Witnesses Against Prosecution in Brčko: We Never Even Heard Peljto Beat Prisoners

The trial of former world boxing champion Mensur Peljto, accused by the District Prosecution of committing a war crime during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, has continued.

Peljto is being tried before the Basic Court in Brčko, and he is accused of slapping some Serbian prisoners during the aggression against BiH, reports the Patria news agency.

The indictment has undergone several amendments, and the latest version states that on an unspecified day in June 1992, in Okrajci near Brčko, Peljto allegedly beat several prisoners of Serbian nationality with his fists and feet.

The local portal Otisak.ba writes that none of the three witnesses called by the District Prosecution to today's hearing confirmed any of the indictment's allegations - two witnesses even stated that Peljto did not commit the act he is accused of, while the third said he had never seen Peljto nor heard of him.

Peljto's lawyer, Faruk Balijagić, said that the District Prosecution experienced a debacle in the courtroom because they brought witnesses who confirmed that Peljto did not commit any of the incriminating acts he is accused of.

Balijagić also stated that the Brčko Prosecution is ignoring the fact that the Hague Tribunal, in numerous final verdicts, established that in May 1992, the JNA, in coordination with paramilitary formations, carried out a systematic, widespread, and organized attack on the non-Serb civilian population in Brčko.

The accused Peljto claims that the entire process against him is politically motivated, reports Patria.

Stjepanović: I Don't Know Peljto, But I Know Muslims Were Imprisoned in Luka

Witness Berislav Stjepanović, called by the Brčko District Prosecution, stated that he did not witness the alleged crime of which the boxer Peljto is accused, nor does he have any knowledge of it. In response to lawyer Balijagić's questions, he stated that he had never seen Mensur Peljto, nor had he heard of him.

- Have you heard of Radovan Karadžić? - Balijagić then asked, to which the witness replied:

- Yes, of him - and the witness then stated that he was aware that Muslims from Brčko were imprisoned in the notorious Luka camp, where they were subjected to torture and murder, reports Patria.