THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, March 12 (Hina) - Finnish forensic expert Dr. Mari Helena Ranta testified Wednesday in the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague about an investigation into the massacre in Kosovo's
village of Racak in 1999. She confirmed that the 40 victims were unarmed Albanian civilians.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, March 12 (Hina) - Finnish forensic expert Dr.
Mari Helena Ranta testified Wednesday in the trial of former
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague about an
investigation into the massacre in Kosovo's village of Racak in
1999. She confirmed that the 40 victims were unarmed Albanian
civilians. #L#
Ranta headed a team of EU forensic experts who investigated the
murder case of some 40 people, discovered on January 15, 1999, in
the village of Racak. The village was attacked by the Serbian
police.
All evidence on the bodies of the victims found in a ditch in Racak
indicates that they were unarmed civilians. Retrieved bullets,
bullet casings and entry and exit wounds indicate that the victims
were killed where their bodies were found and at approximately the
same time with bullets fired from close range, said Ranta.
An investigation in situ, using the most modern forensic methods,
and innumerable hours spent on the computer, proved that the
massacre was not "staged", as had been claimed by Serb sources, said
the witness.
Belgrade authorities, along with some Serb forensic experts,
claimed that the victims were members of the Kosovo Liberation Army
whose dead bodies had been dressed in civilian clothes and thrown
into the ditch.
The EU team of experts presented its report at a news conference in
Pristina on March 17, 1999. The extensive publicity which the Racak
massacre received by the media contributed to the determination of
western countries to stop Milosevic's incursion in Kosovo.
The Racak massacre is the gravest case of which Milosevic has been
accused in the indictment for crimes against humanity and war
crimes in Kosovo.
During his cross-examination, Milosevic attempted to confirm the
theory of a "staged massacre", citing the findings of Serbian
forensic scientists.
Ranta dismissed the Serb reports as very general and without
toxicological or ballistic analyses.
The Croatian part of the trial against Milosevic is currently
underway, but Ranta testified about the Racak case at the request of
the prosecutor.
(hina) lml sb