Orić did not participate in the Battle of Kunjerec, new lies of O1 revealed

The trial of Naser Orić and Sabahudin Muhić, accused by the BiH Prosecutor's Office of war crimes in the municipality of Srebrenica in 1992, continued before the BiH Court today. Two defense witnesses, Fadil Salihović and Izet Ibrić, were heard, Patria reports.

Today, many visitors were once again left outside the BiH Court building, as Orić's trial was scheduled in a small courtroom. However, it is interesting that there were as many as nine empty seats in the courtroom, but visitors, including elderly people, were turned away.

Fadil Salihović from the village of Biljača near Bratunac stated that he participated in the Kunjerec operation on December 14 and that he was a member of the local unit led by Osman Malagić.

Answering the question of attorney Lejla Čović, Salihović explained that members of the units of Sadik Zukić and Nasir Šabanović also participated in that operation.

Salihović emphasized that the operation on Kunjerec began on December 14 in the morning and that the target of the attack was a local fortification or bunker, as he explained, from which the Serbs were "operating".

- The operation was supposed to start at 6 AM, but my brother stepped on a mine, so it started much earlier. The Serbs thought animals had activated the device, but our wounded were moaning, so they discovered us and realized it was an attack. The operation lasted three to four hours, and I noticed that the Serb soldiers had assistance from Serbia in terms of weapons and shelling - said Salihović.

The witness described the area with three houses in detail and said they were "arranged as if they knew there would be a war." He said he saw two of them, and the third was behind the hill."

- We saw Serb soldiers fleeing from those houses, and later we saw Šemsa's group approaching the middle house. On the first day of the operation, we managed to capture three houses, but we later returned to our location. A soldier later came and brought food for us to eat, because we hadn't eaten all day, and we had to stay in our position. He told me that my brother had stepped on a mine and was wounded, and he said he saw the dead Mitar, a photographer from Bratunac - said Salihović.

He further stated that he knew the photographer Mitar Savić from before and that he went in front of Vujadin Kovačević's house and saw his dead body.

He was lying on his back, more on his right side. I think he died from the detonation, because I didn't see any injuries on his body - said Salihović.

When asked by Čović whether Naser Orić's unit participated in the operation on Kunjerec on December 14, 1992, this witness said:

- I responsibly claim that Orić's unit did not participate in the fighting on Kunjerec - said Salihović.

We remind you that earlier, in his testimony, Ibran Mustafić, a witness for the prosecution, stated that on December 14, he was with Orić in Zalazje, which is more than 15 kilometers away from Kunjerec.

Salihović is familiar with the name of the protected witness O1, whom he said he has known since 1988 and that they attended high school together. He described him as a person prone to manipulation and lying.

Otherwise, based on the testimony of this protected witness, O1, an indictment was filed against Orić, and he claimed that he saw with his own eyes that Orić, among other things, killed the photographer Savić.

Prosecutor Miroslav Janjić asked Salihović how it was possible that about 50 of them defeated the Army of Republika Srpska, which also had assistance from Serbia, and Salihović told him:

- We had bigger hearts, we defended our own, and we had more morale - Salihović emphasized.

The second witness, Ibrić, a resident of the village of Pirići, stated that in December 1992, he and the villagers defended the village from an attack by Serb soldiers and that he did not know Orić nor had he seen him in that location. He met him only in 1993 in Srebrenica.

In his testimony, Ibrić confirmed that they had no communication with Konjević Polje, and we remind you that O1 stated that he moved freely from Pirići to Konjević Polje several times during 1992.

Ibrić confirmed that he did not see Naser Orić or Sabahudin Muhić in Pirići on December 14.

The continuation of the trial is scheduled for March 14.