Brnjic Testifies In Own Defense, Was in Germany During Alleged Crimes

Brnjic is charged with multiple rapes of Serb women, committed from June to August 1992. He is charged with Martin Barukcic, Pavo Glavas and Ilija Glavas. The indictment alleges that they were members of the 102nd Brigade of the Croatian Defense Council at the time.

Brnjic said he left Bosnia and Herzegovina and went to Germany with his wife and two children in 1991. He said he found a job at a car parts factory in Germany at the beginning of the following year.

“On Easter I wanted to go home in order to visit my grandmother and sell the cattle I owned, because my grandmother was no longer able to take care of them,” he said. Brnjic said he arrived to Bosnia in the first week of April.

Brnjic said the Bosnian war began when he arrived. He said he could no longer return to Germany, although he tried several times. When the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared that war was imminent, he and other local residents of Posavska Mahala joined the Territorial Defense, or TO.

“When we joined the TO of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we had no uniforms. I had military boots, a helmet, a pair of jeans and a bullet-proof vest, which a neighbour of mine gave to me later on. A group of volunteers from Croatia then came. They had uniforms with emblems. None of us, the local village residents, had any emblems on our clothes,” he said.

Brnjic said the Serb side surrendered on May 8, 1992 and agreed to hand their weapons over and leave.

“An opportunity for me to finally leave arose at that point. I didn’t know what happened to those people,” Brnjic said. He said he returned to Germany on May 10, 1992.

Brnjic said he returned to Posavska Mahala in 1998. He said that during his time in Germany he was involved in collecting aid. While doing humanitarian work, he met many people from Odzak whom he’d known from before.

The defense asked Brnjic what he looked like in 1992. He said that the descriptions given by witnesses during the trial didn’t match his appearance.

The Bosnian state prosecution requested the court allow them to examine Brnjic at the next hearing, because the defense had not provided its material evidence on time. The trial chamber accepted the request, warning both parties that evidence had to be provided in a timely manner.

“The chamber faces big problems when trying to schedule hearings, because courtrooms are already occupied. Don’t appear at hearings unless you have provided the other party with all the pieces of evidence. You must be cooperative so we can complete this process as soon as possible,” said trial chamber chairwoman Jasmina Kosovic.

The examination of the defendant will be continued on June 16.