State Prosecution Gives Closing Statement in Rackovic Trial

Prosecutor Dzevad Muratbegovic said attacks on the non-Serb civilian population of Visegrad began in mid-May 1992. He said unarmed civilians were abducted from their homes, arrested, and beaten. Muratbegovic said he believed that Rackovic knew about the attacks and that his actions were exclusively aimed at the non-Serb civilian population in the area.

“Rackovic didn’t do anything to demonstrate his disagreement with the non-Serb population’s deprivation of liberty. As a consequence of their persecution, a significantly smaller number of non-Serbs live in the Visegrad area today,” Muratbegovic said.

Addressing the individual counts, Muratbegovic said he believed the prosecution had demonstrated that Rackovic participated in abducting civilians from the villages of Osojnica, Kabernik and Holijaci and detaining them in a school building in the village of Orahovci. He said a number of civilians were beaten during their detainment.

Muratbegovic also said he believed that the prosecution had proven that Rackovic had participated in burning houses and abducting civilians from the villages of Cancari and Kabernik.

“You should trust the prosecution witnesses, because they were the direct witnesses of the abduction of the civilians…We consider the testimony of the defense witnesses as dishonest, and given with the intention of helping the defendant, who was their friend,” Muratbegovic said.

Muratbegovic said he believed that the prosecution had proven that Rackovic had raped a protected witness known as RV-5. He said the allegations contained in RV-5’s testimony were confirmed by testimony given by other witnesses and material evidence.

“During the course of her testimony, she described the event in great detail. We consider that she had no reason to incriminate the defendant with no grounds,” he said.

Muratbegovic rejected the alibi given by defense witnesses who had said that Rackovic was in Zaglavak at the time of his alleged crimes. He said those witnesses couldn’t be trusted.

“I propose to the court to consider the number of criminal actions, the fact that the injured parties were civilians, the fact he participated in the detention of his colleagues, whom he knew, that he raped RV-5, whose father he knew, and the fact that some of the injured parties are still suffering from the consequences [of his actions], as aggravating circumstances,” Muratbegovic said.

Rackovic was a former member of the Territorial Defense before joining the Fourth Company of the Visegradska Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army. Rackovic has been charged with participating in attacks on Bosniak villages, as well as rape, detention, torture, and destruction of property in the Visegrad area from May-August 1992. The indictment alleges that some of the unlawfully detained persons have never been found.

The defense will present its closing statement on April 22.