Witness in Vasic Trial Claims He Wrote and Signed Documents in Defendant’s Name

The witness, Milorad Lokancevic, said that he was a police inspector with the Zvornik public safety station in 1995, and Vasic was his commander.

The state prosecution showed Lokancevic several decisions, which the witness said he prepared and signed in Vasic’s name. He said Vasic trusted him to do so.

“I sent decisions he never even saw,” Lokancevic said.

Lokancevic said the Zvornik public safety station was created by an order issued by the Bosnian Serb Interior Ministry less than a year before the Srebrenica genocide. Upon its formation, Vasic was given command.

According to Lokancevic, the center had nothing to do with Srebrenica.

Asked whether Vasic ever told him to create a decision with specific content, Lokancevic said preparing documents was solely his job. Lokancevic also said that according to law, police units working in the field had to submit to military command.

The Bosnian state prosecution has filed charges related to the Srebrenica genocide against Vasic, Danilo Zoljic, Radomir Pantic, Miodrag Josipovic, and Branimir Tesic.

Vasic, Zoljic and Pantic have been charged with assisting in the forcible resettlement of the local population of Srebrenica, separating men from their families, as well as capturing and executing men and boys in the territory of Bratunac, Srebrenica and Zvornik.

Josipovic and Tesic have been charged with participating in the forcible resettlement of the civilian population from Potocari on July 12 and 13, 1995, separating men from their families, as well as transporting and detaining more than 1000 Bosniak men and boys in Bratunac. It is alleged that they were killed later on.

According to the charges, at the time Vasic was the commander of the Zvornik police headquarters, Josipovic was the chief of the public safety station and Tesic was the deputy commander of the police station in Bratunac. Zoljic was the commander of special forces of the public safety center in Zvornik and Pantic was the commander of the First Company of the Special Units of Zvornik’s public safety center.

The trial resumes on July 9.