Ivanovic: Prosecution Asks for Long Sentence

In his closing statement the State Prosecutor, Dubravko Campara, called on the Trial Chamber to pronounce Ivanovic guilty, adding that the indictee was aware of the plan to exterminate Bosniaks in Eastern Bosnia in July 1995.

The prosecutor considers that it has been proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that Ivanovic participated, along with other persons, in the shooting of more than 1,000 Bosniaks in the Agricultural Cooperative in Kravica on July 13, 1995.

“The killing in Kravica was systematic and planned. The indictee and other soldiers formed a semi-circle in order to cover all parts of the warehouse. After the shooting, they threw bombs through the door and windows to ensure that there would be no survivors, while Ivanovic went behind the warehouse to make sure that no victims would jump through the windows,” Campara said.

Zeljko Ivanovic, former member of the Second Special Police Squad with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, is charged with having participated, in July 1995, in escorting a convoy of Srebrenica’s residents from the village of Sandici to the Kravica Agricultural Cooperative warehouse, knowing that they would be executed.

In his closing statement, prosecutor Campara particularly mentioned a statement given by protected witness I3, a former member of the Republika Srpska’s special police, who explicitly spoke about Ivanovic’s participation in the events in Kravica and about the fact that members of the special police were aware about the plan related to Srebrenica.

“Things should be called by their real name. What happened in Srebrenica in July 1995 was genocide. There was intention to destroy a group of Bosniaks from Eastern Bosnia,” the prosecutor said.

The defence is due to present its closing statement on Thursday, April 5.