WITNESS: THEY OPENED FIRE ON JNA SOLDIERS IN DOBROVOLJAČKA STREET AFTER THEY HAD SURRENDERED

SARAJEVO, OCTOBER 17 /SRNA/ - At the trial of Kerim Lučarević for crimes committed against members of the JNA in Dobrovoljačka Street in Sarajevo in 1992, Prosecution witness Bogoljub Pelemiš stated that members of the Muslim forces opened fire on soldiers who had already surrendered, and that after being captured, he was interrogated and beaten several times.

Pelemiš said that he was a platoon commander of the Military Police at the “Viktor Bubanj” barracks in Sarajevo and that on May 2, 1992, they were ordered to provide support to the command of the Second Military District, which had come under attack. He said that upon arriving at the command, he heard that a driver delivering food had been killed that morning. Pelemiš testified that they took up positions and that a clash ensued in which one soldier was killed. He recounted that the following day, the military convoy was supposed to set out, and that they listened to communications over the radio, during which he heard a conversation between Ejup Ganić and Alija Izetbegović. Pelemiš stated that the agreement was for the JNA convoy to withdraw peacefully, but it was attacked. He said that he was at the rear of the convoy, with two UNPROFOR vehicles behind him. According to him, before the convoy set off, the "Green Berets" had taken up positions facing the park, and about ten minutes after the JNA convoy started moving, the attack was launched. Pelemiš said that shots were fired from all sides and that he ordered the JNA soldiers in his vehicle not to use their weapons. He added that he saw a signal being given to the UNPROFOR members to withdraw. The witness stated that a rifle grenade was fired at the vehicle he was in, after which they surrendered. He said that men wearing green berets and insignia with lilies approached them, some in uniform and others in civilian clothes. He stated that soldiers Ivica Simić and Dragan Pantić were wounded after they had surrendered and were lying face down. Pelemiš testified that he saw one soldier being killed while handing over his rifle, after which he heard someone shouting to stop shooting. He said that the wounded were taken to the hospital, while the others were taken to the FIS hall. He recounted that from there he was taken to several locations where he was interrogated and beaten. The indictment charges Lučarević with crimes against prisoners of war, the wounded and the sick, as well as against the civilian population, and with the unlawful killing and wounding that took place in Dobrovoljačka Street in Sarajevo on May 3, 1992. In his capacity as commander of the Military Police of the Republic Headquarters of the Territorial Defense of BiH, Lučarević is charged with failing to punish those responsible for the killings of soldiers and civilians after the attack on and halting of the JNA convoy in Dobrovoljačka Street, as well as those who inflicted psychological and physical abuse on soldiers, despite his awareness of these crimes.