Bosnian Serb Soldier Awaits Sanski Most Verdict
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The defence lawyer told the court on Friday that the evidence presented by the prosecution had not proved beyond reasonable doubt that Prosic participated in the murders and expulsions of Bosniak civilians in May 1992.
“I ask that Predrag Prosic be acquitted of any criminal responsibility and released from custody. He had no motive to do that to his neighbours,” said lawyer Svetozar Davidovic.
He said that the evidence showing the defendant was in the Sanski Most settlements of Mahala and Muhici “does not make him the person who participated in the expulsion”.
Davidovic focused on testimony from witness Vezira Vojnikovic, the only survivor of the murders of eight people at the house of villager Hilmo Hegic in Mahala, which, according to the indictment, were committed on May 27, 1992.
Prosic is charged with coming to the Hegic house with a group of soldiers, killing the eight civilians, among them a pregnant woman, then setting it on fire.
The defence lawyer quoted two depositions from witness Vojnikovic which she gave to state security in Bihac in 1993 and the higher court in Bihac three years later, pointing out that she did not mention the name of the person who committed the murders.
“I don’t know his name, he lived in the neighbourhood,” said the lawyer, quoting a part of her statement from 1993.
He said that the witness described the perpetrator as “tall, thin, blond”, a description which does not correspond to Prosic’s physical appearance.
“He is not tall, not blond, not even light-haired,” said the lawyer.
Davidovic said that Vojnikovic mentioned Prosic for the first time in her statement to the prosecution in 2010 for reasons known only to her.
Prosic is also charged with participating in taking away three Mahala civilians on May 27, 1992, and their subsequent murders. The lawyer said there was no evidence to back up that part of the indictment either.
The prosecution presented its closing arguments the previous week, suggesting that Prosic be sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
