Witness Describes Transport of Bosniaks to Kladanj and Bratunac
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The state prosecution has charged Miodrag Josipovic, Branimir Tesic, Dragomir Vasic, Danilo Zoljic and Radomir Pantic with genocide in Srebrenica, which included the forcible resettlement of the local population, as well as the capture and execution of men and boys.
According to the charges, Josipovic was the chief of the public safety station and Tesic was the deputy commander of the police station in Bratunac. Vasic was the commander of the police headquarters in Zvornik and also the chief of the public safety center in Zvornik. Zoljic was the commander of special police units at the Zvornik public safety center, while Pantic was the commander of the First Company of the special police units.
Testifying at today’s hearing, state prosecution witness Miladin Mladjenovic said he worked at the “Vihor” company and was told to drive a bus to Potocari. He said he was ordered to transport Bosniaks from Potocari to Kladanj.
“They told me to drive those who were incapable of military service to Kladanj. Those people got on the bus. When the bus was full, I drove it to Kladanj. Most of them were the elderly, women, children. We drove those incapable of serving in the army,” Mladjenovic said.
Mladjenovic said “somebody” decided who would get on the bus, but he didn’t know who.
On the following day, Mladjenovic said he was told to drive able-bodied men from Potocari to Bratunac. He said the men were dressed in civilian clothing and belonged to all age groups.
Mladjenovic said a military policeman was in the bus acting as an escort. He said the military police told him to drive the men to a school building in Bratunac.
Mladjenovic said he made eight or nine round trips to Bratunac and that 45 men were on the bus each time. After exiting the bus, Mladjenovic said, the men entered the school building’s gym.
Mladjenovic said policeman Radomir Eric received the men. He said when he asked what would happen to the men he was told they would be transported to Kladanj.
Responding to questions from the defense, Mladjenovic said Eric used to work with the state border police in Bratunac, which had an office in the vicinity of the school.
In a statement he gave to State Investigation and Protection Agency investigators in 2009, Mladjenovic said Eric worked at the police station in Bratunac. At today’s hearing, Mladjenovic said Eric worked with the border police the entire time.
The trial will continue on March 8.
