Page 13890
1 Thursday, 18 July 2002
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 2.19 p.m.
5 JUDGE LIU: Call the case, please, Madam Registrar.
6 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honours. This is case number
7 IT-98-34-T, the Prosecutor versus Naletilic and Martinovic.
8 JUDGE LIU: Well, before we have the witness, there is some
9 schedule matters I would like to announce.
10 Tomorrow, we will have our sittings in Courtroom II at 2.15, and
11 on Friday next week, because of the problem of scheduling, we will have no
12 sitting on Friday next week.
13 It is our intention to finish the testimony of the next witness
14 today, at the request of the Defence counsel because of the protective
15 measures. So as for the next witness, we would like to ask the Defence
16 counsel to limit his direct examination to one hour, and we also give the
17 same amount of time to the cross-examination so as to ensure that we will
18 finish the next witness today.
19 Having said that, Mr. Usher, could we have the witness, please?
20 Yes, Mr. Seric?
21 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, Mr. President.
22 Good afternoon. I will be very brief. While we are waiting for the
23 witness, you must have read my thoughts when you said what you did. The
24 Defence, and I have to say it for the record, Mr. Vinko Martinovic's
25 Defence, Mr. Par and I, have never, not once, exceeded more than 50 per
Page 13891
1 cent of the time of the Prosecution's direct examination. Neither
2 yesterday, nor shall we in the future, exceed the time in our direct
3 examination that we have announced. We were always very disciplined and
4 we have always complied with the schedule and the timetable. We have
5 witnesses here whom we planned to hear until the end of this week. So
6 Mr. President, will you please warn the Prosecutor not to waste time? The
7 witness is not to blame if he doesn't understand the question. The
8 question is made understandable by the Prosecution. The Prosecutor says
9 we've spent 20 minutes dealing with a matter. Now is this the witness's
10 responsibility for the Prosecutor's? Let us have Prosecutors phrase the
11 questions in a manner that will allow to use the time as best we can
12 rather than waste it, and I hope that you will proceed, Mr. President,
13 with the measures that you have announced at the beginning because it is
14 the Prosecution which wastes time. The Defence has never exceeded the
15 time allotted to it, either through the cross-examination or during the
16 direct examination, and I object very seriously because the Prosecutor was
17 allowed to do it yesterday, before -- earlier, and we are afraid he will
18 also try to do that in the future. But that is not the responsibility of
19 Defence and we do not have to cut anything short.
20 After this witness, we shall have another witness who will be here
21 today only. And whose direct examination will take less than 60 minutes.
22 He has to leave tomorrow so I hope you will stand by your decision that
23 the cross-examination should not exceed that time.
24 As for this witness, Mr. Martinovic, even the Prosecutor alleges
25 that his evidence is not of much value because he is the accused's
Page 13892
1 brother. Then why doesn't he give up the cross-examination? However, the
2 witness is under oath and I must say that ubi lex non distinguit, nec nos
3 distinguere debemus, that is, where law doesn't distinguish, we should not
4 make it either, Your Honours. Thank you.
5 JUDGE LIU: Well, Mr. Seric, first of all, I have to thank you for
6 your cooperation about your direct examination. Secondly, since we have
7 the witness here, we are not going to discuss about any detailed matters.
8 [The witness entered court]
9 WITNESS: JADRANKO MARTINOVIC [Resumed]
10 [Witness answered through interpreter]
11 JUDGE LIU: Good afternoon, Witness. We won't keep you long this
12 afternoon, are you ready to start?
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation]
14 THE INTERPRETER: The witness nods.
15 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Scott.
16 Cross-examined by Mr. Scott: [Continued]
17 Q. Sir, before we continue on, I wanted to ask you about a similar
18 name, name similar to one I asked you about yesterday and I want to make
19 it clear I'm not suggesting that the other person, that there is confusion
20 about the other person. I'm asking about another person but perhaps
21 having a similar name. [redacted]
22 [redacted]
23 [redacted]
24 [redacted]
25 [redacted]
Page 13893
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10 [Private session]
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18 [redacted]
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Page 13895
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6 [Open session]
7 JUDGE CLARK: Mr. Scott, should the witness answer the question
8 first?
9 MR. SCOTT: I'd be happy for him to Judge Clark, and I was just
10 responding to counsel's objection but I'm happy to have the witness not
11 review the document until he first gives an answer.
12 Q. Witness I would ask you not to review -- it's in English in any
13 event. You perhaps read English but would you not look at that document
14 for a moment, in light of the question raised by Judge Clark? I put to
15 you a question and really we didn't get an answer. So can you please tell
16 us if you were aware of any allegation or information about your brother
17 running one or more "private prisons"?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Did anyone from the international community ever approach you for
20 information whether your brother was engaged in such activity?
21 A. Me personally?
22 Q. Yes.
23 A. No.
24 Q. It continues to be your testimony, I take it, sir, since yesterday
25 that at no time was your brother holding prisoners in a garage in West
Page 13896
1 Mostar?
2 A. Sir, of course I'm slightly jittery and a little bit tired after
3 all this. Last night, when I returned to the hotel, and I suppose like
4 any other witness who comes here, I turned the film back just trying to
5 recapitulate to see how it went. Yesterday, you and I on two occasions,
6 if I may put it in this way, talked at cross-purposes, say. One was about
7 the year 1992, June, and the second one was your insistence on a garage.
8 I still say today that there was no garage. However, you are right in one
9 thing. Next to the building where Vinko's base, that is command, was,
10 there was a workshop, a car mechanics, a car repair shop. Now, if you call
11 a car shop a garage, perhaps it's funny to you, but it's not funny to me,
12 because garage is used to park cars and a workshop is used to repair cars.
13 There is a difference between the two in the workshop you will find the
14 bay over which cars are driven and you do not find this thing in a garage.
15 So I am sorry but that is how it is.
16 Q. Sir, I appreciate very much that clarification. Did it really not
17 occur to you at any time yesterday that the questions I was asking you
18 would include some place where cars were worked on and in fact didn't I
19 ask you about whether any of the prisoners worked on vehicles for your
20 brother's unit?
21 A. Yes, sir. I also said that there were people who worked on cars,
22 but you insisted on the word "garage." And I have a garage at home.
23 Doors open, vehicles in, and that is all. So I'm sorry, again, but I
24 suppose we simply did not understand one another.
25 Q. So can we take it, can the Judges understand, then, sir, that in
Page 13897
1 reference to all the questions yesterday about a garage being immediately
2 adjacent to your brother's headquarters, if I change the term and say a
3 workshop where cars were worked on, then all your answers would change
4 from no to yes? Is that correct?
