Witness at Kusuran Trial Describes Finding Body of Injured Party

Kusuran has been charged with the murder of Ostoja Baltic, who he allegedly set on fire in a car on August 29, 1992. Kusuran was allegedly accompanied by several other persons, including Semir Alukic, who was found guilty of war crimes under a second instance verdict.

According to the indictment, on August 29, 1992, Kusuran and several other persons also went to the hamlet of Podgradje in the vicinity of Kozarac and killed Bozo Indjic by setting him on fire inside his house. Afterwards they set Sojanka Dekic’s house on fire. She managed to escape through a window with her daughter Snjezana.

Ljuban Lukic, a former police officer from Kozarac, testified at today’s hearing. Lukic told the district court of Banja Luka that Baltic was in his office on the day of his murder and that gunfire was heard twenty minutes after his departure.

“I didn’t suspect that anything bad had happened, because there was a lot of shooting in those days anyway. When I came to work on the following day, I saw Gojko Baltic, Osta’s [Ostoja Baltic’s] father, who said his son hadn’t come back home. A policeman then came and said he had seen a burnt car on the road,” Lukic said.

According to Lukic, he and two other police officers went to the road and found the burnt car.

“We saw Ostoja’s body in it. The body was totally burnt. Later on, I heard that Gojko had spoken to Hamdija Beslagic, who admitted to having done that,” Lukic said.

Prosecutor Igor Cimesa read statements given by two witnesses. Mirsad Ahmetcehajic, who was unable to appear in court due to his poor health, said he fled to the woods with his family when the shelling of Kozarac began.

“I was with three other men. During our stay in the woods, we used to meet other groups of people as well. While I was there, I heard that Bozo Indjic had been killed, but knowing he was a good man, I don’t know why somebody would want to kill him,” Ahmetcehajic said.

The trial will continue on November 6.