Witnesses Deny Knowledge of Murder at Goronja Trial

Witness Ljuban Misljenovic told the district court of Banja Luka that military police detained him in Novi Grad on June 9, 1992, and transported him to a restaurant in Blagaj Japra.

Misljenovic said he saw Goronja in front of the restaurant. He said Goronja passed by him several times, and he noted that he was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, known as a “papovka,” and was dressed in a civil uniform.

Goronja has been charged with the murder of a civilian named Dervic Selimic near Novi Grad in 1992. The prosecution alleges that Goronja went to a school building in the village of Blagaj Japra, near Novi Grad, on June 9, 1992, dressed in military uniform and armed with an automatic weapon. According to the indictment, he ordered Dervis Selimic to accompany him to the Sana River, where he shot him.

Witnesses Darko Tomasevic and Mirko Zec also said they knew Goronja and said he was a member of the Territorial Defense. They said he wore a civil uniform and carried a papovka during the war. Tomasevic and Zec said they hadn’t heard that Goronja had killed anyone.