This post is also available in: Bosnian
Ivan Mustafic, known as Ivica, former Commander of the Second Company with the Fourth Battalion of “Knez Domagoj” Brigade of HVO, said that he commanded Croat and Bosniak members of his Company until July 1993.
“A new shift was supposed to take over on our positions, when a group of foreign soldiers came, bringing an order from a higher instance. About thirty of them were sent in order to disarm Bosniak members of HVO,” Mustafic said, adding that members of the Fourth Battalion did not participate in that.
He said that he did not know where the disarmed soldiers were taken to. The witness has no information about the taking of civilians from Stolac.
Bozo Radic, Commander of the Third Squad with that same Brigade, was also present on the military positions on that day, when soldiers were disarmed and taken away. He said that they were friends with Bosniak soldiers and that they shared food and slept in the same premises.
When asked by Trial Chamber Chairwoman Minka Kreho whether he knew where those soldiers were taken away, considering the fact that he said that they were close, Radic said that he did not inquire about it at the time.
Pero Maric, Deputy Commander of the Third Company with the Fourth Battalion, testified about those same circumstances. He said that he felt unpleasant due to the disarming, adding that Bosniak members of HVO behaved in a correct manner and peacefully handed their weapons over.
Just like the two previous witnesses, Maric said that he neither received an oral nor written order from Veselko Raguz to disarm soldiers or civilians from Stolac municipality.
According to these three witnesses, nobody knew who the soldiers, who brought an disarmament order from a higher instance with them, were or which command issued the order.
Veselko Raguz, former Commander of the Fourth Battalion with “Knez Domagoj” Brigade of HVO, is charged with having ordered and participated in the arrest and detention of civilians from Stolac and Capljina during the summer of 1993.
He is on trial along with Ivo Raguz, former member of that same Brigade, who is charged with having participated in the abuse of detainees.
The three witnesses said that they did not know about the detention of civilians in Kostana hospital in Stolac. According to Maric, members of military police, who were not under the command of the Fourth Battalion, were located in the hospital.
According to the trial schedule, the next hearing is due to be held on September 4, when four witnesses will testify in defence of first indictee Raguz.
