Witness of the BiH Prosecutor's Office: SIPA Investigators Told Me, I Signed, I Wasn't Even at Čemerno!

(Patria) - The trial in the case of Džemal Hadžić and others, related to the attack on Čemerno, where four VRS howitzers were stationed and the Territorial Defense carried out an attack to neutralize the howitzers, continued today before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the testimony of protected witness 'I' of the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

At the very beginning, the defense raised an objection to the legality of this witness's hearing, and attorney Ifet Feraget proposed a change in the order of presenting evidence, requesting that the investigators of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) who questioned this witness be heard first as witnesses.

Namely, today it could be heard that the defense claims there is material evidence showing that the witness was not at the scene at the time stated in the record. One of the attorneys informed the Trial Chamber that he has knowledge that the witness was in a pub until three o'clock and was drunk. The witness 'I' himself said that he drank a lot, but that he was not in the pub until three, and that he generally drinks a lot because it is his need and medicine. He said he also takes apaurine, has health issues, does not remember the name of someone he socialized with for 20 years, and the like.

After that, there were several objections to the witness's mental state, which the witness himself confirmed, because when asked how he felt, he said: „Not well, but here I am.“ The court rejected the proposal to conduct an expert evaluation of him and allowed him to be heard. During the examination by prosecutor Vladimir Simović, two versions were heard: one from the record, which is full of details and precise descriptions, and in the courtroom, the witness showed a very modest vocabulary, answering almost all questions with "I don't remember."

At the moment when the prosecutor asked who else was with him, and after the witness said he didn't remember, the prosecutor read from the record the names Mirsa Šumar and Enes Durak, the witness said:

„I would never have mentioned Enes Durak if they hadn't mentioned him to me. I don't know the man. I don't know who Enes is, I've never seen him,“ said witness I.

Later, he explained that the SIPA investigators told him all that, and they told him everything, and he nodded his head and signed. Thus, the witness also explained to prosecutor Vladimir Simović how he now remembers nothing.

Finally, the witness said that he would like to know how many operations there were at Čemerno, because there are witnesses who will confirm that he was not in the operation mentioned in the indictment. In this way, the legality of the entire investigation has been called into question, which the defense constantly talks about. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, witness statements are generally recorded. In this case, out of 122 witnesses, not a single one was recorded.

The Trial Chamber subsequently banned prosecutor Simović from further using the reading of the statement. Interestingly, this decision came only after Simović had read the statement for two hours. The Chamber will later assess whether the statement will be included as material evidence.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office charges former members of the Territorial Defense (TO) and active and reserve police officers Džemal Hadžić, Teufik Turudić, Džemal Smola, Senad, Haris and Benjamin Sikira, Enes Durak, Mirsad, Nusret and Mirzet Bešlija, and Hamdija Spahić and Nehur Ganić with participating in a joint criminal enterprise in Čemerno in June 1992.

The trial continuation is scheduled for March 21, when the defense should cross-examine the protected witness 'I'.