Trial continues in Orić case: Witnesses confirm that judge Ilić was killed in an exchange of fire

During today's trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina of the wartime commander of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Srebrenica, Naser Orić, and others, two defense witnesses were heard: Suljo Hasanović and Salko Tursunović, Patria reports.

The prosecution charges Orić with crimes against Serbs in Srebrenica from 1992 to 1995. Among other things, he is accused of the murder of judge Slobodan Ilić on July 12, 1992, in the village of Zalazje near Srebrenica.

Both witnesses today confirmed that judge Ilić was killed in Ažilički potok, in an exchange of fire, when Serbian soldiers were retreating towards the Sase mine.

Witness Hasanović confirmed that he saw judge Ilić that day running with other Serbian soldiers towards Ažilički potok, "where they would be met by fighters of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by Zulfo Tursunović."

Witness Salko Tursunović, son of Zulfo Tursunović, also said that his father told him several times that on July 12, 1992, in an exchange of fire between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbian forces, judge Ilić was killed, and that his father also said "how it would have been better if judge Ilić had been captured, because in that case negotiations could have been held with the Serbian side about a ceasefire."

- On July 12, 1992, I participated in the Zalazje operation. Together with about thirty fighters, I stood about 1.5 kilometers from Zalazje. My task was to prevent reinforcements from reaching the Serbian forces from the direction of the Sase mine. Two kilometers on our left side was the group of Mujo Bektić. To our right, about 500 meters away, was the group of Zulfo Tursunović - said witness Hasanović, and continued:

- Between six and seven in the evening, I noticed a group of Serbian soldiers, who had come from the direction of Zalazje, and who were trying to break through towards the Sase mine. There were between ten and 15 of them. Then an exchange of fire occurred between us and them. I had one killed. In the group of Serbian soldiers, I noticed judge Ilić. He was in uniform. I knew him well; before the war, we sometimes had coffee together. The apartment I lived in before was Ilić's apartment. I saw the Serbian soldiers running. They were trying to break through to the mine. Then they attacked the group of Zulfo Tursunović.

Witness Salko Tursunović said that during the war he did not come to Srebrenica. He was a member of the Živinice Wasps. But after the war, he often talked with his father Zulfo, who died in 2011, about the war events in Srebrenica.

- My father told me that when a group of Serbian soldiers attacked his group on July 12, 1992, an exchange of fire followed. There were casualties on the side of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the group of Serbian soldiers was completely eliminated. Among the dead, my father recognized judge Ilić. My father later told me that he regretted that Ilić was killed, and that if they had captured him alive, they could have negotiated a ceasefire – said Tursunović.

The next hearing in the Orić and others case is scheduled for February 28, Patria reports.