Pantić and others: Prosecution seeks conviction for the murder of children, women, and men in Zaklopača

(Patria) - The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested that five defendants be found guilty and convicted for the crime in the village of Zaklopača (Milići municipality), where Bosniak civilians were killed on May 16, 1992.

Sufficient evidence has been established and presented to prove that Radomir Pantić, Branko Jolović, Milomir Milošević, Nenad Vukotić, and Nikola Lošić committed the acts they are charged with,” stated prosecutor Dika Omerović in her closing statement.

She noted that during the evidentiary proceedings, 80 prosecution witnesses were heard, 12 testimonies were read, and 262 material pieces of evidence were introduced. According to her, it has been proven that the defendants are responsible for crimes against humanity and that a widespread and systematic attack by Serb forces existed in the area of Milići and Vlasenica from April to September 1992.

She said that movement was restricted, that people were expelled, and villages inhabited by the Bosniak population were attacked, and that only Bosniaks were disarmed.

“Before the attack, the residents of Zaklopača had their weapons confiscated,” the prosecutor stated.

She added that the manner in which the village was attacked indicates that it was carried out by individuals who knew the area extremely well and that the theory of outsiders arriving is impossible.

“An encirclement was created, and escape was prevented. At least 57 victims remained,” the prosecutor said.

Among the killed were 12 children aged four to 15, which, as the prosecutor stated, is incomprehensible to a healthy mind.

“12 children were killed who tried to hide in their mothers' arms, who could not protect them from unimaginable evil,” Omerović said.

She added that survivors hid in the forests and that some, upon leaving the area, were forced to sign renunciations of their property, which, as she stated, shows the authorities' intention to ethnically cleanse the territory.

According to the indictment, Pantić was the commander of the Public Security Station (SJB) in Milići, Milošević a police officer, and Jolović, Vukotić, and Lošić members of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS).

The prosecutor referred to witness testimonies that mentioned the presence of the accused in Zaklopača. She cited witnesses who stated they saw Pantić in the passenger seat of a police car in the village.

She pointed to the gathering of people in front of the police station in Milići after the death of a soldier. She recalled the testimony of a witness who recounted how the chief Radomir Bjelanović told Pantić to be careful what he was doing, and Pantić replied: “You let them go, and they kill us.”

She recalled testimonies about how Milošević arrived in the village in a police vehicle and demanded the keys to Alija Hamidović's car, who was then killed next to his house. She stated that witnesses saw Jolović firing a machine gun, as well as Vukotić. She said that witnesses reported Lošić calling out for Haso Hodžić.

Omerović assessed that some witnesses changed their testimonies without logical explanation or due to threats.

According to her, there are no mitigating circumstances on the part of the accused, while aggravating circumstances include the consequences, recklessness, appropriation of vehicles after the murders, as well as the fact that two of the accused were police officers who were obligated to protect civilians.

She dismissed the defense witnesses' testimonies as unreliable, stating that their memory is selective and that they only mentioned things that favored the accused.

The closing statements of the Defense are scheduled for January 13.