A former truck driver, who transported civilians from Prijedor to Travnik on August 21, 1992, said he did not see or hear about the shooting of people at Koricanske stijene on that day.
“Believe me, I did not see anything unusual on that day. Upon my arrival in Tukovi, I parked the truck and I waited for the people to get on the truck. Then I moved together with other vehicles in the convoy. There were many people around. They were guarded by policemen dressed in blue camouflage uniforms, who carried automatic rifles. I did not know any of them,” Nedjo Vracar said, testifying for the Defence of indictee Zoran Babic.
Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Ljubisa Cetic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic, former members of the Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, are charged with having participated in escorting a convoy of more than 1,200 civilians, who were taken to Travnik to be exchanged.
The indictment charges the six men with having participated in shooting about 200 men at Koricanske stijene. The men had previously been separated from the rest of the convoy moving to Travnik and driven to Mount Vlasic.
Vracar told the Court that a policeman drove with him in the truck, adding that he did not speak to him much. He said he had never found out what his name was and he would not be able to recognize him now.
“Nothing unusual happened with the convoy. We stopped after driving for a couple of hours, when one of the buses in front of me broke down. Some civilians were loaded onto my truck. The policeman got off the truck and I never saw him again. After the civilians had been loaded, the convoy moved on,” the witness said.
During the course of his testimony, Vracar explained that, upon his arrival in Turbe, he “unloaded” all the civilians from his truck. The column of civilians then walked in an unknown direction. He said his task was then finished, so he went back to Prijedor.
Answering questions from the Prosecution during cross-examination, Vracar said that, on his way back from Turbe, he did not hear any shooting or see anything unusual by the road. He said that after having heard the news two days later, he found out about the shooting at Koricanske stijene.
The next hearing is due to take place on December 21, when indictee Zoran Babic will testify for his Defence. On that day Babic’s Defence will present its material evidence.