Witness Says Popovic Guarded a Factory, Couldn’t Have Been Paramilitary Fighter

Jovan Popovic has been charged with abducting civilians in Rodica Brdo in mid-June 1992 and taking them to a police station in Visegrad. The civilians have remained missing since. He has also been charged with pillaging houses in Rodica Brdo and other villages. Popovic allegedly acted in collaboration with a group of soldiers led by Milan Lukic, a Bosnian Serb paramilitary leader sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes in Visegrad.

Defense witness Mirko Djukanovic testified at today’s hearing. Djukanovic said he was in charge of defense tasks in a Visegrad furniture factory in 1992. He said Popovic worked in the furniture production section and was tasked with guarding the factory in April 1992.

“With the arrival of the Uzicki Corps, I returned to work. The factory director gave me a verbal order to strengthen the factory’s guard system. Defendant Popovic was a member of the security guard,” Djukanovic said.

Djukanovic said the security service didn’t belong to any military formation and wasn’t mobilized by the army. Djukanovic said he didn’t know what happened at the factory when he left his job.

“Popovic couldn’t have been a member of any paramilitary formation, because he was engaged in security, guarding the factory. Even when they went home, they couldn’t be absent for more than one day,” Djukanovic said.

Responding to cross-examination questions from the prosecution, Djukanovic said the guards were armed with M-48 rifles, which they didn’t take out of the factory.

“There were about 30 rifles. Popovic had a rifle. Some people entered the factory, but no paramilitary unit members were among them…In most cases, Popovic was dressed in a green uniform,” Djukanovic said.

The trial will continue on February 3.