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Appearing as a witness at this trial, Erin Gallagher, member of a Hague Prosecution team investigating the crime in Srebrenica, provided the judges with basic information about those maps. The witness said that, by putting his signature on it, Mladic approved the map of the offensive on Srebrenica called Krivaja ’95. His Defence team did not deny the authenticity of his signature on the map presented in the courtroom.
A Serbian cross with four fire-steels was drawn over Srebrenica on an identical map, which was signed by Radislav Krstic, the then Commander of the VRS Drina Corps on July 12, 1995.
Witness Gallagher explained that the cross contains the four Cyrillic S’s and that those letters meant only unity saves the Serbs.
Besides drawing the cross with fire-steels, Krstic wrote down that Srebrenica belongs to Serbs and that it would always remain theirs.
Mladic, former VRS Commander, is charged with genocide against more than 7,000 Bosniak men from Srebrenica, who were shot by forces under his command in the days that followed the occupation of the enclave on July 11, 1995. In addition to that, he is on trial for genocide in seven other municipalities, the persecution of the non-Serb population and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.
The Hague Tribunal previously rendered a second instance verdict against Krstic, sentencing him to 35 years in prison for assisting in and supporting the commission of genocide in Srebrenica.
Gallagher said that the cross with four fire-steels was drawn over the neighbouring Bosniak enclave of Zepa as well on an identical map made by the Drina Corps Command on July 24, 1995, after the enclave had been occupied by VRS forces.
During her testimony Gallagher said that one video recording depicted indictee Mladic drawing the cross on one of the maps, suggesting that Krstic did the same by taking the example from Mladic.
The prosecutors will begin presenting evidence against Mladic about the Srebrenica massacre following a one-month break, which the Trial Chamber previously approved at a request by the Defence.
The trial of Mladic before the International Tribunal at The Hague is due to continue on April 8.
