Defense Witness in Frimel Trial Saw Injured Party Beaten

Defense witness Sakib Kustura told the cantonal court of Sarajevo that he once saw injured party Blagovcanin, whom he had known from before, lying in the headquarters after having been beaten up.

“When I came to the headquarters, Blagovcanin was lying on my left hand side. He was moaning. He was beaten up, but I don’t know by whom,” Kustura said. He said his commander, Murat Komarica, told him to drive Blagovcanin to the military police.

Kustura said he asked Blagovcanin what had happened, but he told him he had fallen down the stairs.

“One day I was with Blagovcanin and we met Mario Frimel. The two of them started quarreling about something. These accusations appeared after that,” Kustura said, who previously testified for the prosecution.

The cantonal prosecution of Sarajevo has charged Frimel, the former commander of the Ivan Krndelj Squad of the Bosnian Army, with the unlawful arrest, physical abuse and mental anguish of Serbs in the Hrasno neighbourhood of Sarajevo at the beginning of October 1992.

The trial will continue on March 2.