Mladic Defense Claims Casings Found at Tomasica Mass Grave Owned By Civilians

The defense team of former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic challenged the testimony of ballistic expert Bruno Franjic, in an attempt to disprove claims of the Bosnian Serb Army’s involvement in the Tomasica mass grave near Prijedor.

Franjic had reviewed the bullets, casings and munition pieces found in Tomasica, and concluded that most bullets were from Kalashnikov automatic rifles or semiautomatic rifles. He also found M-48 casings.

During cross-examination, Mladic’s defense attorney, Dragan Ivetic, said M-48 rifles were owned by civilians in 1992.

“I am not sure and I would rather not respond to that,” Franjic said.

Franjic did however, confirm Ivetic’s claim that he could not decisively say that the casings belonged to Bosnian Serb Army forces. Franjic said it wasn’t his responsibility to confirm who the casings belonged to, and said other parties in the conflict used the same weapons.

“I didn’t find the exact model and type for any of the bullets or casings. I just said they belonged to a certain type of rifle. I don’t know what the Bosnian Serb police and army used. I can’t speak to that,” Franjic said.

Franjic testified at reopened evidence hearings at the Hague Tribunal with regards to the Tomasica mass grave. The Hague Tribunal’s prosecution aims to prove that the Tomasica victims were killed by Bosnian Serb Army forces in 1992, in a campaign of persecution which reached the scale of genocide in Prijedor.

Almira Karahasanovic, the head of the biological expert review of the Bosnian Federation Police, began her testimony at today’s hearing. She described the DNA identification process of the Tomasica victims.
Mladic is also on trial for genocide in Srebrenica, terrorizing the local population of Sarajevo and taking UN peacekeepers hostage.

The trial continues,.