WELCOME TO IWPRS ICTY - TRIBUNAL UPDATE No. 551, May 16, 2008 COURTSIDE:
COURT HEARS SRS MASSACRE ALLEGATIONS But Seselj denies his Serbian Radical Party volunteers took part in killings. By Denis Dzidic in The Hague PRLIC DEFENCE COUNTERS REFUGEE ABUSE CLAIMS Croatian official testifies that authorities provided Bosniak refugees with aid and shelter during war. By Simon Jennings in The Hague CROAT TROOPS TESTIMONY CHALLENGED Expert witness suggests soldiers account of alleged attempt to assassinate Croat politician was contradictory. By Goran Jungvirth in Zagreb BRIEFLY NOTED: STANISIC TRIAL ADJOURNED ON APPEAL Appeal judges order that trial be suspended due to accuseds health problems. By Denis Dzidic in The Hague BALA TO SERVE TIME IN FRANCE Former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, commander will serve remainder of sentence there. 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By Denis Dzidic in The Hague A former police officer this week testified in the trial of Vojislav Seselj that Serbian Radical Party, SRS, volunteers were involved in the murder of 45 civilians in a Croatian village in 1991. Ex-Croatian police officer Djuro Matovina told the Hague tribunal that he was one of the first on the scene after the massacre in the village of Vocin in Western Slavonia in December 1991. He took part in the investigation to find out who was behind this terrible attack on mainly elderly victims. The witness said the investigation proved that the crimes were committed by local Serb special units and Serbian volunteers from the White Eagles group and Seselj's men. The Serb ultra-nationalist stands accused of encouraging volunteers to commit crimes against non-Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia and Vojvodina between 1991 and 1993. According to the prosecution, Seselj encouraged the creation of a homogenous Greater Serbia ... by violence, and thereby participated in war propaganda and the incitement of hatred towards non-Serb people. Although prosecutors left alleged crimes in the region of Western Slavonia out of Seseljs indictment in order to streamline their case, they are allowed to present related testimony to demonstrate the way SRS paramilitaries behaved in the field. During the trial, the prosecution also showed video footage of Croatian civilians being murdered in the village. Matovina testified about the number of Serb volunteer forces in Vocin in 1991. There were about 600 of them from the beginning of the conflict until December 1991. Then, right before the massacre occurred, most of them were transported back to Serbia. Only about 80 volunteers were left, and they are the ones that committed murders, he said. However, Seselj protested fiercely against the claim that his men were behind the killings. He tried to undermine the credibility of the witness by presenting a 2002 statement from the same witness in which he said the crime was committed by the White Eagles. Matovina denied his statements were contradictory. The White Eagles group and Seselj's men were like one unit, so when I said this in 2002, I just wasn't being precise. I thought of them as one group, he said. But Seselj rejected this. All SRS volunteers were strictly forbidden to mingle and associate with other volunteer units before they left for assignments, he said. During cross-examination, Seselj insisted that all SRS volunteers had been evacuated before the massacre occurred. Matovina said he had heard reports to the contrary, Several reliable witnesses that escaped from Vocin told me that they recognised their attackers as SRS volunteers. During the trial, Matovina also spoke about the beginning of the war in Croatia and claimed that the Yugoslav Peoples Army, JNA, had started hostilities. They handed out weapons to Serbs and formed illegal aggressor units which attacked Croatia, he said. At this point, Seselj, who had appeared agitated throughout the proceedings, accused the witness of being a liar prepared by the Croatian government, before being admonished by judges. He then tried to show that Serbs came off worse than Croats during the conflict. The number of Croatians murdered during the war was 450 about 150 soldiers and 300 civilians while the number of Serb casualties was 1200 600 soldiers and 500 civilians. These are the facts, and they show who the aggressor was and who was more dangerous during the war, said Seselj. The accused again tried to discredit the witness, presenting the court with a criminal indictment against him for organised crime. However, Matovina denied any knowledge of this. Seselj also asked whether crimes were committed against Serbs in Croatia before the war and whether the witness had tried to find those responsible. There were some sporadic events and several