred to Jablanica.

Vahida Kmetas also testified at this hearing. Vahida Kmetas said Fatima Kmetas told her that a person wearing a black uniform told them to leave Druzinovici. She said he was nicknamed Nidzo, and she didn’t know him.

She said the three Kmetas brothers were ordered to get off the truck and were then taken to the fire brigade station.

The trial will continue on June 11.