5 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
6 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] I object to this question,
7 Mr. President, namely to ask a question in such a laconic manner and
8 expect such a laconic answer without repeating the substance of
9 yesterday's questions, I think would mean setting the witness up.
10 JUDGE LIU: I agree with you.
11 MR. SCOTT: I'll move on and I submit for the record that the
12 result is clear, that if the witness has already said that indeed there
13 was a workshop where cars were worked on next to the headquarters.
14 Q. Sir, is it correct that you also just mentioned that there was
15 some sort of a bay or a pit in that garage, for instance, where one would
16 drive a car over and someone would work in such a pit? Under a car or a
17 vehicle?
18 A. That's right, a garage that you mention, that is the workshop
19 which includes a pit, yes, correct.
20 MR. SCOTT: Mr. President, in light of the questions or excuse me
21 the answers of the witness, I will move on from 751 but nonetheless in
22 response to counsel's questions, that is the basis for my putting the
23 questions.
24 Q. Sir, can you tell us how you're currently employed?
25 A. Currently, I am involved in the construction in the town of
Page 13898
1 Mostar, that is I'm building a residential house.
2 Q. Did you ever have a financial or other ownership interest in a
3 company or business called Euroherc?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. What kind of a business was that?
6 A. It's an insurance company.
7 Q. Where is -- any one in the family of a man named Ivica Licic also
8 a co-owner or participant in that same business?
9 A. Not the family, one of the brothers of the gentleman you
10 mentioned, yes.
11 Q. Which brother was that, please?
12 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
13 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President, there unfortunately
14 it's really not my habit to stand, to be on my feet all the time but I
15 object to these questions. Why is that relevant? What is the relevance
16 either to this case or challenging -- to challenge the credibility of the
17 witness?
18 JUDGE LIU: Well, I think the Prosecutor is entitled to challenge
19 the credibility of this witness. You may proceed, Mr. Prosecutor.
20 MR. SCOTT:
21 Q. What was the name of this brother of Ivica Lucic?
22 A. Milan.
23 Q. And the brother Ivica Lucic, is this the same Ivica Lucic who
24 was the head of one of the Bosnian Croat intelligence services?
25 A. As far as I know, from the press, that is correct.
Page 13899
1 Q. And have you ever had any perhaps not Euroherc but any other
2 financial or business dealings with Ivica Lucic, the former head of
3 Bosnian Croat intelligence?
4 A. I've never met that gentleman in my life.
5 Q. Was Mr. Bruno Stojic or his family also a co-owner or a
6 participant in the Euroherc business, the former Minister of Defence of
7 Herceg-Bosna?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And have you had any other business interest with Mr. Stojic other
10 than Euroherc?
11 A. I never said that I had any business interests with Mr. Bruno
12 Stojic. In other words, Mr. Bruno Stojic did not have any interest in the
13 Euroherc company.
14 Q. Well, when I asked you a moment ago, and perhaps you may be
15 rights, perhaps it was someone in his family but when I asked you this
16 question and I'll simply read it to you again: Was Mr. Bruno Stojic or
17 his family also a co-owner or participant in it should say Euroherc
18 business and your answer at line 9 was yes. So in what way, sir, did you
19 indicate yes?
20 A. You -- there were two questions in one. When I said yes, I meant
21 somebody -- a member of his family. So you want me to repeat, yes, a
22 member of his family, his eldest brother.
23 Q. And what is his name, please?
24 A. Mate, if -- but I stand to be corrected.
25 Q. Sir, you've talked on a number of occasions about essentially a
Page 13900
1 conspiracy against your brother or efforts to blame him or sacrifice him,
2 I believe you've said. Have you ever heard that a man -- two men that
3 named Marko Radic and Ivan Hrkac, as two men that your brother has blamed
4 for charges being brought against him?
5 A. To avoid once again a similar situation as a moments before
6 because you asked me two questions in one, I've heard of these two persons
7 but whether Vinko is accusing them of something, I do not know. So, yes,
8 I've heard of Marko Radic, no, I even know him personally. I believe we
9 were school fellows. I've heard Ivan Hrkac's name but I've never seen
10 him.
11 Q. Did you ever know your brother to assert that it was partly
12 Mr. Naletilic's, Tuta's, fault that he had been charged?
13 A. No.
14 Q. All right. If I could direct your attention, sir, with the
15 usher's assistance to Exhibit P851.02?
16 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
17 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President, Your Honours, I would
18 like to know the Defence would like to know the source of this document.
19 That is the first thing. Where did this document come from? I see what
20 it says here but that is impossible.
21 JUDGE LIU: Well, Mr. Scott, if you could.
22 MR. SCOTT: Mr. President, I'll be happy to have discussions about
23 the authenticity its of a document outside the presence of the witness.
24 JUDGE LIU: Yes. We will deal with this issue when we are
25 admitting the documents.
Page 13901
1 MR. SCOTT:
2 Q. Sir, I'll just read one --
3 MR. KRSNIK: [Interpretation] Your Honour?
4 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Krsnik?
5 MR. KRSNIK: [Interpretation] Your Honour, if a document is given
6 to the witness, then to be fair, the Defence needs to know the source of
7 this document. If we want to exclude the witness, why don't we send him
8 out for a while? But this is also something new. We have never before
9 sent a witness out of the room while we were discussing an exhibit, but
10 one cannot ask this witness a question if we don't know the source. This
11 is a handwritten document, so many things are crossed over on it, we don't
12 know the source.
13 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
14 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] It is not just the source but also the
15 legality, the way the document has been obtained, if we can consider this
16 a document or exhibit at all.
17 JUDGE LIU: Mr. Krsnik and Mr. Seric, as for this document, I
18 believe, in the -- in the bundle of documents the Prosecutor has indicated
19 the source of that document. And during the cross-examination, the
20 Prosecution could ask questions about this document, and the witness has
21 the full right to confirm or deny anything in this document, and when we
22 are admitting this document into the evidence, we will look into the
23 source, the authenticity of that document.
24 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President, the source is not
25 correct.
Page 13902
1 [Trial Chamber confers]
2 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
3 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] I assert, Your Honours, that the
4 source is not correct. The Prosecutor knows it. And he still writes that
5 the source is Vinko Martinovic. This is not correct. This is simply not
6 correct, from the very beginning. If something is founded on the wrong
7 foundations, we cannot proceed. We cannot move on.
8 MR. KRSNIK: [Interpretation] Your Honour --
9 JUDGE LIU: I'm not going to any longer debate.
10 Well, Witness, could I ask you to leave this room for a little
11 while? We are discuss a document which has nothing to do with you. It's
12 a legal issue.
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Of course.
