Witnesses Describe Murder of Family Members in Deseci

Defendants Mirko Bunoza, Edhem Godinjak and Medaris Saric have been charged with crimes committed against Serb civilians and prisoners of war in the Trnovo area.

They’ve been charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at killing and detaining Serbs in villages in the Trnovo area. According to the charges, at the time Godinjak was the chief of the public safety station in Trnovo, Saric was the commander of the Territorial Defense and Bunoza was the commander of Croatian Defense Forces (HOS) units.

Milenko Vitkovic was the first witness to testify at today’s hearing. Vitkovic said he evacuated his daughter and son from Sarajevo and sent them to stay with his mother, Ljeposava Vitkovic, in the village of Deseci in late April 1992. He said his mother was killed and that her body was set on fire in front of her house. He said he discovered the details of her death when he buried her in July 1993, and started inquiring about the perpetrators. He said he searched for his mother’s killers for years after the war.

“I spoke to many people. I even went to Ljubuski, as Mirko Bunoza was born there. People told me that Hamdo Ramic had brought Bunoza to Trnovo. They were in the Foreign Legion together. Later on they were brought from the Croatian battlefield to Trnovo,” Vitkovic said.

A portion of a statement Vitkovic gave during the investigation phase of the case was read aloud in the courtroom. In the statement, Vitkovic said he was told that Godinjak recruited 20 members of the Croatian Defense Forces and brought them to Trnovo.

“Edo [Edhem Godinjak] was the supreme authority in Trnovo. I personally don’t know who brought the HOS. I was told it happened that way. I know that Ramic and Godinjak are cousins,” Vitkovic said.

Edhem Godinjak’s defense presented a number of documents indicating that he didn’t perform any managerial functions apart from his role in the police force. Godinjak’s defense also presented documentation indicating that Godinjak wasn’t in Trnovo from May 18-June 1, 1992, due to an injury.

“I’m suspicious of these documents. It’s impossible that he wasn’t a member of these bodies, considering the fact he was the head [of them],” Vitkovic said.

During cross-examination, Mirko Bunoza reacted furiously to Vitkovic’s testimony.

“Everything he has said is a lie. I was never a member of the HOS,” Bunoza said.

Aleksandra Skakavac, Milenko Vitkovic’s daughter, also testified at today’s hearing. She said armed men used to break into her grandmother’s house often. She said she and her grandmother were beaten with rifle butts.

“My grandmother recognized Osman, who was a hunter just like my father,” Skakavac said.

Skakavac said she left the village on her own. When she arrived in Trnovo, she saw fire in Deseci. Later on her relatives informed her that her grandmother was killed.

Sinisa Vitkovic, the grandson of victim Dragosava Vitkovic, also testified at today’s hearing. He said he and his father found his grandmother’s bones in Deseci in 1993. They found remains of a burnt house and her mortal remains in the yard. “We recognized her by her sweater and a folding knife she used to carry with her,” Vitkovic said.

He said they also found the mortal remains of Ljeposava and Cvija Vitkovic. “We found Ljeposava in front of the house. Her skull was broken. We had difficulties finding Cvija. Her body was inside the house covered with furniture that had fallen on her. We collected all the bones and buried them in the cemetery,” We said. He said he heard rumours that they had been killed by some HOS members.

Witness Milica Mocevic gave similar testimony. She said her mother, Cvija Vitkovic, was killed in Deseci. She said she found out about her mother’s fate after the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) took over Trnovo in 1993. She said she then visited her family house and found her mother’s grave at the local cemetery.

She said her brother, Vide Vitkovic, had been captured and beaten prior to the murder of their mother and was detained in a school. She said his former schoolmate saved him by unlocking the door and letting him run away. Their mother, Cvija Vitkovic, didn’t want to leave her house, she said.

“My cousins told me my mother was killed and set on fire inside the house,” Mocevic said.

The trial will continue on February 16.