Two Serb Ex-Fighters Fail to Appear for Bosnian War Hearings

Two plea hearings failed to go ahead at the Bosnian state court in Sarajevo on Friday because the suspects in both cases, both of whom are believed to live in Serbia, failed to appear.

In the case against Zeljko Novakovic, who is charged with crimes against humanity in the Bosanski Novi area, judge Zoran Bozic said the court had not received information from the Justice Ministry about whether the summons had been delivered to the defendant.
Defence lawyer Savan Zec said that neither Novakovic nor anybody else had contacted him about the summons.
Judge Bozic said the court would “wait for information on whether the defendant received the summons” and then decide whether to issue an arrest warrant.

Former soldier Novakovic is accused of having participated, during a widespread and systematic attack by the Bosnian Serb Army, territorial defence forces, armed groups and paramilitary units, in murders, torture and the persecution of the Bosniak civilian population from the villages of Ekici and Alici, where 27 civilians were killed on June 22, 1992.
The defendant participated, personally and with other individuals, in the murder of the 27 Bosniak men who they had separated from their families and then beat, tortured and abused in presence of their children and wives, the indictment alleged.
According to prosecution evidence, the victims were brought by force to the execution site, where they had to dig their own graves before they were shot dead and buried.

Milorad Krunic, who is charged with committing crimes against humanity in the Sanski Most area during the war, also failed to attend a plea hearing at the state court on Friday despite having been informed about it in advance.
Judge Bozic said that the summons for the hearing had been delivered to the defendant by the Higher Court in Belgrade in June 24, but he failed to respond to it.

Former reservist police officer Krunic, who has citizenship of both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, is accused of committing crimes within a widespread and systematic attack by the Bosnian Serb Army, police and paramilitary groups against the Bosniak and Croat civilian population in the municipality of Sanski Most in 1992.

“He has been charged with having participated, on June 11, 1992, while leading a group of escorts known to him, in the transportation of men from the Sports Hall and Betonirka Factory detention facilities [in Sanski Most] to the Manjaca detention camp, and the supervision of the convoy,” the prosecution said when announcing the indictment.

“He separated six civilians [from the others] and participated in their murder later on. The civilians were killed with firearms on the convoy’s return from Manjaca by the local road between Pavici and Hazici,” it added.