Stanisic Didn’t Report Petkovci Killings, Witness Says

The witness, Miodrag Dragutinovic, testified at the trial of Stanisic and Marko Milosevic, two former members of the Bosnian Serb Army accused of participating in the mass killing of approximately 1000 civilians from Srebrenica in mid-July 1995. The civilians were allegedly held as captives at a school building in Petkovci, prior to being killed at a nearby dam. Stanisic was the commander of the Sixth Battalion. Milosevic was his deputy.

Dragutinovic, the former assistant commander for operational and educational affairs with the Zvornicka Brigade, said he had seen a document which indicated that some members of the Drinski Corps were present in the Zvornicka Brigade’s zone of responsibility in mid-July 1995.

Dragutinovic said he hadn’t seen in those documents that the Sixth Battalion, which was under defendant Ostoja Stanisic’s command, was engaged in guarding or liquidating captives from Srebrenica.

Dragutinovic said the Sixth Battalion did not use the new school building in Petkovci or the dam for its own needs.

In response to questions by the prosecution, Dragutinovic said that due to obligations he had at the time, he didn’t know what happened in the Zvornicka Brigade’s zone of responsibility from July 4-18, 1995. He also said he didn’t know what happened in the Sixth Battalion’s zone of responsibility during the same time period. He said he participated in an attack on Srebrenica in July 1995.

Dragutinovic said afterwards, he reviewed a diary and a notebook belonging to the duty officer and operational officer of the Zvornicka Brigade.

Dragutinovic told the court that after July 18, 1995, battalion commanders went to the Zvornicka Brigade to give oral reports. He said commander Stanisic was present during the submission of those reports, but he only reported on combat activities.

The trial chamber asked Dragutinovic whether Stanisic should have mentioned the events that took place in the vicinity of his command post in mid-July 1995. Dragutinovic said he believed Stanisic would have done so if the brigade commander had asked him to.

A new witness will testify in Stanisic’s defense on April 22.