Grubisic-Fejzic Gives Closing Statement, Verdict for Zelenika et al. expected in April

According to the indictment, Ivan Zelenika was an officer with the Croatian Defence Forces, Herceg was the commander of the Dretelj military prison, Buljubasic was the deputy commander, while Grubisic-Fejzic and Medic were guards.

Before determining the date of the verdict, defendant Marina Grubisic-Fejzic and her defense attorney Zumreta Akagic-Bavcic presented their closing arguments.

“I plead to this honorable council to acquit me on all counts, because I’m not guilty,” Grubisic-Fejzic said. Grubisic-Fejzic is charged with committing crimes against Serbian civilians in the Dretelj military prison near Capljina in 1992.

Akagic-Bavcic said that the state prosecution failed to submit sufficient evidence to establish Grubisic-Fejzic’s guilt.

“In this particular case this is a matter of mistaken identity,” Akagic-Bavcic said. She said that a woman named Marina from Osijek in Croatia, was also present at the Dretelj detention camp.

Akagic-Bavcic said Grubisic-Fejzic was never a guard at the Dretelj detention camp.

“Not a single witness at the main hearing confirmed that she was guard,” she added.

With regards to charges that Grubisic-Fejzic participated in the murder of detainee Bozo Balaban, Akagic-Bavcic said that other witnesses had discredited testimony given by a protected witness known as A.

A had said that Balaban’s beatings happened at night, and that he saw Grubisic-Fejzic participate in his beating.

Akagic-Bavcic said that witness Branislav Simic was only a few meters away from where Balaban was beaten, but couldn’t see anything because of the darkness.

“He only heard male voices,” Akagic-Bavcic said.

Grubisic-Fejzic is also charged with forcing witness Mile Bjelobaba and a protected witness known as C to perform oral sex on each other.

Akagic-Bavcic said that after Bjelobaba said he remembered the face of the person who forced him to perform oral sex on C, he was requested to identify this person.

“He recognized Marina as me, a lawyer of the fifth defendant,” Akagic-Bavcic said. She added that C had said that he was not forced to perform oral sex.

According to Akagic-Bavcic, during the investigation one of the witnesses said he was beaten by a woman named Marina, whereas at the trial, he had said that he was hit by a woman named Suzana.

Akagic-Bavcic said C stated during the trial that Marina kicked him twice in high heels, but didn’t mention it during the investigation. According to Akagic-Bavcic, C said that at the time Marina had two surnames.

“Marina was not married then. She didn’t have two surnames,”Akagic-Bavcic said. She added her client’s name to the list of the defendants’ names that was circulating among the witnesses.

Akagic-Bavcic said the state prosecution couldn’t prove the guilt of her client, even if the defense hadn’t presented any evidence.