Witnesses at Cobic Trial Describe Arrest and Disappearance of Brother

The district prosecution of Bijeljina has charged Dragan Cobic, a former member of the Interventions Squad of the Bijeljina police station, with arresting Mustafa Salkovic and Faruk Bilalic on September 11, 1992. Cobic and four other unknown perpetrators allegedly drove them in an unknown direction and killed them.

Testifying at today’s hearing, Elvir and Enver Bilalic said Cobic told them he was taking their brother Faruk away for questioning, but he never returned.

Elvir Bilalic said Cobic socialized with Faruk before the war. He said a police minivan intercepted him in the vicinity of the police station in Bijeljina on September 11, 1992. He said Cobic came out and asked him to show them the way to their house so he could take Faruk away for questioning.

“When she saw the police, my mother got really scared, but I told her everything was alright and that Dragan Cobic, nicknamed Combe, was there. He approached my mother and calmed her down, explaining that they were taking Faruk away for an informative interview and would bring him back home afterwards,” Bilalic said.

Bilalic said when his brother didn’t return, he and his mother went to search for him. He said they weren’t able to get any information on his fate and assumed the worst had happened to him. Bilalic said he gave up on searching for his brother, because he was afraid the same thing would happen to him.

Enver Bilalic, who was also present when his brother was taken away, said Cobic calmed their mother down by telling her he would bring Faruk home after an informative interview.

“He approached my mother and said, ‘Ma’am, don’t be upset. We’re just taking him away for an informative interview. I’ll bring him home as soon as we are done,” Enver Bilalic said.

The defense asked the witnesses whether their family found out that Faruk had been brought to the police station and was released following an interview a few days later. The defense also asked whether it was possible that one of the other police officers who had come to their house on that day had killed their brother.

Both witnesses said they received this information. They said they didn’t know if Cobic had killed their brother, but said the defendant participated in his arrest and in some way guaranteed that he would return. As such, they consider him as responsible as any other perpetrator.

State prosecution witness Mirsada Pasalic Mohns also testified at today’s hearing. She said Mustafa Salkovic’s parents approached her for help after their son disappeared.

She said she went to the military barracks in Bijeljina and spoke to a duty officer named Srecko Manojlovic. She said that after she made a few phone calls, Salkovic was released after an informative interview at the police station. She said she didn’t know what happened to Salkovic afterwards.

The prosecution invited Branko Marjanovic to testify as its next witness. Marjanovic, a former member of the Interventions Unit, was on duty on September 11, 1992.

Marjanovic said he didn’t serve with the defendant on that day. He said he couldn’t remember anything related to the events described in the indictment.

The trial will continue on November 26.