‘No Crime Against Humanity’ in Bosnia’s Visegrad

Bosnian Serb ex-fighter Tasic’s defence demanded his acquittal on Tuesday, telling the Sarajevo court in its closing argument that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was a crime against humanity or a widespread and systematic attack, nor that the defendant knowingly participated in it.

“We believe that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was a forced relocation of the Bosniak population in the municipality of Visegrad, and we conclude that the departure of the civilians [from the area] was agreed,” defence lawyer Mirsada Beganovic Zutic said.

She pointed out that numerous witnesses described the situation around Visegrad as chaotic after the Yugoslav People’s Army’s Uzice Corps left the area, and that everyone was afraid of paramilitaries, who were burning houses, looting and killing people.

“Even Serbs were sending their children to their relatives because of the fear. Meanwhile, the Red Cross started organising convoys [out of the area] for everyone who was feeling insecure,” Beganovic Zutic said.

“No witness saw Tasic detain someone or deprived someone of their liberty,” the defence lawyer continued.

She added that numerous witnesses said that Tasic did not escorting a convoy of Bosniaks to the Isceric hill, where some were separated from the others and then killed.

Tasic is charged, together with fellow Bosnian Serb fighters Predrag Milisavljevic and Milos Pantelic, with having participated in the murders and persecution of Bosniak civilians from the Visegrad area.

The defence also pointed out that prosecution charged Tasic as an ordinary member of the Bosnian Serb Army, and therefore accusations that he ordered persecution or had a commanding role are unfounded.

The verdict in he trial will be handed down on October 14.