Prosecution Urges Jail for Bosniak Commander Oric

The prosecutor argued that witnesses’ testimonies had proved that Oric and Muhic were responsible for the unlawful killings of three Serb soldiers in the villages of Zalazje, Lolici and Kunjerac, near Bratunac, in 1992.

Janjic mainly cited statements given by a protected witness codenamed O-1, who said he personally saw the murder of captive soldier Slobodan Ilic, who was also a judge.

“Witness O-1 gave a detailed description of the murder of judge Ilic, who was captured along with three or four members of the Bosnian Serb Army on July 12 [1992],” the prosecutor said.

“The witness said that Oric hit Ilic on his chest and head. The findings by expert witness Rifat Kesetovic confirmed multiple bone fractures on Ilic’s body,” Janjic added.

According to the charges, Oric was the commander of Bosnian Army territorial defence units in Srebrenica and Muhic a member of his forces.

The prosecution also cited testimony from witness Ibran Mustafic, who said that while Oric was at his apartment, he admitted having killed Slobodan Ilic.

Commenting on the murders of the other two Serb captives, Milutin Milosevic and Mitar Savic, the prosecutor said that it had been confirmed by witnesses that both Oric and Muhic had shot at them.

The case against Oric has drawn criticism from Bosniaks who see him as a hero for his role in defending Srebrenica in the years before the 1995 massacres.

It has also been criticised by Serb war victims, who have claimed that the charges against Oric are too modest.

Oric’s lawyer argued meanwhile that he had already been tried and acquitted by the UN-backed war crimes court in The Hague, so to try him again in Sarajevo was unjust.

The defence will present its closing statements in the trial on September 12.