Koricanske stijene: A Clean Conscience

Presenting their closing arguments before the State Court, Babic, Radakovic and Skrbic stressed they had not participated in the crimes committed on Mount Vlasic in August 1992, adding they had “a clear conscience”.

“My conscience is clear. I am asking you to render a verdict of release. Any other verdict would be an error for you and the family members of the persons who died at Koricanske stijene on that day,” Radakovic said.

Babic, Radakovic, Skrbic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic are charged with having escorted a convoy of more than 1,200 Bosniaks and Croats from Prijedo to Travnik on August 21, 1992. The indictment alleges that the indictees robbed the civilians and separated about 200 men at Koricanske stijene, and later shot them.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina considers that Jankovic was Commander of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, while the other indictees were members of the Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station.

At the last hearing held on November 30 this year, the State Prosecution presented its closing arguments and called on the Court to pronounce the five indictees guilty.

Zoran Babic’s Defence said it had been “determined without a doubt” that the first indictee had not escorted the convoy. Defence attorney Slavica Bajic said Damir Ivankovic was the only witness who said that Babic had participated in the shooting of civilians. She said Ivankovic’s statement was “illogical and unconvincing”.

“We cannot believe this statement because it is confusing. Ivankovic said he did not see Babic at the location at which the men were separated, but, all of a sudden, we have Babic falling from the sky down to the shooting location at Koricanske stijene,” Bajic said.

Damir Ivankovic, former member of the Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, was originally charged with the other indictees for the crime committed at Koricanske stijene, but after admitting guilt and testifying against the other indictees, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

“Honourable Court, I have said I am not guilty since the moment I was arrested. I did not escort the convoy and I had nothing to do with the crime. I know that I have a clear conscience about it, regardless of the final verdict. Those who gave false testimonies before this Court, however, do not have a clear conscience,” indictee Babic said.

Slavica Cvoro, Defence attorney for Radakovic, said her client did escort one of the buses in the convoy on August 21, 1992, but he did so as “a medical worker”.

“On the mentioned date my client did not separate the men, he did not rob or shoot them. He is responsible for having done his job as well as he was able, because all passengers in that bus arrived to the destination point safely. This has been proved at the trial,” Cvoro said.

The third indictee’s Defence said that “all pieces of evidence imply” that Skrbic did escort the convoy from Prijedor, but his bus broke down and he “spent the whole day and night in the broken-down bus with the civilians”.

“Defence witnesses who spent the night in the bus confirmed that Skrbic protected them on that day when some unknown soldiers approached the bus. He risked his life by not letting them enter the bus. Therefore, he could not have been present at the shooting location,” said Slobodan Peric, Skrbic’s Defence attorney.

The next hearing is due to take place on Tuesday, December 14, when the Defence of the two remaining indictees will present their closing arguments.

D.Dž.