Vlahovic: Bodies in the rubbish dump

Witness Hatidza Babic, who lived in Grbavica in 1992, said that on June 15, 1992, defendant Vlahovic came and took away three neighbours from their apartments, while she watched with her husband from the window.

“Batko was standing by his car in front of the building and the wife of one of the neighbours wanted to throw him a sweater. The defendant said he won’t be needing a sweater,” said witness Babic.

She said that Batko and another soldier took away three neighbours in his car, and their bodies were found in the rubbish dump at Vraca in 2000.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charged Vlahovic with having killed and participated in the murder of several people in Grbavica, Vraca and Kovacici in 1992 and participated in the abuse of Bosniak and Croat civilians, confiscating money and other valuable possessions from them.

The second indictment was filed against Vlahovic too, charging him with the murder and disappearance of 14 people, as well as the rape and abuse of civilians. The indictee is defending himself while in custody.

At this hearing the protected witness S45 testified as well, saying that she had learnt from her neighbours that defendant Vlahovic took away her 25-year old neighbour, who was afterwards found dead at Trebevic.

“I saw from the building’s entrance the car pulling over and Batko coming out and approaching the neighbour, and the day after that I heard that the neighbour was taken away,” said witness S45.

Asked by Behaija Krnjic, prosecutor for the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, why did she during the investigation say that she had personally seen Batko putting the neighbour in the car and taking him away, and not that she had heard about it from neighbours, the witness responded that she was afraid and that she saw only “Batko and the neighbour in front of the building and nothing more.”

The next hearing is on March 7, 2012, when the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina will examine three witnesses.