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Petar Knezevic was recruited by the Engineering Unit with the “Rama” Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, during the war. As he said, he met indictee Jukic in 1998. He has never heard that the indictee caused harm to anybody.
Responding to a question by Defence attorney Irena Pehar, he confirmed that he discussed the wartime happenings in Prozor with Hamid Kmetas, who previously appeared as a State Prosecution witness.
“Hamid said that he did well during the war, but his son Durmo did not,” the witness said.
Hamid Kmetas testified before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2012. During his testimony he said that indictee Zeljko Jukic physically mistreated him during the forced deportation of people from Lapsunj village in August 1993.
According to the charges, Jukic, former member of HVO, participated, in collaboration with other members of HVO and the Croatian Army, HV, in the persecution of civilians, murders and forced disappearances of the Bosniak population from Prozor municipality from July to September 1993.
Second Defence witness Mato Zadro said that he was a member of the “Domobrani” Unit and that he was deployed to the Secondary School Centre in Prozor as a guard.
“Muslims were detained in the building. Nobody could go in or out. However, we let women go inside in order to give food to them and meet with them briefly,” Zadro said.
He told the Court that he had never seen Zeljko Jukic taking men away from the Centre without bringing them back. As he said, all those who were taken to work, were brought back.
The trial is due to continue on August 22.
