Most witnesses were summonsed by the prosecution. According to Vesko Krstajic, the judge chairing the panel of judges conducting the trial, defence counsel will propose their witnesses in the continuation of the trial.
Judging by what has been stated by numerous witnesses, it can be concluded that what representatives of the victims' families claim to have happened at Ovcara is true: the then Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) handed over civilians and Croatian soldiers captured in the Vukovar hospital to members of the local Territorial Defence and the "Leva Supoderica" paramilitary unit, who are charged with committing the massacre.
The fact that authorised JNA personnel, the Guard Brigade and the 80th Motorised Brigade from Kragujevac at one time withdrew their troops from Ovcara could, according to some announcements, lead to the expansion of the indictment to some JNA members, but it is questionable whether it would be reasonable to put those people on trial along with those who are already on trial.
All 16 indictees have denied having committed the crime. Most of them said that they were at Ovcara on the day of the massacre, but that they had gone there because of curiosity or because they were looking for somebody. According to unofficial sources, the two witnesses who turned state's evidence and who testified behind closed doors supported allegations from the indictment that the accused were the ones who organised and committed the killing of at least 192 prisoners of war from the Vukovar hospital.
Experts, as well as the chief prosecutor of the Hague war crimes tribunal, Carla del Ponte, have described the trial as very fair and conducted in line with international legal standards.
The families of the victims, who have observed the trial since its start, have had no objections to the way the trial is being conducted or regarding the president of the panel, Judge Krstajic, or Deputy Prosecutor for War Crimes Dusan Knezevic. However, when speaking to reporters they have frequently voiced their disappointment with the witnesses who they have said are lying. They have also voiced their concern that the truth about what happened in Vukovar will never be fully revealed.
The Ovcara trial continues on March 21.