Witness in Bejtic Trial Says He Gave Statement Under Coercion

The Sarajevo cantonal prosecution has charged Bejtic, a former member of the Tenth Mountain Brigade of the Bosnian Army (ABiH), with taking unlawfully mobilized civilian Zoran Vucurevic in front of the division line held by the Bosnian Serb Army on December 25, 1992, and killing him by firing two bullets at him from a pistol. Afterwards Bejtic allegedly poured diluent liquid over his body in order to remove traces of the crime. He has also been charged with committing other crimes in Kazani.

Testifying at today’s hearing, prosecution witness Ismet Sadovic told the cantonal court of Sarajevo that he was a member of the Tenth Mountain Brigade of the Bosnian Army (ABiH) on the frontline in Bogusevac in 1992.

Testifying on injured party Zoran Vucurevic, he said he gave a statement to security bodies during the war and was subjected to beating and mistreatment during his examination.

“I was taken to the ‘Viktor Bubanj’ [military barracks] where the mistreatment continued. I gave a statement about Vucurevic, but that statement is not true. I did not know him. Military prosecutor Ljubo Lukic asked me to give a statement that didn’t correspond with the truth. Then I had to sign it under coercion. My statement about the killed civilian was not true at all,” Sadovic said.

The cantonal prosecution asked Sadovic whether civilians were brought to the frontline to dig trenches. Sadovic said they were. He said he had known defendant Samir Bejtic since childhood. He said he didn’t see him on the frontline “on the critical date.”

Sadovic said reconnaissance unit members once came to the frontline and told them not to leave their trenches, as there would be shelling. They also told them the line should be marked with fire.

Zlatan Beganovic, another former member of the Tenth Mountain Brigade, also testified at today’s hearing. Beganovic said his colleague, Ismet Sadovic, told him to mark the division line with fire. He said he didn’t know what they used to light the fire.

“I know the defendant. He was a soldier in our brigade. He was not on the frontline with us. I didn’t see him on the frontline on that day. He would come occasionally in case of an attack or something like that. I have never mentioned Zoran Vucurevic. I don’t know who he is,” Beganovic said.

Witness Uzeir Plakalo said he was a member of the Tenth Mountain Brigade of the Bosnian Army at the beginning of the war. Plakalo said he didn’t remember many past events because of epilepsy and a number of things that had previously happened to him. He said he saw Bejtic during the war a few times.

Trial chamber chairman Jasenko Ruzic asked him if it was true that he said in his statement that he saw Bejtic escorting a civilian and asked him if he would kill the civilian. Plakalo said he did not remember having said that.

When the prosecution presented Plakalo with a report from 1994 and asked him to confirm if it contained his signature. Plakalo said he remembered that he signed documents in that way, but could not confirm whether the report contained his signature or not.

The trial will continue on April 6.