Injured Party Said Ratko Marinovic Shot Him in 1992

According to the charges, a Marinovic, former member of the Bosnian Serb Army, fired several bullets in the direction of injured party Milomir Antunovic in June 1992. Antunovic was shot in the chest and upper arm.

Addressing the chamber, Antunovic said he used to live in Ovanjska and that he wasn’t a member of any military force. He said his house was attacked with artillery and infantry fire, which killed his mother and wounded his father. After hiding in the woods for ten days, Antunovic said he decided to surrender.

He said he went to the home of his neighbour Dragan Adamovic and told him he would surrender to “Rajo.” Antunovic identified the defendant as “Rajo” in the courtroom.

“We met Rajo and Rajko Ivancevic. We headed towards my house. Rajo was provoking me, telling me I had set fire to a Serb cemetery. When we arrived in front of my house, he said he would kill me as an example to others. He went somewhere to gather people. Ivancevic told me to run away, because Marinovic would kill me. He fired a bullet in the air so I could run away more easily,” Antunovic said.

Antunovic said he started running towards a nearby forest, while Marinovic shot at him. He was shot in the right arm and chest. Antunovic said Ivancevic and Darko Tomic found him later on.

“Ivancevic fired a bullet in the air. Marinovic came and kicked me in the back several times. They took me to my house. Then we went to a shop, where Marinovic bandaged my arm,” Antunovic said. He said he ended up in Keraterm after having received medical assistance at the Prijedor hospital.

Also testifying at today’s hearing, Dragan Adamovic said Antunovic came to him and told him he wanted to surrender to “Ljubo and Ratko Marinovic, because he knew them.” Adamovic said he accompanied Antunovic and they met Marinovic and Ivancevic. He said Antunovic stayed with them.

Radovan Ivancevic, known as Rajko, also testified at today’s hearing. Ivancevic confirmed they met Antunovic and that Marinovic asked him why he had fled.

“He told him they would go to his house and call other residents to come, so he could tell them why he had fled, because he had no reasons to do that. When we arrived in front of the house, Marinovic told Milomir to stay there while he went to gather the other residents. I left in another direction. I heard a gunshot, but it seemed a distant one to me. When I turned around, I realized Antunovic was no longer there. I saw his shoes at the place where he had been standing,” Ivancevic said.

According to Ivancevic, Marinovic asked where Antunovic was. When he told him he had fled, he said it didn’t matter.

When asked by the defense if he saw Marinovic shoot at the injured party, Ivancevic said he hadn’t.

Ivancevic was shown an old report indicating he said he gestured to Antunovic to run away, because he knew police from Novi Grad were looking for him. In that report, he said the police were looking for Antunovic because his brothers were members of the Croatian Army.

Ivancevic said that at the beginning of the trial proceedings he found threatening notes at his door, so he “ gave a false statement to police once.”

Witness Darko Tomic said he heard Antunovic was wounded, and heard various rumours about who shot him.

“Some said it was Radoslav Goronja. Others said it was Marinovic, while some rumours said Ivancevic shot at Antunovic,” Tomic said.

The trial will continue on February 25.