14 JUDGE LIU: In five minutes.
15 [The witness stands down]
16 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Scott? With the absence of the witness, you
17 may shed some light on this issue.
18 MR. SCOTT: Yes, Your Honour. The source of this document is that
19 it was when Mr. Martinovic came into the custody of this Tribunal, he had
20 a brief case with him which was taken and the material there in collected
21 and inventoried by the Registrar. And at that time, the Registrar gave to
22 the Office of the Prosecutor the contents of that brief case, after having
23 inventoried it. And that's where this document comes from.
24 JUDGE LIU: Is that a satisfactory answer? Yes, Mr. Seric?
25 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] I am astonished. I can't tell you
Page 13903
1 whether I'm satisfied or not satisfied with this answer. Does this mean
2 stolen or later on inserted in the file? What is this all about? I'm
3 really deeply shocked. This is not an explanation of the source. The
4 document is then stolen, if this explanation is correct. A file has been
5 taken away from somebody and something was found inside. Is there any
6 confirmation of that? Was Mr. Martinovic aware that his room was
7 searched, that the documents were taken, from the very first day, this
8 gentleman has been exposed to -- I don't dare say what. This is illegal
9 treatment of my client, from the very first day. This is a shame, Your
10 Honours.
11 MR. KRSNIK: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I would like to share
12 the astonishment and I would like to -- the person from the registry to be
13 examined. If this is true, we cannot use the document until we examine
14 the authenticity of this allegation by the Prosecution. For the registry
15 to engage in such dealings together with the Prosecutor is really shameful
16 and this is an understatement.
17 JUDGE CLARK: Gentlemen, can I just say something for a moment?
18 We are not talking about the contents of the document. We are talking
19 about how the document came to be in the hands of the Prosecution, and
20 let's concentrate on that aspect of the case. I think the Judges really
21 want to consult about this for a little while.
22 [Trial Chamber confers]
23 JUDGE LIU: Well, Mr. Scott, do you have anything to add about the
24 source of this document?
25 MR. SCOTT: No, Your Honour, not really. We could call -- I
Page 13904
1 mean -- we could call a representative of the Registrar if that becomes
2 necessary but I've told the Chamber as directly as I could, whether asked,
3 what the source of the document was, and that's my information.
4 JUDGE LIU: Well, if this is the case, I'm afraid that after
5 consultation among the Judges, this document should not be used in this
6 courtroom until you have further information about the source of this
7 document.
8 MR. SCOTT: Very well, Your Honour.
9 JUDGE LIU: Thank you. Yes, Mr. Seric?
10 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] I apologise, Your Honours. Thank you
11 for your ruling, but I must say that it says here that this is a new
12 document. We should have received it at the same time the Prosecutor
13 received it.
14 JUDGE LIU: Well, if this document will not be tendered or
15 admitted into the evidence, we will return this document to the
16 Registrar.
17 Could we have the witness, please?
18 [The witness entered court]
19 JUDGE LIU: Well, Witness, I'm sorry for you to have to wait for
20 so long. Would you please sit down and we will continue.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you.
22 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Scott. You may move on.
23 MR. SCOTT: Thank you, Mr. President.
24 Q. Sir, just to follow up on the last question before moving on, just
25 so the record is clear in light of the some of the intervention that were
Page 13905
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13 English transcripts.
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Page 13906
1 made, did you ever have any conversation with your brother about any role
2 that allegedly Mr. Naletilic may have played in him being charged?
3 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
4 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Maybe the role is different between
5 the Defence counsel and the Prosecutor but when I asked similar questions,
6 and when my learned friend objected, you asked me to skip the question and
7 I would skip it. Thank you very much, Your Honour.
8 MR. SCOTT: Mr. President, I'm not going into any document. I'm
9 simply clarifying the last answer put by the witness before all this
10 happened and it's a question he can answer either yes or no he doesn't
11 know.
12 JUDGE LIU: Yes. Witness, you may answer that question.
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I really do not remember the
14 question, Your Honours. Can the Prosecutor please repeat that question?
15 MR. SCOTT:
16 Q. Sir, did you ever have any conversation with your brother about
17 any role that allegedly Mr. Naletilic may have played in your brother
18 being charged?
19 A. No.
20 Q. All right. Did you ever know, during the war in 1993, a man named
21 Predrag Mandic?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Did you know a man named Mario Milicevic?
24 A. I believe there are two men with the same name but I believe that
25 I did.
Page 13907
1 Q. Well, did you know a Mario Milicevic that was the head of another
2 unit that was referred to as an ATG?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. How did you know him?
5 A. Mario Milicevic lives in my neighbourhood in which I used to live
6 and in which Vinko used to live. That's where I know him. I know who
7 you're talking about. I know the person.
8 Q. Was he the commander of something called the Vinko Penavic ATG?
9 A. Possible.
10 Q. It's been pointed out to me, Mr. President, just so there is no
11 confusion it's been translated Vinko probably perhaps I misspoke. It
12 should be Benko Penavic.
13 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
14 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President, a little while ago, we
15 heard the Prosecutor asking the witness to list the names of the co-owners
16 or the families of the co-owners of the company that the witness owned.
17 This has led us no where. Now, again, he is asking the witness to list
18 the names which were not mentioned on direct, and I'm afraid this, again,
19 is not going to lead anywhere. This is just a waste of time, I'm afraid.
20 Thank you very much.
21 JUDGE LIU: Let's hope for the best, Mr. Seric.
22 MR. SCOTT:
23 Q. Sir, was he the commander of the Benko Penavic unit?
24 A. Sir, I would like to say something before I answer your question.
25 Whether you call it Vinko or Benko or whether you believe it or not,
Page 13908
1 believe me this doesn't mean a thing to me. These first names, these last
2 names were in such an abundance and they were mentioned so often, and I
3 never took any interest in those names. If you say Benko Penavic, let me
4 answer be yes, but it really doesn't mean anything to me.
5 Q. I think you said yesterday, sir, that you considered that at least
6 this man that you've mentioned Ernest Takac may have considered himself a
7 deputy of your brother's unit or did you believe he was a deputy of your
8 brother's unit?
9 A. I don't think I said that. I wish somebody could read to me what
10 I said, because I don't think that is what I said, and I can really not
11 repeat exactly what I said, and I asked you yesterday not to ask from me
12 to repeat literally what I said. You are asking me a lot of questions.
13 You are trying to confuse me. You have these things on paper. I have
14 nothing on paper. And I can really not repeat exactly what I said
15 yesterday. In any event, the way you put it to me, I am certain that that
16 is not what I said yesterday.
17 Q. All right, sir, I'm not going to ask to you use the exact words
18 that you've used previously but just then if that's the case, tell us
19 again in your own or different words what role did you understand, if any,
20 did Mr. Takac play in the Vinko Skrobo unit?
