Verdict Expected in Jukic Case on March 3

Jukic, a former member of the Croatian Defence Council, has been charged with the murder, abuse, and theft of civilians in Prozor in 1993. Under a first instance verdict, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The verdict was later quashed.

In her closing statement, state prosecutor Sanja Jukic said that sufficient evidence had been presented for the court to render a fair decision.

“The witnesses clearly described and confirmed that Jukic committed the actions charged he is charged with. Many of the witnesses said that people were taken away from the school building and that their bodies have never been found…That man [Zeljko Jukic] has never said anything to help locate those bones, although he certainly knows where they are,” prosecutor Sanja Jukic said.

Jukic’s defense attorney, Irena Pehar, said that the prosecution didn’t prove the existence of a widespread and systematic attack in the Prozor area, or that her client was involved in the attack.

“The prosecution witnesses offered arbitrary and contradictory testimonies…They were not able to specify how many brothers and sisters the defendant has, with whom he socialized or which school he attended, although all of them claimed that they knew him,” Pehar said.

Defendant Zeljko Jukic addressed the chamber. He expressed regret over the fate of all the victims, but said that he didn’t commit the crimes he was accused of committing in Prozor.

State prosecution witness Ibrahim Grcic testified prior to presentation of the closing statements. Grcic said that Jukic took him to the secondary school in Prozor, which had been turned into a detention center. When asked by the state prosecutor when he saw Jukic again, Grcic said he saw him again August 1993.

“Just before dark he came with two other soldiers. They entered the building. I watched everything from a window on the second floor…He took the men away. Noone has ever found them,” Grcic said.

Witness Enisa Pilav was questioned at the same hearing. Pilav said that her husband Mirsad Pilav was taken to the Prozor secondary school in 1993.

“I visited the center every day. I brought him food and clothes…I continued until August 3, when he was taken away to be shot. I came a day later. I asked where my husband was. They said that he had been taken away the night before. I insisted on seeing the list…The list contained the names of six men, including my husband’s. There was a note next to those names that said ‘Taken away by the police at 10:30pm. Not brought back’,” Pilav said.

Pilav said a few days later a neighbour told her that her husband had survived a shooting at a landfill site and was hiding in the woods. The neighbour allegedly visited Pilav’s husband several times in the woods, and had been told what had happened to him on the night of his shooting.

“That night Zeljko Jukic and Vinko Papak called his name and told him to come to the school corridor. They told him that he was going to a shooting. A Lada vehicle was parked in front of the building. He was taken to the landfill at Duska Kosa. While Jukic was holding a pistol pointed at Ibrahim Pilav, he [Mirsad Pilav] used the opportunity and jumped down into a chasm,” Pilav said.

Prosecutor Jukic read a statement by deceased witness Zlata Omanovic from 2011. In that statement she said that her husband had told her what had happened to their son Edis Omanovic.

“It was known to him that Edis was detained at the police station and that they took him to other locations in order to have him perform forced labour. He said that he heard later on that his son was taken to the landfill site to be shot and that Mirsad Pilav was the only one who survived,” Omanovic said.