Shooting Towards a Prisoner

Miroslav Soko said that, on September 8, 1993 he was taken, along with a few other Croats, to Rogica Kuce, where the base of the “Zulfikar” Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH, was situated. They were then put into an underground silo. As he said, prisoner Marinko Dreznjak was brought soon after that. About ten days later all of them were transferred to a nearby stable.

According to the witness’ testimony, Bojadzic, who was accompanied by another soldier, appeared and took Dreznjak out. He did not see what happened after that, but, he said that he recognised Bojadzic by his voice and heard that he was questioning Dreznjak about weapons and that Dreznjak was telling him that he knew nothing about it.

“A gunshot was then heard. Marinko Dreznjak said that Bojadzic shot towards him,” the witness said.  

Bojadzic, former Deputy Commander of “Zulfikar” Unit, is charged with having taken a prisoner out in September 1993 and fired several bullets from a pistol in his direction, causing the man to fear for his own life.

Responding to Defence’s questions, the witness said that he did not notice anything specific on Bojadzic’s face in September 1993.  

The witness recalled a restaurant cook being wounded by a grenade shrapnel in front of the restaurant close to the “Zulfikar” Unit’s base, where both prisoners and soldiers used to eat.  

“Bojadzic and another soldier appeared in a white Toyota,” Soko said, adding that he ordered them not to move and said something like “if we cannot kill them, let their soldiers kill them”.

Defence attorney Vasvija Vidovic said that, in his statement given to the Commission for Investigation of War Crimes of Herceg-Bosna after his release from detention Soko spoke about Bojadzic, but he did not mention the events about which he testified at the hearing.  

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Bojadzic with having lined Croat prisoners in front of a restaurant in the second half of 1993, ordered them not to move, while grenades were falling around them, and ordered guards to keep their guns pointed towards them, thus bringing those persons’ lives into danger.
 
Soko told the Court that soldiers said that the indictee “saved the lives” of two boys, who were brought to Rogica Kuce following an attack by the Army of BiH on Grabovica.
 
Second State Prosecution witness Zvonimir Kukic said that that he did not see who beat Mario Zelenika, Karlo Maric and protected witness C in “The Battle of Neretva” museum, where Croats were detained, in the summer of 1993.

When the Defence attorney said that one could not conclude that it was Bojadzic on the basis of the person’s accent, the witness said: “I can conclude that with a hundred-percent certainty”.

He said that he used to see Bojadzic after that event, adding that he had never noticed any specific things on his face. The witness said that he saw the indictee during an exchange in March 1994 and that he told him on that occasion: “You are going to be exchanged. I think I have not done anything bad to you”.

The trial of Bojadzic, who is also charged with other crimes in Jablanica, is due to continue on March 27.