21 A. Yesterday, when you asked me, I believe you asked me who Vinko
22 Martinovic's deputies were in his unit, and I believe that I said the
23 following, that it could have been somebody called Peric, somebody whose
24 last name was Jakovljevic and I don't know what else I said. When you
25 asked me about Takac, Takac was half savage, somebody who was not easily
Page 13909
1 commanded and I assume that he could not have been a commander. I believe
2 he would have been only too happy to be a commander but he could not be a
3 commander because he was too rowdy, too wild.
4 Q. I believe you said he was disobedient. My question is disobedient
5 to who?
6 A. If I said that he was disobedient, I suppose that he was
7 disobedient to somebody who issued him orders, and if somebody is a wild,
8 rowdy and savage, then he doesn't obey anybody. If you want to ask me
9 whether he was disobedient to Vinko, then I assume he was also disobedient
10 to Vinko.
11 Q. And you said that at some point your brother, Mr. Takac had some
12 falling out in so many words and your brother essentially said good
13 riddance to him. Is that your testimony?
14 A. I don't think you will find that in the transcript.
15 Q. So your brother and Mr. Takac did not have a falling out then and
16 they remained together throughout the war?
17 A. I didn't say that, but a little while ago you said something that
18 I haven't said so far, and I also didn't say that they stayed together.
19 Please ask me specific questions and believe me, I shall answer them, if I
20 can.
21 Q. Did a time ever come when the relationship between your brother
22 and Mr. Takac changed?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. What do you say happened?
25 A. What exactly happened, I don't know but I know that Takac with a
Page 13910
1 few other men left the unit.
2 Q. Can you tell us approximately when that was, sir?
3 A. I can't.
4 Q. If I could ask the witness to be shown Exhibit 634? Sir, this is
5 a document that's previously been admitted into evidence, of a statement
6 from the man Ernest Takac, and in fact, you will see, if you have a chance
7 to look at it, it relates to the same event that the statement that we
8 looked at yesterday with your brother, which is Exhibit 633, and according
9 to both Mr. Takac's statement, Exhibit P634 and your brother's statement,
10 P633, can you not agree with me, sir, that at least as of October, 1993,
11 your brother and Mr. Takac were still working quite closely together?
12 A. If the dates are identical on both documents, on the one you
13 showed me yesterday and the one you're showing me today, then this should
14 be correct. And as to how close they were, I can't tell you that just
15 looking at these documents.
16 Q. Sir, isn't it correct that your brother and Mr. Takac continued to
17 be members of the same units even after they both left the Vinko Skrobo
18 unit?
19 A. Excuse me? I beg your pardon?
20 Q. Isn't it true, sir, that contrary to the fact -- contrary to
21 having any sort of falling out, at least in 1993, your brother Stela and
22 Mr. Takac continued to be members of the same units, HVO units, together,
23 even after the Vinko Skrobo unit, correct?
24 A. If Vinko Skrobo is a unit, Vinko's unit, with which he was on the
25 Bulevar, by the health centre and which -- with which he was fighting
Page 13911
1 against Muslims, after that unit, as far as I know, Vinko was no longer a
2 soldier of any other unit. I may allow that I don't know, but I would say
3 that he was not a member of any other unit after that unit, and as for
4 Takac, I really wouldn't be able to tell you whether he was a member of
5 any other unit or not.
6 MR. SCOTT: Could the witness please be shown Exhibits 819 and
7 818?
8 Q. Directing your attention first of all to 819, do you recall,
9 sir --
10 A. I can see that.
11 Q. -- That your brother, Stela, Vinko Martinovic, Mr. Pehar,
12 Mr. Takac were indicated to have continued for sometime, for approximately
13 a four month period to be members of something called the ATJ Domovina?
14 From June to October, 1994?
15 A. This is the first time I hear of the existence of the ATJ
16 Domovina, the first time ever.
17 Q. Have you ever heard of something called the 22nd Sabotage
18 Detachment?
19 A. You are already very far when you're talking about 22nd, 27th
20 Sabotage. This is not my turf. I can say no.
21 Q. Sir, can you look at Exhibit 818? Doesn't that indicate that
22 again your brother, Mr. Pehar, Mr. Takac continued together to be members
23 of that unit even into 1995?
24 A. I do not dispute that these names are indeed here. But once
25 again, I repeat -- can I please have the other one, Mr. Usher? I have two
Page 13912
1 documents in front of me, and the same five names on both of them, and on
2 one it says ATJ Domovina and on the other, the 22nd Sabotage Detachment.
3 That seems to be a lot of armies, too many armies.
4 Q. Sir, can you tell the Judges, please, have either your father,
5 Ivan Martinovic or yourself, sir, ever been involved in contacting either
6 witnesses for the Prosecution or witnesses to assist your brother?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Can you describe those activities to us, please?
9 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Seric?
10 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President, the question was
11 setting up the witness and we heard the positive answer. Can, please, the
12 Prosecutor split the question in order not to confuse the witness? Can he
13 be precise and tell exactly which witnesses he is referring to in his
14 question?
15 JUDGE LIU: Well, that's very difficult for the Prosecution to do
16 so. I think, you know, the witness heard your objection, and he will give
17 us an explanation about that.
18 Yes, Witness, you may answer that question.
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I am here in The Hague with four
20 other witnesses.
21 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President, can we go to private
22 session, please?
23 JUDGE LIU: Yes.
24 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] That's all.
25 JUDGE LIU: We will go to the private session.
Page 13913
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14 [Open session]
15 MR. SCOTT:
16 Q. Sir, due or your father know a man named Mustafa Sukelic?
17 A. I do.
18 Q. And have you ever approached Mr. Sukelic about being a witness in
19 this case?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Has your father, to your knowledge, ever approached Mr. Sukelic
22 about either being or not being a witness in this case?
23 A. As far as I know, and that was your question, no.
24 Q. And I'll ask you my final two questions, similar questions, about
25 this man that you've mentioned in your testimony already, Halil Ajanic.
Page 13915
1 Have you or your father ever contacted Mr. Ajanic about either being or
2 not being a witness in this case?
3 A. No.
4 Q. And have you or your father ever moved about Mostar looking and
5 asking people, trying to find Mr. Ajanic?
6 A. Never.
7 MR. SCOTT: Thank you, Mr. President. I have no further
8 questions.
9 JUDGE LIU: Yes, any re-examination, Mr. Seric?
10 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Only two, Your Honours.
11 Re-examined by Mr. Seric:
12 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Could the usher please give the
13 witness Exhibit 633 and 18 -- and 818? Excuse me, in Croatian.
