Orić Trial: Mothers of Srebrenica and Families of Killed Serbs in Front of the Court

The trial of Naser Orić and Sabahudin Muhić for the murders of prisoners in Bratunac and Srebrenica committed in 1992 began today at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In front of the Court building were the mothers of Srebrenica, but also members of the families of victims from the Republika Srpska, reports the Patria news agency.

When asked whether Naser Orić committed the crimes he is charged with, the president of the Association "Mothers of the Srebrenica and Žepa Enclaves" Munira Subašić did not specify.

"I do not want to say that perhaps there were no crimes, but that was in defense. The crimes were not premeditated as was the case from the Serbian side," said Subašić.

The start of the trial was also attended by representatives of the municipal organization of families of captured and killed soldiers and missing civilians of the Bratunac municipality.

"We feel disappointed, sad and sorrowful. We have come to a place where we should seek the truth about the suffering of Serbs and where a final court verdict should be rendered for at least one killed Serb from the area of Bratunac, Srebrenica, Milići, Šekovići, Vlasenica, Zvornik for crimes committed by Muslims from Srebrenica under the command of Naser Orić. We came today to get answers to the question of who killed members of our families, why they killed them, who ordered it and why? What were they guilty of? Because they sat in their homes and worked on their fields?

They were killed in their homes and in front of them. I hope the process will show that Orić is guilty and that he will be sentenced to many years in prison," stated Radojka Filipović, representative of the municipal organization of families of captured and killed soldiers and missing civilians of the Bratunac municipality.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment in mid-September last year, charging Naser Orić and Sabahudin Muhić with crimes against prisoners of war committed in the area of Bratunac and Srebrenica.

The indictment states that the accused Naser Orić, as commander of the Staff of the Territorial Defense of Srebrenica and commander of the Staff of the Armed Forces of the Territorial Defense of the Srebrenica sub-region, and Sabahudin Muhić, as a member of the Armed Forces of the Territorial Defense of Srebrenica, during the war and armed conflict between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Army of Republika Srpska, in the period from May to December 1992, in the area of the villages of Zalazje, Lolići and Kunjerac, Srebrenica and Bratunac municipalities, committed the criminal act of war crimes against three prisoners of war, causing their death.

Orić, the former commander of units of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) in Srebrenica, and Muhić, a member of these forces, denied guilt.

Orić was extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina from Switzerland on June 26, where he was arrested on June 10 last year on a warrant from Serbia for war crimes committed in villages around Srebrenica, N1 reported.