Open Communications Intercepted

Mile Dosenovic, a military communications expert and former Bosnian Serb colonel, testified in Ratko Mladic’s defense at the Hague.

Dosenovic told the trial chamber that the Bosnian Serb Army’s communications could have been intercepted by enemy forces during the Bosnian war. In response to questions by the prosecution, Dosenovic said communication lines could have been intercepted only if they were held through one channel – be they radio or radio-relay systems- and if the communication was open and not coded.

In instances where communication was conducted through two channels at the same time – typical for most radio-relay communication systems – interception was impossible, Dosenovic said.

During cross-examination, prosecutor Peter McCloskey quoted a document from June 1995 in which Mladic said that enemy forces “persistently and efficiently” used information obtained through the interception of the Bosnian Serb Army’s open communications.

“Things like that did happen, but not that often…that wasn’t a big problem. There was a decisive reaction…that was a problem, but not so serious that it could jeapordize the VRS’ [Bosnian Serb Army’s] combat readiness,” Dosenovic said.

McCloskey also presented Dosenovic with a series of documents issued by the Bosnian Serb Army sent via a teleprinter, which were intercepted by the Bosnian Army. Dosenovic didn’t deny their authenticity, but said they looked like they were typed on a regular typewriter and not on a teleprinter.

While giving his main testimony last Thursday, Dosenovic said that the communication system of the Bosnian Serb Army was safe, because they used cryptic protection.

McCloskey countered this claim, stating that all communications between Bosnian Serb military and political leaders presented as evidence by the prosecution had been intercepted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Bosnian Army through open channels of communication. This included conversations with Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.

Mladic’s defense denied the authenticity of the intercepted conversations during previous hearings, claiming that, in some cases, there was a possibility that they were fabricated.

Mladic’s defense will present the judges with a new witness on August 18. Main defense attorney Branko Lukic had announced he would examine 40 more witnesses.

Mladic, the former general of the Bosnian Serb Army, has been charged with genocide in Srebrenica, the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina (which reached the scale of genocide in six municipalities), terrorizing the local population of Sarajevo and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.