14 Q. Will you please look at the first -- at the Croatian version of
15 633? Croatian version. And look at the signature. You said that it was
16 very similar and that you granted that it could be your brother's
17 signature. Now, look at Exhibit 818, and tell us if it is your brother's
18 signature in both these documents? Under one, of course.
19 A. I suppose everybody can see no, that it is far from it.
20 Q. Say yes or no, let us finish that?
21 A. If I said about there one that it is possible, about this I think
22 that it is not possible.
23 MR. SERIC: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, Your Honours. I
24 have no further questions.
25 JUDGE LIU: Any questions from Judges? Judge Clark.
Page 13916
1 Questioned by the Court:
2 JUDGE CLARK: Mr. Martinovic, I just have one question for you and
3 I know you've been here an exceptionally long time so I won't hold you. I
4 may not have it in front of you but the map that you had, P11.018, yes,
5 very good, I just want to ask you a question on that map. No, it doesn't
6 need to be in private session but I just want to you look at the map. You
7 don't have to put it on the ELMO. Obviously, I'm not good at maps. If I
8 were I probably wouldn't need to ask this question. But you told us, I
9 think it was yesterday, that on the morning of the 9th of May, you and a
10 companion were driving from, the transcript said Ahmici but I doubt that
11 that's correct, is it?
12 A. Absolutely incorrect. I could not have said that. Absolutely
13 wrong. I am sorry, I must have said all sorts of things during these past
14 two days but that is one thing that I'm sure I did not.
15 JUDGE CLARK: I didn't think. It was probably something that
16 sounded like it but on the map you said it was the direction you came from
17 was the west side of Mostar. Is that correct?
18 A. It is, it is.
19 JUDGE CLARK: What would be -- looking at the map, you don't need
20 to put it on the ELMO, do you see that there are a number of towns marked
21 as directions, like Rastani over to the north and Citluk and Medjugorje to
22 the south, and the west -- the only road that's marked on the west is
23 Siroki Brijeg. Is that the direction that you came from?
24 A. To you, and don't hold it against me, when we look at Mostar,
25 west is also the direction of Citluk and Medjugorje and Siroki Brijeg, but
Page 13917
1 I did come from the direction of Siroki Brijeg.
2 JUDGE CLARK: That's all I wanted to know because I was intrigued
3 about the Ahmici mention. I'm sure it was a misinterpretation. Thank you
4 very much. And we are much obliged to you for coming here.
5 JUDGE LIU: Any questions out of Judges' questions? It seems
6 not.
7 Well, Witness, thank you very much for coming here to give your
8 evidence. Sometimes we discuss some legal issues which have nothing to do
9 with you so don't mind about that. We all wish you good luck in your
10 future. The usher will show you out of the room.
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, and if I made
12 any mistakes, it wasn't deliberate.
13 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] Mr. President, as the witness is being
14 taken out and before our next witness comes here, could we go into private
15 session for a moment?
16 [The witness withdrew]
17 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] Even at the cost of cutting shorter my
18 direct examination, I need to address the Court now.
19 JUDGE LIU: Yes. We will go to the private session. But before
20 that, before that, I would like to know whether there is any document to
21 tender through this witness? I understand that the street map of Mostar
22 that is P11.18 was marked by the witness himself. I don't see there is
23 any objections. So this document is admitted into the evidence. How
24 about others? Mr. Scott do you have any other documents to tender?
25 MR. SCOTT: Mr. President, I would ask if we could follow the more
Page 13918
1 or less normal procedure that I would prepare a written submission of the
2 documents that we used, please.
3 JUDGE LIU: Yes, of course, but don't be too late.
4 MR. SCOTT: If I could -- well, maybe.
5 JUDGE LIU: If you could get some more information about that
6 document, we would like to have it.
7 MR. SCOTT: Yes, Mr. President. Yes. I think in light of that in
8 particular, I'll have to make a submission in any event to the Chamber
9 will allow me, please, I'll make one -- a single submission. I just
10 thought I would make the comment just because of Judge Clark's concerns
11 about Ahmici, I heard the same thing and it was in the transcript but when
12 I came back to and asked the questions about where the family was and he
13 said it was Split and I assumed the earlier statement must have been a
14 mistake but thank you, Judge.
15 JUDGE LIU: Yes, we will go to -- yes, we will go to the private
16 session.
17 [Private session]
18 [redacted]
19 [redacted]
20 [redacted]
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Page 13919
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9 [Open session]
10 --- Recess taken at 3.36 p.m.
11 --- On resuming at 4.02 p.m.
12 JUDGE LIU: Could we go into the closed session, please?
13 [Closed session]
14 [redacted]
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Page 13924
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13 [Open session]
14 [The witness entered court]
15 JUDGE LIU: Good afternoon, Witness.
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Good afternoon.
17 JUDGE LIU: Would you please make the solemn declaration, please?
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly declare that I will speak
19 the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
20 WITNESS: WITNESS MB
21 [Witness answered through interpreter]
22 JUDGE LIU: Thank you very much. You may sit down, please.
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
24 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Par?
25 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
Page 13961
1 Examined by Mr. Par:
2 Q. [Interpretation] Witness, good day to you.
3 A. Good day.
4 Q. Could the ELMO be lowered a little so that I can have eye contact
5 with the witness?
6 JUDGE LIU: Well, Mr. Par, I believe that after your question, you
7 have to turn off your microphone.
8 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
9 Q. Witness, before we begin, I wish to inform you that the Chamber
10 has approved protective measures which consist of the protection of your
11 name, voice and image, so that it will not be possible to identify you,
12 and those parts of our conversation which contain information according to
13 which you might be identified, will be in closed session. During your
14 testimony, please be careful not to mention your name or your nickname or
15 anything by which you might be identified. Before we begin, please look
16 at this piece of paper. It should contain your name. If that is your
17 name, please say yes.
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Thank you. I will try to speak slowly in order to make it easier
20 for the interpreters. Please watch the red light on my microphone and
21 when it is turned off, then you can begin answering. And I will indicate
22 to you with my hand whether you should speak faster or slower.
23 A. Very well.
24 Q. We will now proceed and for the first set of questions, I ask to
25 go into private session because these are questions by which the witness
Page 13962
1 might be identified?
2 JUDGE LIU: Yes, we will go to the private session, please.
3 [Private session]
4 [redacted]
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10 [Open session]
11 MR. PAR: [Interpretation]
12 Q. In our conversation, we shall start from the time when the
13 conflict with the Serbs broke out, from the answers that you gave us so
14 far, I understood this is where you were living with your whole family.
