"There is still a chance, it is not late yet for the accused to tell us what they did in Ovcara, in the name of whom or what. If they do not do it, then their hatred, rage, arrogance and cruelty call for the maximum penalty," Deputy Prosecutor Dusan Knezevic said in his closing statement.
He added that the charges contained in the indictment had been proved and that the purpose of punishment could be achieved only by imposing the harshest penalty.
"The sentence will in any case be temporal and the convicts will get out of prison one day, while the prisoners from the Ovcara hangars did not have such a chance," the prosecutor said.
In addition to the accused in the case, there are also some other persons "who I firmly believe will be identified soon," Knezevic said, adding that the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office tried to "assure everyone, primarily the Trial Chamber, of the validity of its legal arguments and in that way bring a ray of hope into the homes of the victims' families."
Hopeful that other courts and prosecutors in the region would equally fight against crimes to sanction crimes against humanity as their shared goal and interest, Knezevic underlined that "without facing up to the past and reckoning with such legacy, a step towards the future will be more difficult and uncertain."
"The investigation did not go all the way, it did not identify all those responsible for the crime," said Rajko Danilovic, who represents the families of the victims. He added that only just sentences could be satisfaction to the families "but also to us if we are to live normal lives."
The trial adjourned on Friday and was set to resume from 5 to 9 December when the defence would make their closing arguments.
If convicted, the accused face prison sentences ranging from five to 20 years.