Salcin Objects to Revised Indictment, Court Police Intervene
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The Bosnian state prosecution has charged Salcin with abusing a prisoner named Dragan Vukovic. Salcin allegedly cut off a part of Vukovic’s ear in front of the Mraziste Hotel on Mount Igman in May 1993. He is also charged with beating prisoners in the kitchen of the Mraziste Hotel on Mount Igman during the first half of 1993.
Zijat Music, a former deputy commander of the Fourth Corps of the Bosnian Army, testified in Salcin’s defense. He said Salcin came to Dreznica on May 9 or 10, 1993.
Music said members of the Zulfikar Unit came to assist Bosnian Army forces stationed in Dreznica, and were accommodated in the surrounding houses.
“I remember Salcin well, because he was accommodated in a house near the Command Building, where I was. We used to eat in the same kitchen. We saw each other frequently. He might not have been there every day, but he certainly stayed in Dreznica until the end of the year,” Music said.
Also testifying in Salcin’s defense, Sejo Memidzan said he remembered Salcin as a member of the Zulfikar Unit.
He said Salcin, who was nicknamed Struja, slept at his home in Memidzani throughout May 1993.
“Salcin was a noisy person. He always carried a bottle with him. That’s why I remember him,” Memidzan said.
At the start of the hearing, the state prosecution submitted a copy of a new and revised indictment. The revised indictment stated that Salcin’s alleged crimes were committed in March 1993, and not May 1993.
Salcin’s defense attorney objected to this change, and said that all previous witnesses had testified about events that took place from May 1993 onwards. Salcin’s defense said it would submit a written response to the revised indictment.
Salcin addressed the trial chamber, and said the charges against him were fabricated. He said he would not call on more witnesses, because the court would sentence him regardless. In an outburst, he crumpled the indictment in the courtroom. The court police intervened.
The trial will continue on April 23, when Nihad Bojadzic will appear as a defense witness.
