MORE WITNESSES IN LORA WAR CRIMES TRIAL INTERROGATED

SPLIT, June 17 (Hina)- The Split County Court continued with the trial in the Lora war crimes case with the examination of reserve witnesses as those subpoenaed from Serbia did not turn up. #L# Five former prisoners of the Lora military prison, Vojkan Zivkovic, Velibor Tomovic, Nenad Filipovic, Nenad Velimir and Darko Milinovic, were to be examined in relation to events that occurred in Lora in 1992 and resulted in charges against eight former military policeman for war crimes and the murder of two persons. All the witnesses from Serbia were subpoenaed via diplomatic channels with guaranteed security, Judge Slavko Lozina stated prior to the commencement of the trial on Monday. He refuted some media articles that witnesses were subpoenaed as if this was an ordinary trial of theft. The six witnesses expressed their willingness to attend the trial if their security were ensured, which the Interior ministry did. The reason for their not coming is not officially known, however, Judge Lozina and defence attorney Ankica Luetic related this to media articles and open calls from non-government organisations that questioned the security of these witnesses. As such, the judge called on relevant institutions to undertake legal measures to prevent pressure that may hamper the Court in its work. Instead of the witnesses expected, a former prison guard at the military prison in Lora, Josko Pribudic, took the witness stand, while a second witness, Ugljesa Bulovic, a prisoner at the time and a brother of one of the victims, did not turn up due to ill health. Pribudic could not remember when Nenad Knezevic or the Bulovic brothers were brought in. When asked by the judge if there were any unusual circumstances during their internment, he responded negatively. He said that he did not see any signs of abuse. The trial will continue on Tuesday. (hina) sp sb