Witnesses Recall Seeing Covic at Srebrenik Checkpoints in 1992

Defendants Sejdalija Covic, Faruk Smajlovic, and Ekrem Ibracevic, have been charged with the unlawful detention and torture of Serb civilians in Rapatnica and Luke from June to August 1992.

The indictment alleges that Covic and Smajlovic were former military policemen, while Ibracevic was the chief of military security with the municipal headquarters of the Territorial Defense in Srebrenik.

Bahrudin Cidic, a former member of reserve police forces in the area, was the first witness to testify at today’s hearing. Cidic said he and Covic worked the same shifts at two checkpoints.

“We, the civil policemen, were in charge of checking civilians, while military policemen were responsible for military personnel…There were between four and six of us and two military policemen,” Cidic said.

Cidic said defendant Faruk Smajlovic used to visit military policemen at the checkpoints.

Defense witness Mirzet Omerovic also confirmed having seen Covic at several checkpoints.

Responding to questions from the prosecution, Cidic and Omerovic weren’t able to remember the names or nicknames of other military policemen deployed at the checkpoints.

Defense witness Samir Begunic, a former active policeman from the police station in the village of Podorasje, was the last witness to testify at today’s hearing. He said a handover of weapons was organized in the Serb-inhabited village of Jasenice on June 17, 1992.

“The handover was conducted in front of the school. They handed over weapons. According to the list, there were 155 weapon pieces, more than 55,000 bullets, seven cannon grenades, two boxes of hand bombs,” Begunic said.

Begunic said one person told him a group of about 40 local residents had not handed their weapons over and that they were “in front of Stokan’s house.” Begunic said the same person told them they might experience interceptions be the same group of local residents, but this didn’t end up occurring.

Begunic said war activities began after the handover of weapons and stopped a few days later. Begunic said Serbs in the area probably didn’t feel safe and tried to cross the division line, resulting in the capture of many.

Begunic said he heard a certain number of people from Stokan’s group was captured in Majevica and transferred to a military detention unit in Rapatnica.

He said the civil police station was located in Luke and that military police didn’t have access to that building.

The trial will continue on February 16.