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Zeljko Rakic, Ranko Rakic and Marko Stankovic have been charged with crimes committed in the village of Kucice in the municipality of Zavidovici. The defendants, all former members of the Bosnian Serb Army, allegedly killed Zuhra Husanovic in Kucice in late August or early September 1992.
The chamber requested that an official inquiry be made to investigate claims by Zeljko Rakic’s defense that he was in Germany during his alleged crimes and was unable to leave the country. At today’s hearing, the trial chamber presented a letter sent to the court by Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The letter indicated that “on the basis of data available to competent bodies and checks that have been conducted, it isn’t possible to prove that Zeljko Rakic resided in the Federal Republic of Germany in August 1992.”
The cantonal prosecution presented material evidence at today’s hearing. The evidence included minutes from the photo identification of defendants by prosecution witnesses. The defense said this evidence was unlawful, because the defense teams weren’t invited to attend the identification.
The defense also included material evidence in the case file, which indicated that one of the prosecution witnesses was hospitalized.
Closing statements will be presented on March 22.
