Continuation of Bešlija's testimony in the 'Čemerno' case: No one ordered the killing of civilians

(Patria) - Last week's testimony of Husnija Bešlija before the Court of BiH in the 'Džemal Hadžić and others (Čemerno)' case continued today with answers to questions from the defense attorneys of the accused.

Thus, Bešlija confirmed his earlier statement that no one ordered the killing of civilians in Čemerno, and that no one ordered the residents of Korita to go into action, which was the result of a spontaneous attack and not a planned military operation.

- There were about a hundred of us gathered in front of the school in Korita, and only eighteen of us went to Čemerno, while the others, who did not want to go, returned home. It was a matter of personal choice, and all who went were volunteers, and unarmed – Bešlija repeated.

He also confirmed his statement from last week that during the gathering at the school in Korita, a Serb whom he knew by the nickname 'Meda' passed by and
even stopped briefly with them.

- If our intention was to kill civilians, we would have killed that Medo then – Bešlija added.

Responding to the request of defense attorney Ifet Feraget to clarify his earlier statement that upon arriving at Čemerno, he saw soldiers dressed in camouflage and black uniforms, the witness did so.

He reiterated that Serbian soldiers were the first to open fire on them after spotting them.

Taking the opportunity to ask additional questions, prosecutor Vladimir Simović focused precisely on the part about the uniformed individuals the witness saw, trying to confuse him by suggesting he didn't understand where he saw Medo and where he saw uniformed soldiers, to which lawyer Feraget objected, stating that the witness had very clearly stated that the Serb Medo was seen in Korita, and that the soldiers in uniforms were in Čemerno.

Continuing his testimony, in response to defense questions, Husnija Bešlija said that at the time of the events in Čemerno, they did not have formed military units in Korita, nor did they have weapons, and that this only happened more than a month later, and he once again repeated that the target of the attack was not civilians but
howitzers that had been raining death on the surrounding towns and settlements from Čemerno for days.

(S. Spahić)