Protected Witness at Mladic Trial Testifies Behind Closed Doors

The public was only allowed access to a written summary of a statement given by protected witness RM-382, which was included in the case file as evidence.

According to the summary, which the prosecutor read in the courtroom, RM-382 described the opening of a mass grave in Tomasica and the burial of the victims.

More than 400 bodies of Bosniaks from Prijedor were exhumed from the Tomasica mine in 2013.

According to the indictment, which charges Bosnian Serb Army commander Mladic with the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prijedor was one of the municipalities where the persecution reached the scale of genocide.

Prosecutors allege that Bosnian Serb Army forces killed Bosniaks whose bodies were buried in the Tomasica mine and in villages in Prijedor in the spring of 1992, during the ethnic cleansing campaign that took place in that area.

The prosecution’s presentation of evidence on the Tomasica mine began yesterday. They said they would present the judges with six court experts and seven witnesses, and would also include 60 documents in the case file.

The first witness, protected witness RM-383, was examined yesterday. The small portion of his testimony which was made available to public indicated that he participated in the transportation and burial of bodies in Tomasica.

The prosecution is due to complete its presentation of evidence on the Tomasica mass grave by July 22, when the tribunal will begin its summer recess. Following the break, Mladic’s defense will continue presenting its evidence.

Mladic has also been charged with genocide in Srebrenica, terrorizing the local population of Sarajevo and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.

The next prosecution witness will be examined tomorrow.