Statements Given by Defendants Presented at Srebrenik War Crimes Trial

Ibracevic, Smajlovic and Covic have been charged with the abuse and torture of Serb civilians in Rapatnica from June to August 1992.

Ibracevic is the former chief of military security at the Municipal Headquarters of the Territorial Defense in Srebrenik. Smajlovic and Covic are former members of the military police.

At today’s hearing, the prosecution presented a statement Ibracevic had given in May 2015, during the investigation phase of the case. In that statement, Ibracevic said he was a member of the Headquarters of the Territorial Defense in Srebrenik during the war. He said the headquarters was originally located in a building in Rapatnica.

He said the headquarters was then transferred to a nearby school building. A detention unit was opened within the school building, for the sake of “preserving order.” In his statement, Ibracevic said the detainees held there weren’t civilians, but members of the enemy army.

He said he “found the best solution” for transporting detainees to Tuzla with a closed type of vehicle. Ibracevic didn’t want to talk about other events during the investigation.

The prosecution also presented a statement given by Smajlovic during the investigation phase of the case. In his statement, Smajlovic said he was the commander of the traffic section of the military police from May to the beginning of August 1992. He said their task was to man checkpoints and control movement in the area.

He said they were once tasked with collecting weapons in the village of Brezje in June 1992. On that occasion, they took two detainees from Rapatnica as per an order by competent security officers Mijo Gudeljevic and Ekrem Ibracevic.

“I wasn’t in charge of Rapatnica. I didn’t enter that place either,” Smajlovic said.  He said he didn’t have any contact with detainees from June to August 1992.

He said that guarding buildings was within the scope of the traffic squad’s responsibilities. He said that although he was the commander of guards at the detention unit, he didn’t enter the facility. He specified that he did not have any formal competencies to do so.

The prosecution also presented a statement Covic had given in May 2014. Covic said he was mobilized by the military police during the war and deployed to checkpoints.

He said he didn’t dare go to Rapatnica, because his brother, Mustafa Covic, with whom he had a tense relationship, was a guard at the detention unit. He described his brother as “a kind of chief” within the detention unit.

Covic said he filed a lawsuit against his brother for physical abuse in 1991. He said his brother threatened him not to visit the detention unit. He said his brother died after the war, and that their relationship was not good at the time of his death.

The prosecution also presented a video recording made during an exchange of detainees, who described the abuse and torture they’d endured in Rapatnica. A statement given by detainee Rade Maksimovic, who said he was beaten in Rapatnica, was included in the case file as well.

The prosecution is expected to obtain one more document. The trial will continue on December 1, when the defense will begin presenting its evidence.