Witness Changes His Statement at Basic Trial

A witness at the Eniz Basic trial and said he didn’t see Basic abduct three civilians from the village of Vardiste in 1993, retracting an earlier statement he had given to the prosecution.

Jasmin Sehic told the cantonal court of Zenica that he didn’t see Basic and another soldier abduct three civilians named Luka Sestan, Mirko Letic and Jozo Kristo, with their hands held behind their backs.

Sehic was asked why he said during the investigation phase of the case that he saw Sehic take the civilians away. Sehic said that statement was incorrectly ascribed to him.

“I am changing my statement now because I am not sure. I didn’t see it well. That’s not what I told the prosecutor. He described it in his own words, but I didn’t react when he dictated it, because I didn’t know what it was all about. I didn’t know what I signed,” Sehic said.

Sehic said he heard about civilians being taken away and killed later on, but couldn’t remember who told him about the killings and when they happened.

The indictment alleges that Basic, a former member of the Bosnian Army, abducted civilians from a house in the village of Vardiste in April 1993, without authorization. The charred bodies of the civilians were discovered a few days later.

The trial will continue on May 12.