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Radomir Susnjar’s trial was originally due to start on August 16 but, as announced by the Bosnian state court, was postponed due to the illness of one of the Trial Chamber members.
The former Bosnian Serb soldier is charged with having participated in war crimes committed when 57 Bosniaks were forcibly detained and burned inside a house in Pionirska Street in the eastern town of Visegrad.
He has been charged with participating, along with other members of the Bosnian Serb Army, VRS, and paramilitary formations, in unlawful imprisonment and robbing of Bosniak civilians from the village of Koritnik, who were then locked inside a house in Pionirska Street in Visegrad.
The house was then set on fire and the defendant and other members of VRS and paramilitary formations began shooting at the house with firearms to prevent the civilians from escaping.
Susnjar was extradited from France on June 24. The indictment against him was confirmed in October last year.
He has been assigned new ex-officio attorney, Dejan Bogdanovic from Bijeljina, who said he did not know why the start of the trial had been postponed.
“Two days before, I received a notice from Judge Enida Hadziomerovic, Trial Chamber chairwoman, informing me that the hearing was postponed and that I would be notified of the new date at a later stage,” Bogdanovic said.
Susnjar’s previous attorney, Slavisa Prodanovic, told BIRN he had terminated cooperation due to poor communication with the defendant and his family.
“I was unable to find a way to communicate with him and his family. This is a very serious case, but they are not taking all this seriously, so I cancelled my power of attorney,” Prodanovic recalled.