15 Can you tell us briefly how did you and your family see that conflict
16 between -- with the Serbs? Can you tell us what was your family
17 characteristic of, how did you act at the time, what did you do? How did
18 you manage?
19 A. Well, during the war with the Serbs, I continued living where I've
20 already pointed out, and I saw it like all my neighbours. To my mind it
21 was an aggression, an aggression in which we had to organise ourselves, to
22 defend ourselves, to protect our families, and the property we had
23 acquired.
24 Q. Did anything special happen? Did -- were there any casualties?
25 Did anything happen to any of your members of the family?
Page 13966
1 A. Well, yes, the city was exposed to the shelling all the time and
2 yes, there were casualties, there were casualties.
3 Q. I mean your family. How did you fare?
4 A. As for the family that was with me, we were all unscathed except
5 that my father was killed, but he did not live with me. He lived outside
6 Mostar.
7 Q. Do you mean he was killed?
8 A. He was simply shot dead.
9 Q. We are being warned that we are moving too fast for the
10 interpreters. My apologies to the interpreters. I will slow down a
11 little and I will also make you a sign to slow down. Very well. So
12 during that period of time, we see what happened to you. At that time,
13 did you know Vinko Martinovic, Stela?
14 A. Yes, I did know him. The whole Martinovic family. I've known
15 them for some 40 years before that and I was on very good terms with
16 them. We were quite friendly. There was human understanding between us.
17 And I knew Mr. Vinko personally.
18 Q. So you say good, neighbourly relations between you're two families
19 and Vinko, how is it that you know him? On what kind of terms were you
20 with him?
21 A. Well, you see, since I knew them, since I knew Vinko's parents and
22 Vinko, I knew him since he was a boy and I have a son who is more or less
23 his peer and they were pals. So I know Vinko in this respect quite well.
24 Q. At that time, during the conflict with the Serbs, did you have --
25 did you see Vinko during that conflict, do you know that he played a role
Page 13967
1 during that conflict?
2 A. Yes, yes, I did. I did, Vinko and all the others, all the other
3 lads, boys, who wanted to defend, they organised in a manner of speaking,
4 they got together, helped civilians and they simply organised themselves
5 so as to be ready to defend.
6 Q. You say they organised themselves. How were they organised, in
7 some military formations?
8 A. No, just like that. It was early days. It looked -- I mean
9 organisation was getting together, protection of property, protection of
10 all that property that could be endangered by the aggression.
11 Q. I see. Very well. But these are very early days and at the time
12 did you see Vinko Martinovic in uniform? Did he join some unit, some army
13 or anything? Did he resist? Did you used to see him in an uniform
14 during the war against the Serbs?
15 A. Yes, I did see Vinko Martinovic in a uniform and I think that he
16 belonged to HOS units.
17 Q. What were those units, HOS units, at the time? What did they do,
18 who did they bring together? Can you tell us something?
19 A. Well, in my field of knowledge, those were units ready to defend,
20 to simply defend themselves against the aggressor.
21 Q. Do you know if Vinko Martinovic had a position in HOS? Was he
22 something more than a foot soldier?
23 A. No. I do not know that.
24 Q. Do you know anything about how at that time, that is where against
25 the Serbs, how did Vinko Martinovic treat Bosniaks, Muslims? What was his
Page 13968
1 attitude to them?
2 A. Well, since we used to see one another, since we were practically
3 next door neighbours, from what I know, Vinko's attitude was very correct
4 with either their boys or those who were older than he was. He lived,
5 thought, organised when necessary, something, I mean very correctly and to
6 the satisfaction.
7 Q. Let us now get out of the war with the Serbs. Do you recall the
8 day when the conflict between the Muslims and Croats broke out and do you
9 know what date it was in Mostar?
10 A. Yes, I remember it. It was the 9th of May, 1991 -- sorry, 1993.
11 Q. Can you tell the Court now briefly what happened to your family
12 that day? How did that day begin? When did you see that the conflict was
13 starting? Tell us in your own words, tell us your experience of that day?
14 A. On the 9th of May, when this conflict broke out, I was in my flat
15 with my wife, my daughter, my son, and my grandchild. Early in the
16 morning, it could have been 5.00 or 6.00. We could hear some strange
17 noise, how to put it, some strange din from the area of the yard where my
18 flat is. So it woke me up and I got up and my wife did, and we started
19 wondering what it could have been and at first I thought, since the Serb
20 aggression was already under way, that it was general mobilisation of all
21 of us who were able-bodied, that that was the moment when all of us who
22 felt responsible were supposed to go. And while I was thinking about it,
23 somebody knocked on the door of my flat. So I went there, I said,
24 "Hello." And two soldiers turned up there, decent, and all they said to
25 me was, "Come down stairs, please." And I asked them, "What's this
Page 13969
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Page 13970
1 about? Is it mobilisation or what?" And they said, "come down stairs and
2 you'll find out." And then I asked should any other members of the family
3 come along? They said, "No, only you." So I got ready straight away and
4 I went downstairs into the yard and I saw those two uniformed soldiers
5 moving ahead of me, some 20 metres ahead of me. And one of them turned
6 back and said to me, "You sir, go back to your flat." And I stopped, I
7 was rather lost, but they went on and then I turned and went back to my
8 flat and my wife asks me, "So what happened?" And I told her what I just
9 told you.
10 Q. Very well. So that was the 9th of May, the morning and so on.
11 And did anything else happen that day? Did you stay there in your flat?
12 Did anybody come to disturb you again or what?
13 A. That same day, we could hear, we could still hear how somebody was
14 passing through the yard, some shouts, and a lot of noise, and looking
15 through the window I could see groups of people going in different
16 direction. Here and there I could see uniformed men moving next to them.
17 That is one could feel some excitement, some commotion, a situation which
18 was not normal.
19 Q. Were you -- did you then begin to fear for yourself? Did you know
20 what was going on? Did you take some steps?
21 A. Absolutely. I realised what it could be about, of course I was
22 afraid and I thought about a great many things, about how to save our
23 lives to avoid that the -- to avoid that my family be placed under threat,
24 and to see that my life is not in danger. Naturally.
25 Q. So did you do anything in this regard to make yourself safer to
Page 13971
1 get rid of that fear? Did you do anything?
2 A. Well, listen, I thought how and in what way could I do it? And
3 since in the meantime I'd met Mr. Ivan, Vinko's father, I sort of timidly
4 said, "Ivan, if Vinko could do something, if he is in a position to
5 protect me, to my family somehow, to avoid something," and Ivan said,
6 "Right, I'll try."
7 Q. Can we have the redaction? The witness has mentioned -- the
8 witness has used his name so it needs to be redacted.
