Cajnice Crimes Trial Begins

Alija Mocevic told the Court he and his family members fled from the town to Skopje in late April 1992, adding his brother Suad told him that Zivkovic had ordered and personally participated in the arrests and detention of Bosniak civilians.

“My brother mentioned Tadic in a negative context as well. Other people told me that he did more bad things to the population of Cajnice than anyone else,” Mocevic said, identifying the two indictees in the courtroom.

Zivkovic and Tadic are charged with having participated in a broad and systematic attack against the non-Serb population in Cajnice municipality and the detention, torture, murder and forcible resettlement of civilians from that area from April to the end of May 1992.

The Prosecution charges them with having participated, by shooting from automatic guns and throwing hand grenades, in the murder of 11 civilians who were detained in the hunters’ house at Mostina in May 1992.

The indictment alleges that Zivkovic was Chief of the Public Safety Station in Cajnice and member of the Crisis Committee in that town and Tadic was a member of the Plavi orlovi (Blue Eagles) paramilitary unit.

Milun Kornjaca, former Commander of the Plavi orlovi Unit, was charged with crimes against humanity together with Zivkovic and Tadic, but his case was separated on December 20, 2010 due to his poor state of health.

Mocevic said that on April 12, 1992, he was forced to co-sign “an announcement about the safety of Cajnice citizens” with members of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, adding the announcement “made the Serbian police official”.

“At that meeting, which was held in the Fire Brigade’s premises, to which I was practically apprehended, it was agreed that the Serbian police would guarantee the safety of citizens. This meant they were handed over to criminals.

The SDS goal was to take over the police, which could be used as a physical force for enforcing any type of decision because policemen were the only ones who had weapons,” Mocevic said, adding that more and more Bosniaks started “leaving Cajnice” after this event, “because they were unprotected”.

The witness recalled that uniformed Serbs would stop buses transporting civilians out of Cajnice at checkpoints and examine their personal documents or detain them.

Prior to Mocevic’s testimony, the Prosecution read the indictment and presented its introductory arguments. The Defence refused to present its introductory arguments, saying it would do so once the Prosecution had completed the presentation of its evidence.

State Prosecutor Dzevad Muratbegovic said that he would convince the Court by examination of witnesses and presentation of material evidence that the indictees committed the crimes for which they are charged.

The trial is due to continue on January 17, when the Prosecution will examine new witnesses.

A.S.