Icanovic Arrived to Crime Scene After Murder, Witnesses Say

Hasan Icanovic, the former commander of the 505th Knights Brigade of the Fifth Corps of the Bosnian Army, has been charged with crimes against prisoners of war in the Velika Kladusa area in late 1994. According to the charges, Icanovic killed two prisoners of war and beat other captives with a rifle butt in the area of Latica Glavica in late 1994.

Safet Mrkanovic, a former member of the 505th Knights Brigade, testified at today’s hearing at the cantonal court in Bihac.

“I didn’t see who killed one of the prisoners, but I heard a gunshot. Hasan wasn’t with us at that moment, but he came later with Emir Nahic, who was a courier. I remember him quarrelling with his deputy Hamdija Sahinovic, who held a rifle and who, I suppose, had shot the prisoner,” Mrkanovic said.

Mrkanovic said Sahinovic, nicknamed Jarac, was of a greater build than Icanovic. Sahinovic was killed in a car accident after the war.

Emir Nahic, a former military courier, confirmed having arrived to the murder scene with Icanovic later on.

“Hasan and I arrived when everything was already over. Hasan ordered the shooting to stop and the prisoners to be taken to the command,” Nahic said.

The trial chamber accepted the defense’s request for a new forensic examination and identification of the defendant on the basis of video recordings and photos taken during the war.

The trial will continue on September 22, when Icanovic will testify in his own defense.