9 A. I am sorry.
10 Q. So go slowly but just take care. This has been redacted. Nobody
11 will hear that but let's see that your name or nickname does not appear.
12 So without mentioning your name, go on.
13 A. And as the days went by, this insecurity increased with every day
14 because there were still those groups of people who went around flats, who
15 took people away, who threatened peace. I did not have much opportunity
16 to move around at the time.
17 Q. I think we somehow glossed over what Ivan Martinovic told you.
18 Let's go back to that. You turned to him and asked for help. And what
19 did he say to you?
20 A. He said, "Well I'll do my best. I'll tell Vinko what this is
21 about." And I believe that Vinko will be able to do something for you."
22 Q. Did you believe him? Did you think he was really being sincere or
23 did -- or that he said that only to calm you down?
24 A. Well, you know, I've known him for a long time so, yes, I placed
25 my full trust in them and I expected and knowing Vinko himself, his
Page 13972
1 determination, his readiness to protect me at that moment.
2 Q. Very well. So you stayed in that flat, the days went by, the
3 situation as such as it is. Did anybody else tomorrow could your door?
4 Did you have any -- did you suffer any other unpleasant moments or was it
5 all -- were there any other problems?
6 A. Well, yes, during the next months or so, and it was around half
7 past 9.00 in the evening, and my door bell was rung by individuals, so I
8 opened the door and saw a soldier armed and a civilian with him, and they
9 asked me to see my papers, and my family's papers.
10 Q. Just a moment. So we understand. Who is in the flat? You opened
11 the door. Who was in the flat with you at that time?
12 A. When they came to my flat, my wife, my son, and my grandson were
13 there next to me.
14 Q. And how old was your son then?
15 A. 27.
16 Q. Go on. So they wanted to see your papers?
17 A. I gave them my documentation. They looked at each other, said,
18 "Who else lives here with you?" And I told them, my wife -- I, my wife,
19 my son, daughter-in-law, and the grandson, and they asked, "Then where is
20 your son?" My wife got scared at that moment. As a mother, she
21 thought -- she simply said, "He's gone with Vinko." May I say his name?
22 Yes. "He went with Vinko." And they sort of stopped and said, "Which
23 Vinko?" And my mom said, "Vinko, Stela, Martinovic," and I felt that they
24 looked at one another and a few seconds later, after thinking about it,
25 they gave me my papers back and said, "Sorry," sort of, "We made a
Page 13973
1 mistake."
2 Q. Very well. So they returned your documents. Did they then leave
3 and you closed the door and went back?
4 A. Yes, they left but they also said, "We'll be back."
5 Q. And after that, did you do anything or did you merely wait to see
6 what would happen next?
7 A. Well, you know, after they said, "We'll be back," of course, it is
8 night-time and all that so that I was in some kind of -- and I decided to
9 go to a neighbour who lived next to me and who knew Mr. Vinko Martinovic
10 to ask him to somehow go to his base to let him know, and this young woman
11 went there, she didn't find Vinko, but she found his men there. In the
12 meantime Vinko also returned, so Vinko did not come personally but he did
13 send his men to see what was going on.
14 Q. So your neighbour went there, she found Vinko, and he sent
15 soldiers. Are you sure that it was he who sent those soldiers?
16 A. Yes, because those soldiers are my acquaintances.
17 Q. And did they tell you that Vinko had sent them to you?
18 A. Yes. They said, "Vinko can't come right now but we could," so
19 they stayed at our place for about one hour and interviewed because I
20 could recognise those people how they were dressed and really did not know
21 those men, so I could not tell them about that but they said, "There will
22 be no problem. We shall let Vinko -- we shall report it to Vinko and we
23 shall also pay you frequent visits so that you feel that we are helping
24 you so that you feel more secure and" ...
25 Q. And is that how it was?
Page 13974
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And was it like that all the time?
3 A. Well, you know, as time went by I joined the civilian defence
4 units and then I had the opportunity of meeting Mr. Vinko himself, and in
5 short conversations, I could tell him in case, because Vinko was always
6 very forthcoming and he talked with me and it meant a great deal to me at
7 the time, because even a nice greeting was also a major prize, and he was
8 always ready for that and yes.
9 Q. Very well. Can you tell us about one of those conversations with
10 Vinko? What does he ask you? How is it? How can we see that he's
11 looking after you? Can you tell us about it in your words? Can you
12 recount one of these conversations?
13 A. Well, listen, when he asks you, "Well, how are you, any problems?
14 How is your security? How did you live? Enough food? Because at that
15 time it was critical even to get by some food or cigarettes and Vinko was
16 always ready to either from his mother or from his folk to simply halve
17 their ration and then bring to my family and give me a package or a carton
18 of cigarettes. And that was major help at the time.
19 Q. Yes. I can understand that. So he helped you even where supplies
20 were concerned, cigarettes and that?
21 A. Yes, yes.
22 Q. Tell this Court, in that situation, what did it mean to you? Did
23 you feel different owing to that, differently than before?
24 A. Well, you know, it meant a return to life because when you are
25 helpless and then somebody turns up who guarantees -- well, not
Page 13975
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Page 13976
1 guarantees, but guarantees and approaches you in this way, that is
2 something completely different. You start living again because that was a
3 time of such depression and all that, I -- and many things, when you start
4 thinking about them, are simply hopeless.
5 Q. But tell us, please, how is that Vinko guaranteed? What was he
6 that he could protect you, to help you feel safe? Where did you see that
7 he could give you this security and make you believe it?
8 A. Well, to begin with, Vinko was a soldier, a uniformed soldier.
9 Secondly, I know his determination, and his readiness because I know him,
10 that he is even ready to physically oppose somebody at a given moment.
11 Q. So this was his -- how he treated you and your family. Do you
12 know perhaps, how he treated other Bosniaks, other Muslims, at the time?
13 A. In the area in which I lived, there were many Muslims. I never
14 heard from anyone of them, I mean from my nearest neighbours, that they
15 held any grudge against Vinko, that they had any objections to Vinko's
16 behaviour. They simply had no knowledge of any things that would be wrong
17 with Vinko.
18 Q. Well, and did you hear perhaps if somebody said how he'd been
19 helped by him?
20 A. I've heard it, yes, I heard it from a number of people who say,
21 thanks be to him. He has done it, just as I say, he did me a favour for
22 my family, yes, there are such people.
23 Q. Did you hear -- did you ever see Vinko persecute anyone, a family,
24 a Muslim family from the area?
25 A. I used to see Vinko often in my area, but that I did not see.
Page 13977
1 That I did not see.
2 Q. Did you see his soldiers evicting somebody, persecuting? Did you
3 see them doing that?