murders, but we, the police, did all we could to stop them and protect the public. We did investigate and found those responsible in several cases, in others, sadly, we did not, replied Matovina. Seselj was not happy with this answer and called Matovina a fake. He then sought to discredit the witness further, by accusing him of abusing Serb civilians. Matovina took part in murders, beatings and the mistreatment of Serbs in the region of Slatina, Slavonia, said Seselj. But the former police officer dismissed the accusations as preposterous and shocking. Seselj attempted to counter Matovinas testimony that large groups of Croatians came to Slatina after being forced out of their homes in Vojvodina, Serbia. They came at the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1992. They told me they were pressured by activists from the Serbian Radical Party in Serbia to move to Croatia. They were forced to trade homes with Serbs that wanted to move to Serbia, said Matovina. But Seselj said this was laughable. He maintained that Serbs were less fortunate in these home exchanges because they were forced to leave larger homes in Croatia and to move to smaller ones in Vojvodina. The trial continues next week. Denis Dzidic is an IWPR-trained reporter in The Hague. PRLIC DEFENCE COUNTERS REFUGEE ABUSE CLAIMS Croatian official testifies that authorities provided Bosniak refugees with aid and shelter during war. By Simon Jennings in The Hague The Croatian government did not discriminate between ethnic Croats and Muslim refugees from Bosnia, said a defence witness in the trial of former Herceg-Bosna prime minister Jadranko Prlic. Prlic and five other Bosnian Croat officials are accused at the Hague tribunal of attempting to ethnically cleanse Muslims from Bosnia which they proclaimed as the Croatian statelet of Herceg Bosna during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Prlics defence is seeking to highlight the efforts made by the Croatian authorities to look after Bosnian Muslim refugees. The witness, Damir Zoric, was secretary general of the Croatian governments Office of Displaced Persons and Refugees, ODPR, in Croatia from November 1991 to March 1993. Recalling a prosecution witness who had testified that Bosniak refugees were isolated and denied access to education, defence lawyer Micheal Karnavas asked the witness to comment on a February 1993 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, document. This document shows that UNHCR in cooperation with the ODPR tried to help refugees in Croatia irrespective of their origin, said Damir. Prlics defence asked the witness about large sums of money provided by UNHCR to his office to provide shelter and accommodation and fund programmes for women and children. UNHCR obviously had confidence in our office trusting that the money would be distributed to those in need and to those to whom it was directed, the witness told the court. Zoric explained how empty buildings in Croatian cities were used to house refugees from Bosnia. People simply entered these premises and tried to organise their lives. We tried to provide them with infrastructure, or if that was not possible, we strove to move people to other facilities, he said. In the village of Gasinci near Davoko, a former military camp was adapted to house ethnic Croats and Muslims from the Bosnian Posavina, said Zoric. According to him, there were also representatives of international organisations at the camp, including UNHCR, Islamic organisations and the International Red Cross. Zoric contradicted claims made by prosecution witness Azra Krajsek earlier in the trial that Muslim refugees were abused in reception centres in Gasinci. Zoric denied Krajseks testimony that weapons were pointed at Bosnian Muslims. The information that the Croatian government would keep weapons where there were ethnic Croats and Bosnian Muslims is not credible to me, Zoric told the court. We know that our forces were badly armed and our weapons badly needed elsewhere. The witness, who said he went to Gasinci several times, pointed out that no such claims had been made at the time through official channels. While Zoric admitted that nobody was happy at Gasinci, he put it down to the fact that being a refugee was a very sad situation. However, he insisted that everybody, Muslim or Croat, was treated equally. There was no discrimination. There was no officially encouraged violence. On the contrary, if there had been sparks something would have been done to alleviate the situation, he said. The witness said no international organisation had asked for the facility to be closed down, On the contrary they assisted in adapting those facilities for accommodating internally displaced persons and refugees. Zoric also confirmed that 30 million US