Trial of Đakić and Kajtazi: Operation to Save Brčko Enclave

A trial was held at the Court of BiH in the case against the accused Mensur Đakić, former commander in the 108th Brčko Brigade, and fighter Begzad Kajtazi. Another court hearing was held before the Trial Chamber presided over by judge Džemila Begović. Đakić was the commander of the First Battalion of the 108th HVO Brigade, and Kajtazi was a regular fighter in the Fifth Company of this brigade. The Brčko 108th was only designated as an HVO brigade for about twenty days, after which it was renamed the 108th Brigade of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Bukvik settlement was under the control of Karadžić's Serbs from the beginning of the war, from May 1st until September 15th, 1992. Brčko was cut off from Tuzla and the rest of the territory for four and a half months. The people in the enclave began to starve, and ammunition for survival was almost depleted. Hundreds of wounded fighters and citizens of Brčko had to be transported to Tuzla and Tuzla hospitals across the ravines of Majevica, on foot and on stretchers, as the roads mostly led through deep Posavina mud. The first winter of the war was approaching, and the military commanders of Brčko decided to break through via Bukvik and unblock the free territory. It is known that on three occasions, the commanders of the 108th Brčko Brigade requested, and according to them, pleaded for negotiations with the leadership of the SDS, primarily with Boško Maričić, one of the military-political leaders of Brčko Serbs. Each time they were vehemently rejected.

Before the attack on Brčko, a wartime Bukvik staff of a Serb paramilitary unit was formed in the Bukvik settlement, with eight platoons (in this and neighboring Serb villages) and 17 sections, commanded by the same number of platoon and section commanders, and around 400 members and military conscripts of Serb nationality were mobilized into it. Bukvik was the first settlement and a special place for training new recruits into the Serb paramilitary forces.

The 108th operation began on September 15th. A huge amount of weaponry was captured during this military operation, which later equipped an entire new battalion of the 108th Brčko Brigade. Among other things, according to media reports, four heavy machine guns, several rocket launchers, and about 150 to 200 automatic rifles were captured, along with vast quantities of ammunition, grenades, and explosives.

The intensity of the fighting for Bukvik is also evidenced by the fact that five members of the First Battalion of the 108th Brigade were killed, including Ferhat Pitnjaković Pitnjak, Mensur Đakić's deputy commander, while two fighters were seriously wounded. Đakić and Kajtazi are accused of being responsible for the murder of three wounded civilians who were in a makeshift military hospital in a private house in Bukvik. According to the report of the forensic expert from Republika Srpska, Željko Karan, two of the three allegedly killed civilians were dressed in partial military uniforms, while the third was in civilian clothes. The prosecution's key witness claimed that one of the fighters of the First Battalion of the 108th Brigade fired an M-48 rifle, one by one, at the three wounded.

Karan prepared a report for five individuals killed in Bukvik in 1998: Živan Radić, Savo Veselinović, and Vlajko Purić, as well as two women, Milka and Radojka Brestovački. Army of RBiH reports claim that the three men were armed and fired at members of the 108th Brigade. Begzad Kajtazi is accused of killing two women.

Mensur Đakić's lawyer, Osman Mulahalilović, pointed out the inconsistency that M-48 rifles use 7.9 mm bullets, while forensic expert Željko Karan found a 7.62 mm bullet in one of the deceased during the autopsy. Expert Karan noted during the autopsy that the deceased had broken bones, indicating burst fire, which made the testimony of the allegedly key witness unconvincing. Namely, the M-48 only has single-shot capability.

The defense will begin presenting its witnesses on November 17th as the trial continues.