SERBS STILL WAITING FOR JUSTICE, WHILE FARCE CALLED DUDAKOVIĆ TRIAL CONTINUES

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, OCTOBER 10 /SRNA/ – The farce called the trial of former commander of the Fifth Corps of the so-called Army of BiH Atif Dudaković for war crimes against Serb civilians and soldiers in the Krajina area in 1995 is an indicator of how selectively the Court of BiH operates and whose interests it serves, Branimir Kojić, the head of the Srebrenica Municipal Organisation of Families of Captured, Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians, told SRNA.

Kojić emphasized that the fact that more than 5,500 Serbs were killed in the area of Central Podrinje and the Western Krajina municipalities, while no one being adequately punished, supports the view that the Court of BiH is anti-Serb and that its mission is nothing more than the fabrication of false history. "The Court of BiH, as the sick offspring of the Hague Tribunal, continues the practice of convicting only Serbs, minimizing Serb victims. No matter who was killing Serbs – whether it was Muslim or Croat forces, the Court of BiH treated them the same, acquitting their monsters as Serbs across BiH were killed monstrously, brutally, on a massive scale," Kojić said. COURT MOCKING SERBS AND TRUTH He says that, three decades after the crimes in the Western Krajina municipalities, the Court of BiH keeps mocking Serb, showing no respect for the 2,214 Serb victims by failing to prosecute anyone for the atrocities committed. "When we know that these municipalities were devastated by the combined Muslim-Croatian forces supported by NATO aviation, it gives a clear picture that Serbs were targeted for extermination and disappearance," Kojić concluded. Head of the Republika Srpska Organisation of Families of Captured, Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians Isidora Graorac told SRNA that Serbs today remember the painful days of October 1995, when regular Croatia's forces committed crimes in Mrkonjić Grad killing Serb civilians and soldiers, who were later recovered in a mass grave in the town. "As has happened countless times before, the court proceedings drag on for years, the accused are released for medical treatment or, if convicted, are allowed to travel to third countries… What are they waiting for? For them to die, flee, or that the court proceedings never take place?" Graorac asked. She said that in the Mrkonjić Grad case, it is clear who committed the war crimes and that evidence exists for everything, but this municipality has yet to see the crimes officially acknowledged. "It's been exactly 30 years. Isn't that enough? Do the Court and Prosecutor's Office of BiH have an answer as to why this case hasn't been prioritized and acted upon? They're waiting for us to give up. We won't as long as Serbs walk this city and this land, as long as the families of victims exist, as long as traces of inhumanity remain, and as long as even a glimmer of hope remains that the criminals will be brought to justice," Graorac stated. She acknowledged that none of this will bring back the dead or fully heal the wounds, but it will at least bring some satisfaction to the families and restore some faith in the Court and in justice. "Realistically, it's too late for that. Mrkonjić Grad has waited 30 years for justice, for court proceedings, for war reparations for destroyed lives, ruined property, and a shattered past, but with hope for a future where our descendants will know what we endured and what we experienced," said Graorac. NO INDICATION THAT CRIMINALS WILL BE PUNISHED The trial before the Court of BiH of former general of the so-called Army of BiH, Atif Dudaković et. al. for war crimes against Serbs in the Western Krajina municipalities committed three decades ago has dragged on for years, with numerous obstructions undermining the entire process. There is no indication that the perpetrators will be adequately punished. The trial has been endlessly prolonged due to Dudaković's alleged illness, with hearings often postponed despite the accused appearing at various public gatherings without issue. This case against Dudaković has long since lost any connection with justice or fairness, as the prosecution is being delayed by all possible means. The indictment against Dudaković and 14 members of the Fifth Corps of the so-called Army of BiH was confirmed in October 2018, but the trial was initially delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and later by Dudaković's alleged illness. At the time, it was claimed that he was too ill to attend or follow the trial, but this "illness" did not prevent him from driving or even being involved in a traffic accident. It didn't take long before another accused fell ill. The trial was again postponed in July 2023 after "an accident involving one of the accused, Edin Domazet". A hearing in the Atif Dudaković et al. case was canceled in mid-October 2023 because "one of the accused was undergoing hospital treatment". These are just some of the many delays in this process. At the last hearing on September 22, forensic pathologist Željko Karan testified that the absence of bone injuries on victims does not necessarily mean the deaths were not violent. Discussing one case where he found a gunshot wound to the pelvis and fractures of the arm and ribs, Karan said it cannot be determined from the bones alone whether the wound occurred while the victim was alive. "It's not impossible for someone to shoot a corpse with a burst of gunfire, but how likely is that?" Karan said. The defence team presented conclusions regarding head injuries on Perka Egelj, who was found with a rope around her neck. The doctor was asked whether he received a police report stating she was found hanging in a forest. Karan replied that he had no such knowledge. Dudaković and others are being tried for the killing of more than 300 Serbs, mostly civilians, in the municipalities of Bosanski Petrovac, Ključ, Bosanska Krupa, and Sanski Most in 1995, as well as for the persecution and destruction of religious sites. The accused include Atif Dudaković, Sanel Šabić, Ibrahim Šiljedić, Safet Salihagić, Adis Zjakić, Redžep Zlojić, Samir Solaković, Fatmir Muratović, Muharem Alešević, Edin Domazet, Ejub Koženjić, Ibrahim Nadarević, and Said Mujić. Today, Mrkonjić Grad marks 30 years since the aggression against 13 Western Krajina municipalities and the crimes against 2,214 Serb civilians and soldiers committed by Croatian armed forces and the so-called Army of BiH, for which, despite extensive evidence, no one has been adequately punished. Namely, joint forces of the Croatian Army, HVO, and the so-called Army of BiH, supported by NATO, carried out an aggression on 13 Western Krajina municipalities in September and October 1995. The aggression targeted the municipalities of Grahovo, Glamoč, Kupres, Šipovo, Srbobran, Jajce, Ripač, Drvar, Petrovac, Ključ, Krupa na Uni, Sanski Most, and Mrkonjić Grad. According to the Republika Srpska Research Centre of War, War Crimes, and Tracing Missing Persons, during the aggression, 2,214 people of Serb background were killed, 120,000 Serbs were expelled from their centuries-old homes, movable property was looted, while immovable was destroyed. Among the dead were 753 Serb civilians, 149 of whom are still listed as missing, and 1,461 members of the Republika Srpska Army, with 79 still missing. In these municipalities, 41 mass graves containing 1,112 bodies were discovered. The largest mass grave was found at the Orthodox cemetery in Mrkonjić Grad, from which 181 bodies were exhumed.