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At the ongoing Ratko Mladic trial, a defense witness didn’t question the authenticity of intercepted discussions between former members of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) about the killing of men in Srebrenica in 1995.
The witness, former VRS commander Milenko Jevdjevic, was read excerpts from an intercepted discussion between Radislav Krstic, the former Commander of the Drina Corps, and Dragan Obrenovic, his subordinate officer in the Zvornik Brigade. Prosecutor Margaret Hassan read the excerpts to Jevdjevic.
The excerpt, cited a discussion which allegedly took place in August 1995 and at which Jevdjevic was present. In that discussion, Obrenovic told Krstic that his units captured more Bosniaks after the VRS attack on Srebrenica and Zepa.
“Kill them all…None should be left alive,” Hassan quoted Krstic as saying. Obrenovic replied that everything would be done “according to plan.”
Jevdjevic, a former commander of one of the Drina Corps battalions of the VRS, did not deny the discussion took place. Krstic and Obrenovic were aware that the Bosnian Army was potentially tapping into their communications, Jevdjevic said.
During cross examination Jevdjevic said that the Bosnian Army could have tapped into VRS communications, “if the groups doing the reconnaissance were good.” He said VRS army officials assumed they were being monitored, but that he didn’t know how efficient the enemy was.
Mladic is charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for orchestrating and executing the Srebrenica genocide. Mladic is accused of ordering the killings of approximately 7000 Bosniak men and boys from Srebrenica in the days that followed the occupation of the UN-protected enclave by VRS forces on July 11, 1995.
Mladic is also on trial for the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, terrorising civilians in Sarajevo, and taking UN peacekeepers hostage.
The ICTY sentenced Krstic to 35 years in prison for his role in the Srebrenica massacre. Obrenovic pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Mladic’s trial continues on Tuesday.
