Witness Recalls Details in Case Against Ranko Rakic
This post is also available in: Bosnian
A defense witness said his testimony in the case of Ranko Rakic, Zeljko Rakic and Marko Stankovic changed over time because he remembered details he’d forgotten during the investigation.
Former Bosnian Serb fighters Ranko Rakic, Zeljko Rakic and Marko Stankovic have been charged with the murder of civilian Zuhra Husanovic in the village of Kucice in the municipality of Zavidovici in late August or early September 1992.
Defense witness Miodrag Cvetkovic told the cantonal court of Zenica he saw Rasim Husanovic, Zuhra Husanovic’s husband, crying and calling for his wife in front of a house in Kucice. Cvetkovic said Rasim Husanovic was accompanied by his daughter. He said he sent Husanovic and his daughter to their neighbour, Dimitrije Ristic.
“On my way back I met Rasim’s son, whom I instructed to follow them,” Cvetkovic said. He didn’t attend Zuhra Husanovic’s funeral.
In a statement he gave in June 2013, Cvetkovic said he met Rasim Husanovic in front of his house. He said Husanovic informed him that his wife had been killed and told him where her body was. Cvetkovic said Rasim Husanovic’s son was with him and other neighbours, including Dimitrije Ristic and Dragomir Kostadinovic. According to Husanovic, they jointly organized Zuhra Husanovic’s funeral in a Muslim cemetery.
Cvetkovic explained the differences between his statements by saying he was asked concise questions during the investigation phase of the case and that the whole process occurred over a short period of time.
“The examination made me analyze everything later on. I remembered the events. What I’m saying now before the court is true,” Cvetkovic said.
The Zenica cantonal prosecution objected to Cvetkovic’s testimony.
The prosecution also objected to documentation presented by Zeljko Rakic’s defense, which indicated that Rakic was in Germany in the time period covered in the indictment. According to the prosecution, Kucice wasn’t surrounded and one could travel freely.
The trial will continue on July 3.
