Klickovic et al: Verdict Due to be Pronounced on November 5

State Prosecutor Dzevad Muratbegovic told the Trial Chamber that the Prosecution never proposed guilt admission agreements to Gojko Klickovic or Jovan Ostojic, while the indictees’ Defence teams say it did.
 
“Do not believe that a proposal was made to conclude a guilt admission agreement with Gojko Klickovic, by which he was supposed to be sentenced to three years, even more so because the mentioned sentence cannot possibly be pronounced for this type of crime,” Muratbegovic said.

He added that the Prosecution did not make any similar proposals to indictee Ostojic.
 
After having heard the closing arguments presented by the Prosecution and Defence teams, the Trial Chamber scheduled the pronouncement of the verdict for November 5.
 
Gojko Klickovic, Mladen Drljaca and Jovan Ostojic are charged with crimes against humanity committed in the Bosanska Krupa area during the course of 1992.
 
The indictment alleges that Klickovic was President of the wartime Presidency and Commander of the Crisis Committee of the Serbian municipality of Bosanska Krupa, and Drljaca was Chairman of a Temporary Court Martial chamber and Commission for the Exchange of Prisoners in that municipality in 1992.

Ostojic was allegedly Commander of the 11th Krupa Light Infantry Brigade at that time.
 
Presenting its closing arguments, the first indictee’s Defence said that the previous Prosecutor, Philip Alcock, made a proposal to the Defence to sign an agreement and accept a three-year imprisonment sentence.

The third indictee’s Defence said it was offered two different agreements – one proposing a ten-year imprisonment sentence and the other one five years. The Defence explained that their clients rejected the agreements as they considered themselves innocent.
 
“All I can say is that Dusko Tomic visited me at the Detention Unit and informed me about the proposal. I told him I did not want to talk about it,” Gojko Klickovic said. Tomic is Klickovic’s Defence attorney
 
Ostojic’s Defence completed the presentation of its closing arguments at this hearing. His attorney Milan Romanic called on the Trial Chamber to acquit the indictee of all charges.
 
“The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not proved that Ostojic knew about the detention of people in Krupa. It has not proved in any way that he knew anything about it, failed to open an investigation or punish the perpetrators. (…)

“There is no doubt that horrible crimes were committed in the beginning of August. No reasonable person can deny it, but it has not been proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that Lazo and Joja Plavanjac were members of the 11th Krupa Brigade,” Romanic said.
 
The indictment alleges that Joja Plavanjac, a member of the 11th Krupa Light Infantry Brigade, came to the Petar Kocic school building, in which non-Serb prisoners were held, and killed 11 persons during the course of Zdravko Narancic’s shift at the beginning of August 1992.
 
Zdravko Narancic testified in Ostojic’s defence in August 2010. He said that Lazo and his son Joja Plavanjac came to the school building in the beginning of August 1992 and Lazo killed 11 male prisoners.
 
Ostojic’s Defence said that the third indictee did not know that the crime had been committed, because the information about it was “strictly concealed”.

It added that the Prosecution offered “false testimony of Zdravko Maceta as the only piece of evidence” about this particular crime during the course of the presentation of evidence.
 
Marceta, former Chief of Headquarters of the 11th Krupa Brigade, testified for the Prosecution in December 2008 and in the first indictee’s defence in February 2010. He spoke about the functioning of civil and military authorities in Krupa, saying that Ostojic was familiar with the crime allegedly committed by Joja Plavanjac.
 
Ostojic addressed the Chamber, saying he felt sorry for all victims of the past war and “particularly those covered by this indictment”. He said he had never judged people based on their religious beliefs.