Verdict in Pijunovic Trial Scheduled for Friday

The district prosecution of Doboj has charged Pijunovic, nicknamed Pico, with participating in the torture, rape, abduction and unlawful detention of civilians in Teslic from May to July 1992. The indictment alleges that Pijunovic was a member of a Bosnian Serb Army paramilitary formation called the Mice or the Red Berets.
 
According to the indictment, Pijunovic also confiscated money for the Bosnian Serb Army from a non-Serb under threat of violence.

During its closing arguments, the prosecution called for a guilty verdict. The defense called for an acquittal.
 
Prosecutor Mersiha Mahmutovic said the prosecution demonstrated Pijunovic’s participation in beating civilians, confiscating their money, abducting them from their homes, detaining them and eventually killing them.
 
“The prosecution dropped the charges of rape because they weren’t proven during the main hearing,” Mahmutovic said.
 
Sinisa Lopandic, Pijunovic’s defense attorney, said Pijunovic should be released from all responsibility for the crimes described in the indictment because the prosecution failed to prove his command responsibility.
 
“The accused was a reserve police officer. He wasn’t empowered to make decisions about detention and custody. The witness statements aren’t credible. The people who were questioned during the proceedings were caught in their homes, which suggests that there was no armed conflict in Teslic,” Lopandic said.

The trial began at the district court of Doboj in late 2012.