Statement by Deceased Witness Read at Vojic and Mesic Trial

Vojic and Mesic, both former members of the 501st Brigade of the Fifth Corps of the Bosnian Army, have been charged with raping a woman and forcing another person to rape her on the night of May 1 or 2, 1994 in Bihac.

In a statement given to the Higher Court of Belgrade, deceased witness Mirko Hajdukovic said unknown members of the Bosnian Army approached his house on May 1 or 2, 1994. Hajdukovic passed away in 2013.

“I didn’t open the door, but they shot through the door and all the way to the corridor right away. I lied down on the stairs. I didn’t see who they were. They didn’t enter the house,” Hajdukovic said.

Hajdukovic said he visited the commander of the Fifth Corps of the Bosnian Army the next day to complain about the shooting. He said he was with a protected witness known as D-1, her son and another complainant.

“I noticed that D-1 and the two other people had been beaten up…D-1 had bruises on body parts that had been pinched, bitten or kicked. She said she had been raped…They told me members of the Bosnian Army did it,” Hajdukovic said.

The state prosecution completed its presentation of evidence with Hajdukovic’s statement.

Vojic’s first two witnesses are expected to testify at the next hearing, scheduled for October 28.