SISAK, Oct 18 (Hina) - The trial of Slavko Drobnjak, a 30-year-old former member of Serb paramilitary units, charged with war crimes committed against prisoners of war, continued with witness testimonies at the County Court in Sisak
(some 50 km south-east of Zagreb) on Tuesday. The indictment charges Drobnjak with having participated in the torture and killing of fourteen and the torture and wounding of another four captured Croatian army soldiers near Villa Gavrilovic in Petrinja near Sisak on September 16 1991. On March 3 1999, Drobnjak was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison and the new trial started on October 11, after he was arrested upon his return from Serbia on August 2. Of five witnesses who testified yesterday, four were certain that they recognised Drobnjak and accused him of killing the prisoners. Drobnjak said he had been present when Croatian soldiers were captured but
SISAK, Oct 18 (Hina) - The trial of Slavko Drobnjak, a 30-year-old
former member of Serb paramilitary units, charged with war crimes
committed against prisoners of war, continued with witness
testimonies at the County Court in Sisak (some 50 km south-east of
Zagreb) on Tuesday.
The indictment charges Drobnjak with having participated in the
torture and killing of fourteen and the torture and wounding of
another four captured Croatian army soldiers near Villa Gavrilovic
in Petrinja near Sisak on September 16 1991.
On March 3 1999, Drobnjak was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in
prison and the new trial started on October 11, after he was
arrested upon his return from Serbia on August 2.
Of five witnesses who testified yesterday, four were certain that
they recognised Drobnjak and accused him of killing the prisoners.
Drobnjak said he had been present when Croatian soldiers were
captured but that he did not shoot at them. He also gave the names of
the persons who had shot at the prisoners.
Ivica Barisic, a police officer from Zagreb, recognised the
indictee in the court hall.
"I would recognise him anywhere. I am 100 percent sure that it was
him, that he shot at us from a machine gun," Barisic said.
"They caught us, took off our clothes, took away our documents,
watches and jewellery, we had to lie on the ground with our faces
down and we were not allowed to move. There was an order to stand up
and turn our backs to the Chetniks, our faces turned toward a nearby
thicket. One of the Chetniks hit with his machine-gun the man whom I
had carried to the location where we were captured, because he was
ill. I then turned away and started running toward the thicket. They
opened fire at me and wounded me, but I managed to escape by
crawling," Barisic said.
Witness Stjepan Rozankovic said Drobnjak had killed Miso Svoboda
with whom he had stood in a line after the capturing.
Drobnjak approached Miso Svoboda, asked him what he was doing there
and shot at him from his machine-gun and killed him, said
Rozankovic, adding he stood very close to Drobnjak when he shot
Svoboda and saw his face clearly.
Witness Zlatko Martinic is certain that before the prisoners were
forced to take off their clothes and give their watches and
jewellery, Drobnjak had shot two prisoners dead.
"He yelled at them for their being there and killed them. I think
those were Petrinja residents whom Drobnjak recognised," Martinic
said.
Witness Drazen Cerjak from Sisak said Drobnjak was together with a
Chetnik who was carrying a machine-gun and beating prisoner Milivoj
Rogulja from Sisak, yelling at him: "What is a Serb doing in the
Croatian army?"
After they stopped beating Rogulja, "they started hitting me on the
head: Two prisoners lifted their heads and Drobnjak shot them from a
self-loading rifle," Cerjak said.
Milivoj Rogulja, who was led off for execution together with
witness Martinic, is held missing.
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