Bosnian Witnesses Complain of Threats to Change Testimony

Victims’ associations from all three major ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina have told BIRN that their members have received threats and offers of money in attempts to get them to change their witness statements.

Saja Coric, the former president of the Association of Camp Detainees in Vojno near Mostar said she had been personally threatened, had received threatening notes, that her car had been set on fire, and that she had been offered money to testify differently at a trial for crimes committed in a detention camp in Vojno.

“The truth is more important though,” she said.

Coric also said that there had been five attacks on her association, but although the destruction of property was noted by police, no arrests were made.

The president of the Association of Camp Detainees from Posavina, Vlado Dragojlovic, told BIRN that his members had not received threats but many were offered money to alter their stories.

“I know two cases in which prosecution witnesses were influenced. I told the prosecutor and we reported all this, but what happened later, I don’t know,” said Dragojlovic.

The Bosnian Association of Camp Detainees told BIRN that it also knew of cases of people refusing to testify because they had received threats.

“We had cases in which people got threats before they came to court. One of our members recently got an SMS with a threat to his family and he refused to take the stand,” said the association’s president, Jasmin Meskovic.

Andjelko Kvesic from the Association of Bosnian Croat Camp Detainees said however that threats to his members are not very common.
“Mostly we get less severe threats, people telling someone to watch what they say,” said Kvesic.

He said that most threats come via Facebook or by phone.

The Bosnian prosecution told BIRN that it could not reveal how many investigations are underway over threats to witnesses.