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Testifying before the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo, Safner said that he was on military positions on Perun Hill on October 22 or 23, 1993, when he heard shooting from the direction of Stupni Do. He said that he saw indictee Curtic at that location too.
“I saw him, because I had to pass by his trench when I went to fetch water,” the witness explained.
When asked by the Trial Chamber how many times he saw the indictee that day, the witness said that he saw him “several times”.
The Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecution charges Curtic, who acted as a guide to one part of “Maturice” Unit with the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, with having hit and robbed civilians after an attack on Stupni Do village on October 23, 1993.
On October 31, 2011 the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo sentenced Curtic to five-and-a-half years in prison. The Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina revoked the verdict in May this year and ordered a retrial.
Witness Safner said that, while on the mentioned military positions, he was not able to see Stupni Do village but he could just hear shooting coming from that direction.
“The only way to get from Perun to Stupni Do is by jeep. One needs about two hours to get there, because there is no asphalt road on that terrain,” he said.
When asked by Prosecutor Sead Krestalica why he said, in a previous statement, that it took one hour to get from Perun to Stupni Do, the witness said that it was his estimate and that he may have made such estimate at that time.
The trial formally began anew because one of the Chamber members had been replaced.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 8.
