Jovan Popovic Protected his Bosniak Neighbours, Defense Witness Says
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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.
Vesna Petrovic, Popovic’s cousin, testified at today’s hearing on behalf of the defense. Petrovic said she used to live in the village of Rodica Brdo village in Visegrad. She confirmed that following the departure of the Uzicki Corps from Visegrad in late May 1992, the Orlici paramilitary formation arrived and started mistreating the Bosniak population.
“They could come, enter the houses, take our neighbours way, but we could simply do nothing about it. Had we objected, they would have killed us as well,” Petrovic explained, adding that members of the Orlici were unknown men from other areas.
She said she was returning from work one day, when she saw members of the Orlici driving her neighbour, Seval Zukic, in a yellow car.
“I know it was their car, because they used to drive around in it all the time. Seval was sitting by the window, so I could see him. Some unknown men were in the car. I did not see Jovan among them,” Petrovic said.
She said her family and that of the defendant used to help their Bosniak neighbours. She said they allowed their neighbours Suada and Tima, who each had two children, to hid in their house.
“Jovan protected his neighbours. I have never heard that he treated them badly,” Petrovic said.
During cross-examination, Petrovic said her neighbours Sevala and Tima “just disappeared” after their houses were set on fire. She said she first received information about their fate several years ago.
“Sevka, Tima and her son were found in the Perucac lake a couple of years ago. That’s all I’ve heard about them,” Petrovic said. She said she knew all of the neighbours who were taken away, but she didn’t know who abducted them or what had happened to them.
The trial will continue on February 17, when the prosecution will examine two additional witnesses.