dollars was donated by the Croatian finance minister to a group known as the Crisis Staff of Muslims of Croatia. Asked by Karnavas if the group could choose household items, medical supplies and food according to its needs, and take them to Bosnia Herzegovina, the witness replied, Thats my understanding. If we think back to Croatia as it was at the time, this amount is simply enormous. Prosecutor Kenneth Scott objected to this part of the testimony. He said the witness did not know about the details of the arrangement between the crisis staff and the Croatian government - such as whether the money had to be paid back. The witness has no knowledge of this matter, Scott told the court, saying that his comments amounted to general knowledge and speculation. Addressing the claim that Muslim refugees were isolated, Karnavas asked why the government established centres on islands such as Korcula and Vis four hours from the mainland by ferry. The witness explained that the islands were tourism centres which could provide accommodation because there were few visitors at the time. Karnavas also asked the witness about refugees mostly Muslims who had to sleep in empty swimming pools before being taken to the island of Obanjan, while ethnic Croats stayed with families. There was no discrimination, but its a fact that ethnic Croats found it easier to integrate into Croatian society. Many of them had relatives in Croatia, said the witness. Simon Jennings is an IWPR reporter in The Hague. CROAT TROOPS TESTIMONY CHALLENGED Expert witness suggests soldiers account of alleged attempt to assassinate Croat politician was contradictory. By Goran Jungvirth in Zagreb A Serb civilian gunned down by Croatian troops did not appear to be trying to assassinate defendant Branimir Glavas as the soldiers claimed, an expert witness told a Zagreb court this week. The Croatian politician is on trial in the Croatian capital with six co-defendants, who together are accused of war crimes against Serb civilians in 1991. Forensic specialist Ladislav Bece, who investigated the death of Croatian Serb Cedomir Vuckovic, said that the Serb appeared to be running away from Glavass headquarters when he was gunned down by soldiers in September 1991. His expert testimony in which he said Vuckovic died from battery acid poisoning rather than gun shot wounds contradicted the accounts of Croatian troops who reportedly said they shot Vuckovic as he ran towards the headquarters in an apparent bid to kill Glavas. Prosecutors say the seven defendants in the case are responsible for the torture of several civilians, including Vuckovic, in a garage in the town of Osijek, in eastern Croatia. Other civilians were shot and thrown into the River Drava, their mouths bound with gaffer tape, according to the indictment. This week, Bece told judges what happened once he appeared on the scene where Vuckovic was shot. He said that he and police officers had arrived at Glavass headquarters in Osijek after being informed of the shooting. An investigative judge was already present, along with a number of Croatian soldiers. One of the [soldiers] informed us [that Vuckovic was] a terrorist who jumped over the fence [towards the headquarters] and tried to kill Glavas, said Bece. But Bece said Vuckovic appeared to have been running towards the fence and away from the headquarters when he was shot. I didnt find any traces that would indicate someone had jumped over the fence because the fence was very high, said Bece. One part was a little bit lower, with soil underneath it If someone had been there, the traces of footprints would have remained. Bece said that blood found at the scene supported the theory that Vuckovic had been running in the direction of the fence when shot. When someone walks and blood is dripping, the drops of blood lengthen in the direction [in which the person is] walking. Those drops lengthened towards the fence, he said. Bece then explained that although a member of Glavass unit Krunoslav Fehir had said he killed Vuckovic, autopsy results later showed he had been poisoned. The autopsy report, which was read out in court, said the cause of death was oral poisoning by sulphuric acid. Pathologist Mladen Marcekic confirmed that Vuckovic had been harmed by sulphuric acid. However, he could not remember whether the cause of death in the official report was poisoning or gunshot wounds. Mladen Filipovic, the judge who investigated Vuckovics death, told the court that the soldiers present at the scene told him that the Serb was killed while trying to assassinate Glavas. The soldiers said [Vuckovic] wouldnt stop so they shot and killed him I had no reason not to believe them, said Filipovic. However, he acknowledged that the investigation was not carried out properly or