Radic et al: Trial begins

The trial of four former Croatian Defence Council (HVO) soldiers,who are charged with crimes against civilians committed in Vojno detention camp, has started with the reading of the Indictment and opening statements from the Prosecution.

According to the indictment, Marko Radic, Dragan Sunjic, Damir Brekalo and Mirko Vracevic are guilty of crimes against humanity committed in the Vojno camp near Mostar, which existed in the period from July 1993 to March 1994.

In that period the four accused took part, as stated in the Indictment, in expelling, murders, arrests, torture, rapes and mistreatment of Bosniak civilians from Mostar, including women and children.

In his introductory statement, prosecutor Jude Romano said that on 9 May 1993 HVO soldiers attacked Mostar, took Bosniak civilians out of their houses and forced them to leave their homes. Shortly afterwards, the BiH Army attacked the Bijelo Polje settlement,on which occasion many HVO soldiers and Croat civilians were captured.

“Marko Radic ordered the arrest of Bosniak Muslims from west Mostar so that they could be exchanged for captured Croats,” Romano said.

The captured civilians were detained in facilities in the settlement Vojno, now transformed into a detention camp.

According to the indictment, which charges him with command as well as personal responsibility, Radic was the commander of the sabotage group “Ivan Stanic-Cico”, and then the commander of the HVO’s Bijelo Polje Brigade,in charge of the whole area of Bijelo Polje including Vojno.

Sunjic was Radic’s deputy and the prosecution believes that he also holds command and personal responsibility for the committed crimes.

Brekalo and Vracevic, soldiers of the Bijelo Polje brigade, were guards in the camp and allegedly took part in beatings, mistreatment, rapes and taking of prisoners for forced labour.

“Women had to do forced labour too, as they were forced to cook, do the laundry and clean the premises used by HVO soldiers,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecution claims that all four accused participated in the rapes of young girls and women, naming particularly Brekalo.

Romano told the story of a witness who was aged 15 at the time of the rape and who said that, before raping her, Brekalo told her: “For as long as I live, every female from seven to 77 will be raped”.

The prosecutor said that on 24 July 1997, Brekalo was found guilty of rapes committed in Mostar during the war, and served five years imprisonment accordingly.

The Romano claims that the rapes committed in the Vojno camp were an integral part of the “plan for expelling and maltreatment of Bosniaks”.

“The witness A.G. was imprisoned in the camp for 90 days, and was raped daily for 85 days. The rapes were done mainly by Radic, Sunjic and Brekalo,” the prosecutor added.

The prosecution has announced that the witnesses called to testify will mainly talk about “terrifying experiences” from the Vojno camp, and further said that some of them were subjected to electric shocks, forced to hit their heads against the wall or to beat up one another.

Defence lawyers of the four accused announced that their introductory statements would be made just before the start of the evidence procedure.

The first prosecution witness will testify on 19 April 2007.