Witness at Stanarevic Trial Describes Civilian Deportations from Ripac

Stanarevic, a former military police officer with the 15th Bihacka Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army, has been charged with participating in the persecution of Bosniak civilians, as part of a widespread and systematic attack by the Bosnian Serb military and police on the villages of Ripac, Cukovi, Orasac, Klisa and Kulen-Vakuf in the municipality in Bihac.

Stanarevic stands accused of participating in the murder of 11 civilian prisoners detained in a building in Ripac from June 24 until the first half of July 1992. The prosecution alleges that Stanarevic and others transported the prisoners to the Bezdan Pit. There, Stanarevic allegedly killed four victims and threw their bodies into the pit.

State prosecution witness Dervis Ciric was cross-examined at today’s hearing.

“We know for sure he [Stanarevic] participated in those two sites,” Cervic said. Cervic said he heard about Stanarevic’s involvement in the murder of civilians from unidentified sources.

Ciric said the Serbian municipality of Bihac was formed in late 1991. Ciric said the municipality also included the village of Ripac, where a police station of mixed ethnicity was established.

Ciric said the security situation in the village was difficult, and that eventually the police force became entirely Serb as of March 1992.

“Serb representatives wanted to dominate,” Ciric said.

Ciric said he was told to go to the police station in the early morning of May 22 or 23, 1992, at the beginning of the armed conflict in the area. He was ordered to participate in negotiations on disarmament.

Ciric said he dealt with pistols and hunting guns, and very few military grade weapons, which were mostly confiscated from the Ripac police station.

Ciric said that during a second meeting, a decision was made to expel a convoy of approximately 1000 Bosniaks and Croats from Ripac.

“This was a forced deportation,” Ciric said.

Responding to questions from the defense, Ciric said he couldn’t claim he’d seen the defendant at the police station.

He said between 30 to 40 local residents stayed in Ripac. He said most of them were killed later on.

“They killed them like animals in Ripac,” Ciric said. He said he’d heard that 15 persons were also killed in Orasac while picking plums.

Ciric said that following an attack on the villages of Cukovi, Orasac and Vakuf after the first day of Eid in 1992, between 140-150 men were taken to a detention camp in Ripac. Ciric said approximately 80 of them were killed.

The trial will continue on August 17.