HOS Fought for Unified Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dragan Culjak, former Chief of the Transportation Section of HOS, said that it was known to him that indictee Herceg was a member of the HOS until the end of July 1992.

“I know that Herceg was member of HOS in April, because I delivered some vehicles to him at the time. In late July he joined the Croatian Defence Council, HVO. Srecko Herceg was Commander of the Training Centre in Staro Hardomilje village, near Ljubuski,” the witness said, adding that he had known the indictee from before the war.

Herceg is charged, along with Ivan Zelenika, Edib Buljubasic, Ivan Medic and Marina Grubisic-Fejzic, with crimes committed in Dretelj. According to the charges, they participated in forcing detainees to perform hard labour and tortured them.

According to the charges, Zelenika is a former HOS officer, Herceg was Commander of Dretelj, Buljubasic was Deputy Commander of the military barracks in Dretelj, while Medic and Grubisic-Fejzic were guards.

Witness Culjak said that the HOS goal was to fight for a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said that he visited Dretelj sometimes, adding that “a Dida, Martinovic, Sajo and Buljubasic” were commanders of Dretelj.

When asked by the Trial Chamber who submitted reports about Dretelj to the HOS Commander, the witness said that a man named Sajo did that.

Culjak said that he saw Serb detainees in Dretelj, but he did not witness any type of mistreatment. He said that, in addition to the Serb detainees, some Muslims, as well as members of the HOS, were held in it.

Prior to Culjak’s testimony a status conference was held ahead of the beginning of presentation of Defence’s evidence. The Defence attorneys presented their introductory statements at the conference. Presenting his introductory statement, Drazen Zubak, Defence attorney of Herceg, said that the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina had not proved the allegations contained in the indictment.

Also, he said that Defence witnesses would deny the legal classification of the crime and that Herceg was Commander of the military barracks in Dretelj, adding that he would prove that he was wounded and that he left HOS and joined HVO.
 
Todor Todorovic, Defence attorney of indictee Buljubasic, said that, in addition to one witness and a court expert in police issues, he planned to examine the indictee as well. He said that a disagreement between him and the indictee had happened, because Buljubasic proposed that some more persons be examined. Buljubasic did not attend this hearing, but the trial continued in his absence, as per a previous decision by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Defence of indictee Grubisic-Fejzic said that it would invite witnesses, who would speak about the indictee’s personality and character, her behaviour in the military barracks in Dretelj, as well as the organisation and other members of HOS. In addition to those witnesses, the Defence said that it would examine the indictee as well.
 
For the time being, the Defence of Zelenika plans to examine six witnesses, while the Defence of indictee Medic will examine eight.
“Medic did not examine or kill anybody. He did not issue orders or distributed people to work. He could not have influenced the conditions in Dretelj. He has never obtained a driver’s licence,” said Emina Hasanovic, Defence attorney of Medic, said.

The first witnesses of indictee Zelenika’s Defence are due to appear on December 3.