Witness Describes Cousin Murder at Prijedor War Crimes Trial

The witness, Midhat Mahmuljin, testified at the trial of Rade Vlasenko, Mitar Vlasenko and Drago Koncar. The defendants, all former members of the Bosnian Serb Army, have been charged with participating in the persecution of the non-Serb population from the Kozarac area and the surrounding villages in the municipality of Prijedor from May 24 to mid-August 1992.

The indictment alleges that the defendants committed acts of murder and enforced disappearances.

“My cousin Midhat Mahmuljin was in the detention camp. I saw him for the last time right before the shelling of Kozarusa. I heard he was taken out of the Trnopolje detention camp and killed…Rade Vlasenko, Mile Puskar and one more man came and took him away to collect some wood…He was shot at that location,” Mahmuljin said.

Mahmuljin said that Rade Vlasenko was a neighbour of his and that he was a soldier during the war.

In response to a question by the trial chamber, Mahmuljin explained that Dzemal Mahmuljin told him about what had happened to his cousin. Mahmuljin said Dzemal Mahmuljin found out about his cousin’s death from a man whose last name was Mujkanovic, who survived the shooting.

“Mujkanovic, who was in that group of people who were take away, ran away from the location of the shooting. When he returned to the detention camp, he told Dzemal what happened,” Mahmuljin said.

Rade Vlasenko’s defense asked Mahmuljin during cross-examination how he obtained his findings, considering the fact that he was approximately 12 years old in 1992. Mahmuljin said he heard about his cousin’s killing while he was in Prijedor.

The trial will continue on June 9.