Kos et al: Kojic Capable of Following Trial
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“Kojic does not have schizophrenia. He has no negative symptoms. (…) We are not talking about a mental disease but a personality disorder. He is fully conscious and he can follow the trial,” said psychiatrist Bravo-Mehmedbasic, who presented her findings and opinion as a court expert at the request of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The indictee’s Defence previously asked the Court to order a psychiatric assessment of Kojic, claiming he suffered from schizophrenia.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Stanko Kojic, Franc Kos, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja with the murder of more than 800 men and boys at the Branjevo military farm in Pilica, Zvornik municipality in July 1995.
The indictment alleges that Kos was Commander of the Firest Bijeljina Platoon and Kojic, Golijan and Goronja were members of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad with the Main Headquarters of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, at that time.
Kojic’s Defence earlier presented the court expert with medical documents on the indictee’s health condition, which show, the Defence said, that he suffered from schizophrenia.
The documents included medical reports issued by a health centre in Gradiska, medical records from the Kula Penal and Correctional Facility in Eastern Sarajevo and a discharge summary issued in 2009 by the Clinical Center in Banja Luka, where he spent 26 days.
“It is hard for me to say whether he simulated in front of my colleagues in Banja Luka. They wrote that he suffered from schizophrenia. Anything is possible. So, it may be that he simulated the disease for 26 days,” Bravo-Mehmedbasic said.
He explained that it was not possible to calculate the indictee’s IQ because he “gave wrong answers to eight questions we asked him”.
“He did not know how much two plus two was, he could not repeat three words or write a sentence… (…) So, he was obviously simulating,” the court expert said.
The Trial Chamber accepted court expert Bravo-Mehmedbasic’s finding in its entirety, although the indictee’s Defence objected to it, claiming it contradicted previous medical reports.
The Chamber decided that the trial would continue even if the indictee refused to respond to a summons.
The trial is due to continue on January 28 this year.