professionally, saying this was because the country was at war. He said police officers did not take sufficient evidence from the crime scene. He also said that he could not be sure what happened to the rifle the soldiers said was used to shoot Vuckovic, and added that he did not have the jurisdiction to disarm the soldiers. Filipovic said he only learned from the pathologist the next day that Vuckovic had been poisoned as well shot. Former mayor of Osijek Zlatko Kramaric also took the stand this week. He said knew nothing about any war crimes taking place in the town, although he heard stories during the war about Serb civilians disappearing. He added that Glavas played a key role in defending the city and in the Croatian army but said he had no reliable information about his exact role. The prosecution said a man in Kramarics position had to know about Glavass role and his connection to crimes against Serb civilians. The trial resumes on May 28 with testimony from Nikola Vasic who, according to indictment, was tortured in Osijek in 1991. Goran Jungvirth is an IWPR-trained reporter in Zagreb. BRIEFLY NOTED: STANISIC TRIAL ADJOURNED ON APPEAL Appeal judges order that trial be suspended due to accuseds health problems. By Denis Dzidic in The Hague The appeals chamber of the Hague tribunal has granted Jovica Stanisics request to put his trial on hold for up to three months because of his ill health. In their decision of May 16, appeal judges granted a previous request by the defence to adjourn the proceedings for a minimum of three months and to reassess the accuseds state of health before determining when the trial should commence. The trial of Stanisic and his co-accused Franko Simatovic began last month with the opening of the prosecution case. The two high-ranking Serbian officials are charged with directing and organising secret units of the Serbian state security service, which committed crimes against non-Serb civilians in Croatia and Bosnia during the conflicts of the Nineties. Stanisic, who suffers from osteoporosis, kidney stones, pouchitis and depression, has been unable to attend hearings or take part in them through video-link in his detention unit due to ill health. However, he refuses to give up his right to be present at hearings of his trial. The appeals chamber decision this week reversed a trial chamber ruling that the accused would be allowed to view and take part in live hearings of his case by video-link from the detention unit. Appeal judges found that such a method would harm the defendants basic right to be present at court. They also found that the trial chamber decision failed to consider if Stanisic would be able to fully take part in the proceedings from his detention unit due to his state of health. Denis Dzidic is an IWPR-trained reporter. *** BALA TO SERVE TIME IN FRANCE Former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, commander will serve remainder of sentence there. By Denis Dzidic in The Hague Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, commander Haradin Bala was transferred to France on May 16 to serve the rest of his 13-year prison term for crimes in Kosovo. Last year, the appeals chamber confirmed Balas conviction from two years earlier, when he was found guilty of crimes against Serb and Albanian civilians perceived to be Serbian collaborators. The appeals chamber upheld the original trial chamber decision and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. The trial against Bala and his two co-accused Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musli began in November 2004. In 2005, Bala was guilty of torture and murder, in the first judgment passed by the tribunal relating to crimes in Kosovo. The others were acquitted of all charges against them. Bala, who served as a guard at the prison camp in the Llapushnik/Lapusnik area, was convicted of involvement in the murders of nine detainees there. Denis Dzidic is an IWPR-trained reporter. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** ICTY - TRIBUNAL UPDATE, which has been running since 1996, details events and issues at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in The Hague. These weekly reports, produced by IWPR's human rights and media training project, seek to contribute to regional and international understanding of the war crimes prosecution process. The opinions expressed in ICTY - Tribunal Update are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of IWPR. ICTY - Tribunal Update is supported by the European Commission, the Dutch Ministry for Development and Cooperation, the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and other funders. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford Foundation. 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