Neskovic and Ilic: Link between Graves and Shooting Locations
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Responding to Defence’s questions during the course of cross-examination at the trial of Dragan Neskovic and Zoran Ilic, State Prosecution witness Dean Manning said that there was evidence confirming the link between the Glogova and Ravnice graves and the victims from Kravica.
“Following my departure, the link between the Ravnice grave on one hand and the graves in Glogova and Kravica warehouse on the other was confirmed. A DNA link between those graves was determined too. What points to this the most is the fact that a part of the warehouse wall was found in Ravnice graves. Materials from the warehouse in Kravica were found in the grave in Glogova,” Manning said, testifying via video link.
Dragan Neskovic and Zoran Ilic, former members of the Jahorina Training Centre with the Special Police Brigade of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP of RS, are charged with having participated in the capture of Bosniak men, who were then taken in groups to the warehouse in Kravica, where they were executed, on July 13 and 14, 1995.
According to the charges, indictee Neskovic ordered two members of the Centre to kill two Bosniak men, who had been captured. They allegedly carried out the order. The indictment alleges that, by shooting from an automatic gun at a pile of bodies of prisoners, who had been shot, Ilic “checked” whether any of them survived the shooting.
As he continued his testimony, Manning said that it was possible that a few of the bodies, which were found in Glogova 1 mass grave, could not represent a link with the warehouse in Kravica, because they were tied and blindfolded. Manning said that, while working with The Hague Prosecution until 2007, he was involved in investigations related to Srebrenica, including exhumations and autopsy of victims found in mass graves and taking statements from witnesses and suspects.
Manning said that he wrote a few reports, which were used at trials before the International Criminal Tribunal at The Hague. The Defence of indictees Neskovic and Ilic, who are defending themselves while at liberty, cross-examined witness Manning, because State Prosecutor Erik Larson had previously wanted to include, as evidence, his reports and transcript of his testimony at the trial of Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan Jokic before The Hague Tribunal.
The Trial Chamber admitted those pieces of evidence once the cross-examination of witness Manning had been completed. In 2007 Blagojevic, former Commander of the Bratunac Brigade with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, and Jokic, former Chief of the Engineering Unit of the VRS Zvornik Brigade, were sentenced to 15 and 9 years in prison respectively for participating in crimes in Srebrenica.
The trial of Neskovic and Ilic is due to continue on October 25 this year.
