Next week three trials for genocide are due to continue before the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court in Sarajevo.
On Thursday, April 23 the trial of Blagoje Golubovic is due to begin before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Golubovic is charged, as a former member of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, with having participated in the murder of two Bosniak civilians in Podkolun village, Foca Municipality, in May 1992.
Mirko (son of Mile) Pekez was sentenced to 29 years’ imprisonment for the same crime. On April 28 the Appeals Chamber is due to listen to closing arguments from the Prosecution and Defence at the retrial of Mirko (son of Spiro) Pekez and Milorad Savic.
On Wednesday, April 22 the retrial is due to start in the case of Marko Skrobic, a former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, who was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for war crimes against civilians committed in Kotor-Varos Municipality.
During the course of next week three trials for genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995 are due to continue.
On Monday, April 20 another status conference is due at the trial of Milorad Trbic, former assistant commander for security with the Zvornik VRS Brigade.
On Friday, April 24 new Prosecution witnesses are due to be examined at the trial of Radomir Vukovic and Zoran Tomic, former members of the Second Special Police Squad, and Momir Pelemis and Slavko Peric, members of the First Battalion with the Zvornik VRS Brigade.
On Tuesday, April 21 the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is due to continue presenting evidence at the trial for crimes committed at Koricanske stijene in August 1992.
The State Prosecution charges Damir Ivankovic, Zoran Babic, Gordan Djuric, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic, Ljubisa Cetic, Dusan Jankovic and Zeljko Stojnic, former members of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor and the Emergency Interventions Police Squad, with the murder of about 200 civilians.
On the same day and the following day Gojko Klickovic, former Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, who is charged with war crimes committed in the Bosanska Krupa area, is due to continue testifying as a defence witness. Besides Klickovic, the State Prosecution charges Mladen Drljaca and Jovan Ostojic with a number of crimes committed against non-Serbs in the course of 1992.
On Tuesday, April 21 the Trial Chamber will re-examine ballistics experts Berko Zecevic, who testified as a Prosecution witness, and Vlado Kostic, who appeared as a Defence expert witness, at the trial of Novak Djukic, who is charged with war crimes against civilians in Tuzla.
The indictment alleges that Djukic, as commander of the Ozren Tactical Group with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, ordered the shelling of Tuzla on May 25, 1995, when 71 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded.
On Wednesday, April 22 new Defence witnesses are due to be examined at the trials of Rade Veselinovic, who is charged as a member of the VRS Military Police Squad with a number of crimes committed in Hadzici, and Momir Savic, former Commander of the Third Squad with the VRS Visegrad Brigade, who is indicted for crimes against humanity committed in Visegrad in the course of 1992.
On the same day the trial for crimes committed against Bosnian Croats from Bugojno is due to continue. The State Prosecution announced that it would examine three witnesses, who would testify against Nisvet Gasal, Musajb Kukavica, Enes Handzic and Senad Dautovic.
On Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23 the Prosecution is due to continue presenting evidence at the trial of Radoje Lalovic and Soniboj Skiljevic, who are charged with crimes committed in “Butmir” Penal and Correctional Facility in Kula, near Sarajevo, in which civilians were detained, mistreated and abused in the course of 1992 and 1993.
On Thursday next week, at the trial of Ante Kovac, former Commander of the Military Police Squad with the Vitez HVO Brigade, who is charged with the capture and detention of Bosniaks in various buildings in Vitez Municipality, a team of court experts will present their findings concerning the indictee’s capability of following the trial. The indictee failed to appear at recent hearings due to his “bad state of health”.
Following the four hearings at which Suljo Karajic, a former member of the Military Police Squad with the Fifth Corps of the Bosnian Army, testified for his own Defence, a new Defence witness is due to be examined on Thursday, April 23.
During the course of his testimony, Karajic, who is charged with war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war committed “in Bihac Dstrict” in late 1994 and early 1995, admitted having murdered Amir Karajic, known as Kolac, a former member of the National Defence of the Western Bosnia Autonomous Region, as well as having beaten up a medical doctor, “who failed to provide medical assistance to a wounded Bosnian Army member”, and the Commander of the Civil Protection municipal Staff in Murtici village.
On Thursday, April 23 Defence witnesses are due to be examined at the trial of Ratko Bundalo, Nedjo Zeljaja and Djordjislav Askraba, who are charged with having participated, during the course of a broad and systematic attack conducted by the VRS, police and paramilitary forces from April 1992 to March 1993, in crimes against humanity committed in the Kalinovik area.
On the same day and then also on Friday the retrial is due to continue in the case of brothers Rajko and Ranko Vukovic, who are charged with crimes against humanity committed in the Foca area in 1992.
The trial of Ferid Hodzic, former Commander of the Territorial Defence in Vlasenica, who is charged with participation in the detention and physical and mental abuse of Serb civilians and prisoners of war in “Stala” prison in Rovasi hamlet, is due to continue on Friday, April 24.