Acquitted Hague suspect testifies at Ovčara trial

Former Yugoslav National Army (JNA) officer Miroslav Radic is testifying at the Ovcara war crimes trial today. Radic was recently acquitted at the Hague Tribunal for that crime. Acquitted Hague suspect testifies at Ovcara trial At the trial in Belgrade of members of the Vukovar Territorial Defense (TO), he said he had commanded attacks in which the accused had taken part, but that he had not been their superior. He said that the JNA’s 3rd Motorized Guards Brigade, whom he had commanded, had from early October 1991 taken part in battles around Vukovar in coordination with the TO company commanded by first accused Miroljub Vujovic and the Leva Supoderica unit under Milan Lancuzanin. “My job was to free the section of territory between the village of Petrova Gora and the 6th Proleter Division village,“ said the witness, adding that he had led attacks and assigned tasks to Vujovic and Lancuzanin during the battle, though he had not been their superior. Radic said that the fighting had stopped on November 17 and that the TO had led the offensive around Vukovar. According to the witness, Vujovic’s unit was the biggest and he had assumed the role of commander, with Miroslav Jankovic as his second-in-command. He said that he had been in Vukovar on November 24, though he had no knowledge of events at Ovcara farm on the night of November 20/21, 1991 when over 200 Croatian prisoners of war were shot dead. One of the defendants, Predrag Milojevic, said that Radic had informed him that something strange was going on at the farm and that the army were there, and that the next day, Radic had been “furious“ and had said, “I’ve been watching his back the whole war, and now he has to go and get blood on his hands,“ in reference to the protected witness in the case. “That’s not true, had I known back then, I wouldn’t even have spared my brother,“ replied the witness, explaining that he had not even known of Ovcara’s existence at the time, and that he had no need to know of what was taking place outside Vukovar and his sector. At the Ovcara trial against the so-called Vukovar Three before the Hague Tribunal, Mile Mrksic was sentenced to 20 years, and Veselin Sljivancanin, who was granted temporary release this week, to five years imprisonment. The Ovcara trial resumed after the President of the Belgrade District Court Sinisa Vazic turned down defendant Nada Kalaba’s application for presiding judge Vesko Krstajic to be relieved of his duties. The trial restarted in March this year after the Supreme Court overturned the first instance ruling of the Belgrade District Court War Crimes Chamber, and was then further postponed by a change in the bench, before restarting for a third time. Under the first instance rulings, Vujovic, his deputy Stanko Vujanovic, Lancuzanin, and volunteers Predrag Milojevic, Predrag Dragovic, Djordje Sosic, Miroslav Djankovic, Ivan Atanasijevic and Sasa Radak were sentenced to 20 years behind bars. Vujo Zlatar, Milan Vojinovic and Jovica Peric were sentenced to 15 years, Predrag Madzarac to 12, Kalaba to 9, and Goran Mugosa to five. Marko Ljuboja and Slobodan Katic were acquitted of charges that they had participated in the executions on night of November 20/21, 1991.

Acquitted Hague suspect testifies at Ovčara trial

At the trial in Belgrade of members of the Vukovar Territorial Defense (TO), he said he had commanded attacks in which the accused had taken part, but that he had not been their superior.

He said that the JNA’s 3rd Motorized Guards Brigade, whom he had commanded, had from early October 1991 taken part in battles around Vukovar in coordination with the TO company commanded by first accused Miroljub Vujović and the Leva Supoderica unit under Milan Lančužanin.

“My job was to free the section of territory between the village of Petrova Gora and the 6th Proleter Division village,“ said the witness, adding that he had led attacks and assigned tasks to Vujović and Lančužanin during the battle, though he had not been their superior.

Radić said that the fighting had stopped on November 17 and that the TO had led the offensive around Vukovar.

According to the witness, Vujović’s unit was the biggest and he had assumed the role of commander, with Miroslav Janković as his second-in-command.

He said that he had been in Vukovar on November 24, though he had no knowledge of events at Ovčara farm on the night of November 20/21, 1991 when over 200 Croatian prisoners of war were shot dead.

One of the defendants, Predrag Milojević, said that Radić had informed him that something strange was going on at the farm and that the army were there, and that the next day, Radić had been “furious“ and had said, “I’ve been watching his back the whole war, and now he has to go and get blood on his hands,“ in reference to the protected witness in the case.

“That’s not true, had I known back then, I wouldn’t even have spared my brother,“ replied the witness, explaining that he had not even known of Ovčara’s existence at the time, and that he had no need to know of what was taking place outside Vukovar and his sector.

At the Ovčara trial against the so-called Vukovar Three before the Hague Tribunal, Mile Mrkšić was sentenced to 20 years, and Veselin Šljivančanin, who was granted temporary release this week, to five years imprisonment.

The Ovčara trial resumed after the President of the Belgrade District Court Siniša Važić turned down defendant Nada Kalaba’s application for presiding judge Vesko Krstajić to be relieved of his duties.

The trial restarted in March this year after the Supreme Court overturned the first instance ruling of the Belgrade District Court War Crimes Chamber, and was then further postponed by a change in the bench, before restarting for a third time.

Under the first instance rulings, Vujović, his deputy Stanko Vujanović, Lančužanin, and volunteers Predrag Milojević, Predrag Dragović, Đorđe Šošić, Miroslav Đanković, Ivan Atanasijević and Saša Radak were sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

Vujo Zlatar, Milan Vojinović and Jovica Perić were sentenced to 15 years, Predrag Madžarac to 12, Kalaba to 9, and Goran Mugoša to five.

Marko Ljuboja and Slobodan Katić were acquitted of charges that they had participated in the executions on night of November 20/21, 1991.