Witness Denies Previous Statements Made in Petkovci Trial

Defendants Ostoja Stanisic and Marko Milosevic have been charged with killing approximately 1000 captured residents of Srebrenica on a dam near Petkovci in mid-July 1995. Prior to their killing, the captives were allegedly held in a new school building in Petkovci.

According to the charges, Stanisic was the commander of the Sixth Battalion of the Zvornicka Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army, while Milosevic was his deputy.

At today’s hearing, state prosecution witness and former member of the Sixth Battalion, Goran Stojkic, said the battalion’s command was located in an old school building in Petkovci, contradicting previous statements he had given.

Prosecutor Predrag Tomic presented Stojkic with two statements he gave during the investigation phase of the case, in which he said the command was located in the new school building in Petkovci.

Stojkic said those statements were incorrect. He said he hadn’t made those claims and said he didn’t know why they were present in his statements.

Stojkic said he was on sick leave in July 1995 and returned to his unit at the end of that month.

Prosecutor Predrag Tomic then presented Stojkic with his previous statements again. In those statements Stojkic said he “slept on the first floor of the school building in July.” The prosecutor also presented a document issued by the Reconnaissance Squad of the Sixth Battalion, indicating Stojkic was present in his unit in July, according to their records.

Stojkic repeated that he hadn’t made those claims.

The trial will continue on February 17.