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Trials monitoring
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War Crimes Trials Before National Courts / Serbia
Press Release
" Ovcara " case: A Trial is professional but the indictment is amiss
Belgrade, March 20th 2005 - The trial of the 17 members of the Vukovar Territorial Defense Unit (TO) and the " Leva Supoderica " volunteers unit, before the War Crimes Trial Chamber of the Belgrade District Court is being monitored by the Regional Monitoring Team made up of the Humanitarian Law Center (Serbia), Research and Documentation Center , Sarajevo (BiH) and Center for Peace, Non-violence and Human Rights, Osijek (Croatia). Beside the Regional Team, the trial is also being monitored by two representatives of NGOs from Croatia and one representative of a NGO from Republika Srpska . The trial is being held in front of the Trial Chamber consisting of Veselin Krstajic (presiding judge) and Gordana Bozilovic - Petrovic and Vinka Beraha - Nikicevic (judges) and it started on March 9, 2004. There have been 38 sessions so far, 48 witnesses for the Prosecution and the Defense have been heard, 3 of which were from Croatia and these are the persons that survived thanks to their acquaintance with the Serbs who took them out from the detention facility on the " Ovcara " farm and brought them back to Vukovar . The indictment is supported by two witness-associates who testified and were questioned at sessions closed to the public. Just before the trial began, one of the accused died from self-inflicted injuries, and the indictment was separated for Milan Bulic who is not able to come to trial due to serious illness. The Trial Chamber separated the indictment on January 27, 2005 and on March 15 he was released in order to undergo medical treatment.
According to the assessment made by the Regional Monitoring Team, the indictment is only raised against members of the TO unit and volunteers unit, although the investigation conducted in this case and the evidence that was presented, undoubtedly point out to the criminal responsibility of some high Yugoslav National Army (JNA) officers, who only appear as witnesses in the case. In spite of this serious shortcoming of the indictment, the Regional Team stressed that the trial is being conducted in a very professional manner aiming to establish the truth in terms of individual responsibility of each respective indictee and the facts that can help with the identification of the victims.
Facts
Based on the witness statements and their answers to questions posed by the presiding judge of the Trial Chamber, by the Prosecutor, by the attorney of the plaintiffs, and by the defense attorneys, it has been established that in the course of the duration of the conflict in the Vukovar area, the TO and " Leva Supoderica " units were under the command of the JNA Guard Brigade.
It has also been established that the commander of the Guard Brigade, colonel Mile Mrksic , made the decision to deliver custody of those Croatian prisoners from the hospital, who stayed behind after the wounded prisoners and the medical personnel were separated, to the TO unit from Vukovar . That decision was not withdrawn, and no measures to protect the prisoners were undertaken after colonel Mile Mrksic had been informed that the lives of prisoners on the " Ovcara " farm were in danger. Witnesses, officers and members of the military police of the 80th Motor Brigade said in their testimonies that the military police had been in a position to stop the physical harassment of the prisoners and maintain order on the " Ovcara " farm, when the order came for them to withdraw from the farm.
Several witnesses, some of them officers of the 80th Motorized Brigade, confirmed that they saw first hand the volunteers and the members of the TO unit beat and rob prisoners. It is still unclear whether the members of the 80th Motorized Brigade left " Ovcara " before or after the first group of prisoners was taken from the farm to the site where the killings took place, since one member of the former JNA stated that he had seen a tractor with a trailer in front of the hangar, while the rest claimed that there had been no truck at the time they secured prisoners.
Although the indictment is focused on the events of the " Ovcara " farm, the witness to the Prosecution, Colonel Bodgan Vujic , gave a detailed description of abuse and murder of Croatian civilians in the Velepromet collection center , which contributed to a better understanding of events that preceded the execution of prisoners at " Ovcara ". This testimony, as well the testimonies of other JNA officers, disclosed the facts that point to the criminal responsibility of some JNA officers, who are witnesses in the trial. The witnesses disclosed these facts when both the investigative judge and the Prosecutor were present, which again draws attention to the fact that the indictment does not encompass the former JNA officers although there are serious indications that they are criminally responsible.
According to the Regional Team, the War Crimes Prosecution Office of the Republic of Serbia should demonstrate that they are protecting the interest of the victims that the truth be discovered and justice reached. In this case, the Office of the Prosecutor can gain the trust of the victims and the public in the region only if they stop protecting the JNA officers and initiate an investigation against those who did not refuse to carry out the order of the commander of the Guard Brigade to withdraw the JNA forces from this place even when it became clear that the lives of prisoners were in danger.
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