4 A. No, even though I know individual soldiers of his but, no, they
5 didn't.
6 Q. How is it that you know his soldiers?
7 A. Well, you know, they are also lads from the neighbourhood, just as
8 I knew Vinko I knew a few of them because they were my son's peers and
9 naturally they palled up and of course I knew them.
10 Q. All right. Tell me, did you hear stories about how Vinko
11 persecuted, Bosniaks, Muslims? Did you ever hear those stories?
12 A. Why, yes, I did, I heard them.
13 Q. And did you check those stories? Do you know if they are true or
14 not?
15 A. Well, they were things when -- I mean, to my mind, they are not
16 true.
17 Q. What does it mean, "to your mind"?
18 A. Well, I mean because I know, and I didn't see, and many neighbours
19 say that Vinko did not do it, that is that their not true, then I have no
20 reason to say that that was so when it wasn't.
21 Q. And did you perhaps hear those stories saying how various criminal
22 groups impersonated his men, how they said that they had his orders? Did
23 you hear anything about that?
24 A. Yes, I heard it, I heard from some neighbours. I also think that
25 there were such groups who, on behalf or rather in the name of Mr. Vinko,
Page 13978
1 who misrepresented themselves, yes, my nearest neighbours said that.
2 Q. At that time, therefore, so you enjoyed some protection, and
3 you're living here and time goes by and as far as I understand, you joined
4 the civil defence. Now, what is it? What kind of duties did you perform?
5 A. Well, the duty of the civil defence was the reception of the
6 humanitarian aid, its storage and its distribution.
7 Q. Can you now tell us how was this humanitarian relief distributed?
8 Was any distinction drawn between Croats, Muslims?
9 A. When the war broke out between -- with Serbs, every family was
10 given its personal card, noting down -- recording the number of members of
11 the family, and that is -- and on the basis of these cards, people
12 received packages, and there was no distinction. All of us, Croats and
13 Muslims and Serbs, received those packages, all of us who were there.
14 Q. And that civil defence, did Ivan Martinovic -- was in the civil
15 defence with you?
16 A. Yes, we were together from the beginning to the end.
17 Q. How did he behave? How did he treat Muslims that -- you were in
18 daily contact? Was there some difference as against the period before the
19 war with Muslims?
20 A. Well, listen in those units, there were Serbs and Muslims and
21 Croats. Mr. -- may I mention his name?
22 Q. Yes.
23 A. Mr. Ivan very correctly with great dignity, and very humanely
24 treated everybody equally. I never noticed that somebody enjoyed more
25 rights or more privileges than I did or more access to him or somebody.
Page 13979
1 To him, everybody was equal.
2 Q. Tell me, we are coming to the end of my examination, I only have a
3 few more questions left, could you tell us what your situation is now as a
4 Muslim in that part of Mostar? Do you still feel insecure? Do you suffer
5 any other sort of pressure because you're a Muslim living in that mainly
6 Croatian neighbourhood?
7 A. As regards physical insecurity, I have no problems with that. My
8 only insecurity is financial insecurity. I am unemployed. There are four
9 of us in the family. And that's my only problem. And that is the biggest
10 source of anxiety for my family and myself.
11 Q. Your other neighbours, Croats, do they have the same problems or
12 do you have these problems because you're a Muslim? How do you see that?
13 A. There are such problems but perhaps to a lesser extent. When the
14 conflict broke out, Muslims lost their jobs, and now because the economy
15 has been destroyed, it's very hard. Some people remained there but there
16 is no discrimination. There are others -- I mean them, who are in the
17 same position as me.
18 Q. Witness, I have no further questions for you. Thank you very
19 much.
20 JUDGE LIU: Yes, cross-examination, Mr. Bos?
21 Cross-examined by Mr. Bos:
22 Q. Good evening, Witness MB. My name is Roland Bos for the
23 Prosecution and I will ask you some questions.
24 A. Good afternoon.
25 Q. Witness MB, let me start by asking, you've said that there were
Page 13980
1 other Muslims in the neighbourhood where you lived who said that they were
2 also protected by Mr. Martinovic. Could you give me, please, the names of
3 these persons and if necessary we can go into private session.
4 We will go into private session, I think.
5 JUDGE LIU: Yes, we will go to the private session, please.
6 [Private session]
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20 [Open session]
21 MR. BOS: I'm moving to another topic. I can try to do it in four
22 minutes but it may exceed so maybe this is a good time to break.
23 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Par?
24 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] I also suggest that we break now and
25 that I use the four minutes to tell you about the witnesses we have
Page 13983
1 planned for tomorrow, and also to tender some documents.
2 JUDGE LIU: Yes. Mr. Usher, would you please show the witness out
3 of the room after you pull down the blinds?
4 Well, Witness, during your stay in The Hague, please do not talk
5 to anybody and do not let anybody talk to you about your testimony. Do
6 you understand that?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, yes.
8 JUDGE LIU: You are still under the oath.
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I understand.
10 JUDGE LIU: Thank you very much.
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you too. Thank you.
12 JUDGE LIU: See you tomorrow.
13 [The witness stands down]
14 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Par?
15 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] Mr. President, we are trying to adhere
16 to the order we gave you, so that tomorrow we envisage the continuation of
17 this testimony. That's witness number 3. Then we intend to call and
18 possibly complete witness number 4. If there is time left, we shall bring
19 in witness 6 and not witness 5. That is our plan. If we can complete all
20 this tomorrow, there will be one witness left for Monday. And that would
21 be witness number 5. We have another group of witnesses arriving on
22 Sunday and these are the four witnesses -- I can provide their names if
23 our learned friends do not already have them. And we hope that we will be
24 able to continue calling the witnesses in the order we announced. Thank
25 you.
Page 13984
1 JUDGE LIU: Well, thank you very much for your information. I'm
2 so glad that we pick up some speed for those witnesses.
3 As for -- we have many witnesses who testified almost the same
4 thing. So I believe that we could speed up a little bit. But
5 unfortunately, this week, we could not finish all five witnesses. At
6 most, we will finish four witnesses tomorrow.
7 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] We plan to continue examining these
8 witnesses in the same way as this witness. The same goes for the next
9 group of witnesses. So the time will be roughly the same for each
10 witness.
11 JUDGE LIU: Thank you very much. How about the documents you are
12 going to tender?
13 MR. PAR: [Interpretation] We have no documents with these groups
14 of witnesses. We will not tender any documents except perhaps maps.
15 JUDGE LIU: Thank you.
16 So I think we have to rise until tomorrow afternoon in Courtroom
17 II.
18 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at
19 7.00 p.m., to be reconvened on Friday,
20 the 19th day of July, 2002, at 2.15 p.m.
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