SISAK, Oct 18 (Hina) - Testifying before the Sisak County Court on Wednesday on war crimes charges, defendant Slavko Drobnjak, a former member of Serb paramilitary units, stated he did not commit the crimes he was accused of. Drobnjak
was charged with participating in the 16 Sept. 1991 torturing and killing of 14 Croatian soldiers and the torturing and wounding of another four in Petrinja, 50km south-east of Zagreb. "I don't feel guilty and did not commit the crimes I am accused of," the defendant said. He did admit, however, to being present to the killing of the Croatian soldiers. "The captured Croatian soldiers were ordered to take off their uniforms, some kept their shirts on, some their trousers. They took their personal documents and belongings, watches, jewellery, shoes, and ordered them to lie on their stomachs and not raise their heads. They lay like that for two-three hours, during
SISAK, Oct 18 (Hina) - Testifying before the Sisak County Court on
Wednesday on war crimes charges, defendant Slavko Drobnjak, a
former member of Serb paramilitary units, stated he did not commit
the crimes he was accused of.
Drobnjak was charged with participating in the 16 Sept. 1991
torturing and killing of 14 Croatian soldiers and the torturing and
wounding of another four in Petrinja, 50km south-east of Zagreb.
"I don't feel guilty and did not commit the crimes I am accused of,"
the defendant said. He did admit, however, to being present to the
killing of the Croatian soldiers.
"The captured Croatian soldiers were ordered to take off their
uniforms, some kept their shirts on, some their trousers. They took
their personal documents and belongings, watches, jewellery,
shoes, and ordered them to lie on their stomachs and not raise their
heads. They lay like that for two-three hours, during which time
members of Serb paramilitary units beat them with weapons, kicking
them, mistreating them and cursing their Ustashi mothers. They
waited for commandant Dragan Sanader and his order to shoot them
dead," said the defendant.
"The order to shoot came from Dragan Sanader, he was the chief and
carried a white Colt," he added.
According to his testimony, the prisoners were ordered to stand up
and run forward. They were shot in their backs and killed by
Miroslav Drobnjak, Janko Adamovic, both of whom used machine guns,
and Dragan Adamovic who used an automatic rifle. Miroslav Kljaic
used a gun to shoot at the dead bodies and those prisoners who
survived but remained crying for help, wounded. Mile Sanader killed
two soldiers from an automatic rifle.
"When the prisoners were shot, I was standing by the so called Cicic
country house near the Gavrilovic Villa, 10-15 metres from the site
of the shooting. I wore a multicoloured 'SAO Krajina' military
uniform, but I wore neither a beard nor a moustache, nor did I have a
black headband as some witnesses stated," said the defendant.
SAO Krajina was an autonomy self-proclaimed by Croatian Serb rebels
in central Croatia in the early 1990s.
The trial resumes on Nov. 3 when Drobnjak is to face the witnesses
who recognised and charged him with the killings.
The 30-year-old Drobnjak was sentenced in absentia on 3 March 1999
to 20 years in prison. His trial started on October 11, after he was
arrested upon his Aug. 2 return from Serbia.
(hina) ha jn