Trial of RS Krajina Soldiers Continues

The trial of Pani Bulat and Rade Vranesevic, former Republika Srpska Krajina soldiers charged with the murder of six Croat civilians, will continue on Friday in Belgrade.

Bulat, deputy commander for security for the second battalion in the Army of Republika Srpska Krajina during the war, and Vranesevic, a former soldier from the same battalion, are indicted for the murder of six people in Croatia in 1992 in the city of Banski Kovacevci.

The victims ranged in age from 63 to 81 years old at the time of their death. After they were killed, their bodies were thrown into a well that was then blown up, according to the indictment.

The indictment was issued in April 2008 and the trial started in September the same year.  

The cantonal court in Karlovac, Croatia, started an investigation of the two men after the war, but both were residing in Serbia at that time. In accordance with an existing agreement between the two states, their case was transferred to the Special War Crimes Prosecution Office in Belgrade.

According to a trial monitoring report by the Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade, in the very beginning of the process, both indictees were called to testify. Their testimonies of the details of the crime differed significantly, from the time the crime was committed to the number of victims.

Some of the witnesses that have been called upon are former soldiers who served in the same battalion as the indictees.