Čemerno Case: Witness Gave Testimony Under Duress and Threat During Investigation

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The proceedings in the Čemerno case continued with the testimony of Kemal Škulj and Muriz Sikirić. Witnesses for the BiH Prosecutor's Office today, and especially Muriz Sikirić, clarified to the BiH Court that they gave their statements under duress and blackmail.

“SIPA inspector threatened me that I would go to prison, that my children would be orphaned. They offered me to be a protected witness, I refused. During the interrogation, the prosecutor suggested names to me because I couldn't remember,” said Sikirić, and the defense attorneys for the accused reiterated that the witnesses were not recorded during the investigation, which is against the law.

Prosecutor Vladimir Simović, in his additional questioning, asked the witness if his rights were read to him, which the witness confirmed, but noted to the prosecutor that he had also heard pressure and “intimidation from the inspector.”

Incidentally, Sikirić was part of the operation at Čemerno, and he said that Teufik Turudić, known as Tufo, was “like a platoon commander” to them.

“Džemal Hadžić possibly also addressed us. We had the objective of the operation, which was to destroy the howitzers that were shelling Breza, Visoko, and surrounding areas,” said Sikirić.

He spoke about how they arrived at the Čemerno plateau in the morning, that there was fog because it had rained the night before, and that visibility was reduced.

“Benjamin, Haris, and Salih Sikira were with me. I also saw a stable where ammunition and crates were. We passed by the stable and reached the howitzers, we pushed some down the cliffs, and mined some with bombs and sights. We fled down one side towards Mahmutović Rijeka,” Sikirić recounted.

He confirmed to the defense attorneys that there were no prisoners, and that they encountered resistance from Serbian soldiers and that they reached the howitzers in an exchange of fire.

“We returned fire and overcame them in that,” added Sikirić, who was 21 years old in 1992.

The second witness, Kemal Škulj, a volunteer in the defense of BiH against aggression, as he stated, set off from Kakanj with another group to unblock Sarajevo, but after they could not reach Sarajevo, they ended up in Breza at the elementary school. He said that the commander of his platoon, or rather group, was Mirzet Škulj, and that his platoon went towards Misoča.

“Another group went towards Čemerno. Teufik Turudić was at the head of that platoon. The order came to go up there to destroy the howitzers. I know that Kovač Rahman, my neighbor, was killed there, I heard all of that later,” said Škulj.

He told the prosecutor that Simović himself read him names while giving his statement at the BiH Prosecutor's Office, and that he doesn't even know if those individuals were there or not, because Misoča is far from the scene of the event he is supposed to testify about.

Škulj confirmed the statement of lawyer Ifet Feraget that he met the accused 25 years after the event. He also confirmed that he told the prosecutor that he was not there.

“I said that I couldn't even remember who was with me in the platoon,” added Škulj.

The continuation of the trial is scheduled for September 10.