Witness Describes Structure of Territorial Defense in Srebrenik

Ekrem Ibracevic, Faruk Smajlovic and Sejdalija Covic have been charged with war crimes committed in Rapatnica in 1992. According to the charges, Ibracevic was the chief of military security with the Territorial Defense’s municipal headquarters in Srebrenik, while Smajlovic and Covic were members of the Territorial Defense’s military police.

Novalija Ibrahimovic, the former head of the service corps of the municipal headquarters of the Territorial Defense, testified at today’s hearing. Ibrahimovic confirmed that the Territorial Defense ran a detention unit in Rapatnica, but he didn’t know who established it or who was in charge of detainees.

Ibrahimovic said Mijo Gudeljevic was the assistant commander for security with the Territorial Defense Headquarters, while Ibracevic was his deputy or assistant.

He said he knew that a group of people captured on Mount Majevica were taken to Rapatnica.

“They were guarded by military police,” Ibrahimovic said.

“The details related to their detention are not known to me. I couldn’t have had information on them…I heard about those things and the torture for the first time at the trial of Zurahid Mujcinovic,” Ibrahimovic said.

In 2013 the Bosnian state court sentenced Mujcinovic to eight years in prison for crimes in Rapatnica.

Ibrahimovic went on to describe Smajlovic and Covic as members of the military police.

“The headquarters was situated in a school building in Rapatnica. We held meetings every day…Ekrem [Ibracevic] attended several of those meetings, but he didn’t attend many of them,” Ibrahimovic said.

The trial will continue on September 1.