Zvornik Case: Protected Witness ‘3’ takes stand

Zvornik Case: Protected Witness ‘3’ takes stand

At the start of the trial on November 28, 2004, Branko Grujić, the first accused, was presiding over the municipal temporary government at the time of the crime, and the second accused, Territorial Defense Commander Branko Popović (also known as Marko Pavlović) denied that they knew of the crimes but did nothing to prevent them from taking place in Čelopek.

Based on the same argument, the two also denied any responsibility in the crimes committed by the Žute ose group, which had, according to the indictment, killed three out of a larger group of abused Muslim prisoners at Ciglana and Ekonomija sites.

Grujić and Pavlović said that they were not guilty of organising forced evacuation of 1822 Muslim civilians from the villages of Kozluk and Skočić on April 26, 1992, during the Bosnian war. The accused Žute ose members Dragan Slavković, Ivan Korać and Siniša Filipović pleaded not guilty for the Čelopek, Ekonomija and Ciglana crimes, while the sixth accused, Dragutin Dragičević, chose to remain silent.

The trial for war crimes in the Zvornik area is the first war crimes process that the Serbian judicial system has taken over from the Hague tribunal, with an obligation to protect the identities of witnesses.