Prosecution Demands Punishment for Capljina Ex-Policemen

The state prosecution called for former policemen Nikola Zovko, Petar Krndelj, Kreso Rajic and Ivica Cutura to be found guilty of committing war crimes in the Capljina area in July 1993.

Prosecutor Stanko Blagic told the state court in Sarajevo in his closing statement in the trial on Wednesday that the allegations that the four men committed war crimes involving the deaths of three Bosniak civilians had been proved and called for them to be jailed.

The indictment alleges that the men participated in an operation in the village of Celjevo in the Capljina municipality on or around July 28, 1993, in which three Bosniak civilians were killed.

Zovko is the former commander of the police station in Capljina, Krndelj the former assistant commander, Rajic the former commander of the Military Police Squad, and Cutura a former operational worker at the police station tation in Capljina.

Krndelj, Zovko and Rajic have been charged with failing to punish subordinate members of the civil and military police who committed the murders.

Prosecutor Blagic said the injured parties were civilians and “could not have been commandos, as alleged by the defence”.

According to the prosecutor, Krndelj was present at the murder scene and the lives of the men who were killed were in his hands.

“He could have prevented their murder,” Blagic said, adding that it could be concluded, on the basis of the evidence, that Krndelj led the operation in Celjevo.

As far as Zovko and Rajic are concerned, prosecutor Blagic said they were not personally present at the crime scene but were obliged to punish the perpetrators, and did not.

Zovko, Krndelj and Cutura have also been charged with unlawful arrests of civilians from the village of Veledarova Mahala and taking the civilians to Gabela detention camp in July 1993.

The prosecutor said that this count had been proved at the trial as well.

“Witness Adem Veledar confirmed that Ivica Cutura carried out the arrests of the Bosniak civilians,” Blagic said.

Zovko and Krndelj’s defence lawyers are due to present their closing statements on May 24.

Also on Wednesday in a separate hearing at the state court, the prosecution called for defendants Zdenko Andabak, Muamir Jasarevic and Sead Velagic to be found guilty of committing war crimes in Livno in 1992.

Prosecutor Sasa Sarajlic said the three defendants committed crimes against humanity, which included the persecution of the Serb population from the Livno municipality.

“I consider that we have all the elements of that crime and that a widespread and systematic attack aimed at the ethnic cleansing of the Serb population was conducted in Livno,” Sarajlic said.

“The attack and unlawful deprivation of liberty and torture have been proved through testimonies by witnesses at the main trial and during the investigation,” he added.

He said that the defendants were aware of the widespread and systematic attack and knew that their actions were part of it.

He said that weapons were confiscated from Serbs in Livno, but this could not be used as a justification for detaining them in Ivan Goran Kovacic school, where they were held in inhumane conditions, without food, water and proper personal hygiene facilities.

Defendant Andabak’s defence will present its closing statement on May 17.