Prosecution Requests Custody Extension for Strpci Train Kidnapping and Killings

The state prosecution has requested extended custody measures for Boban Indjic, Obrad Poluga, Petko Indjic, Radojica Ristic, and Novak Poluga.

The suspects are charged with the kidnapping and killing of twenty passengers travelling on a train from Belgrade to Bar in 1993. The victims were allegedly stopped in the village of Strpci in the municipality of Rudo. The suspects allegedly abducted the victims and took them to Visegrad, where they killed them.

A total of fifteen suspects in the case were arrested on December 4, 2014. The arrests were a joint operation of the Bosnian state prosecution and the war crimes prosecution of Serbia.

At today’s hearing, prosecutor Dzermin Pasic said the prosecution was filing a custody motion to ensure that the suspects didn’t attempt to influence witnesses or accomplices.

“Considering the fact that the team from Serbia, which we cooperated with in this case, has filed an indictment and we are expecting a decision within the next month – allow us to complete the investigation without obstacles,” Pasic said.

He said that he was waiting for more evidence from Serbia and Montenegro, and that two more witnesses needed to be examined.

The defense teams objected to the proposal for extended custody measures, and requested that the court order prohibitive measures against their clients instead.

“As far as my client is concerned, the previous motions didn’t contain evidence indicating that he influenced witnesses,” said Senad Kreho, Boban Indjic’s defense attorney.

According to Kreho, prosecutor Pasic couldn’t guarantee that the investigation would be completed within a month.

The defense teams said that they didn’t consider that the legal conditions for custody measures had been met. They claimed that the prosecution was trying to hide a tardy investigation with its request for custody measures.

“The prosecutor was obliged to submit a report on what he’s done over the past two months. Judging by the dates, he requested help from Serbia and Montenegro even before the first extension of custody. The prosecutor is obliged to act urgently when it comes to cases involving custody measures,” said Veljko Civisa, Novak Poluga’s defense attorney.

Civisa said his client had health problems and submitted supporting medical documentation to the court.

The state prosecution also suspects Oliver Krsmanovic, Vuk Ratkovic, Luka Dragicevic, Dragan Lakic and Momir Nikolic of attacking the civilians travelling by train in Strpci. The court had ordered that they abide by prohibitive measures.

The Bosnian state court will render a decision regarding extension of custody for the suspects at a later stage.