At the trial for the crimes near Gorazde, on May 22nd, 1992, witnesses of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina(BiH) recalled the suffering of civilians in the village of Lozje.
Edin Culov told how in May 1992, at the persuasion of his father, he left his village of Lozje, also called Kokino Selo(village), and went to Kopaci.
“They didn’t shoot at us, but they shot at other parts of the town… My father told me: ‘You have to go with me. If you don’t want to, then die with your comrades,'” recalled Culov.
He said that on May 22nd, from Prseska kosa, he watched the attack on Lozje with binoculars, where they looted and burned houses. He stated that his brother and grandmother were wounded in the village, and that seven of his comrades were killed, whose bodies he saw massacred.
Misko, as the witness calls the first accused Branislav Lasica, was his neighbor with whom he grew up. Culov pointed out that Lasica was the commander and that when they returned to the area in mid-August 1992, he found his diary in the stream –thrown away. He said that he examined that diary, and then handed it over to the Military Police.
When asked by the Defense how he knew that Lasica was the commander and that it was his diary, the witness said that he did not remember exactly, but he thought that it had his name on it and that it was his handwriting.
Culov mentioned that, upon his return to Lozje, he found his belongings in the houses of some Serbian neighbors.
Branislav Lasica and Miroslav Milovic are accused of commanding and participating in the attack on Lozje, during which around 30 people were killed, as commanders of units of the Republika Srpska (RS) Army. It was stated that among the victims were mostly civilians – including women, children and the elderly – and that dozens of people were taken and detained, and that property was destroyed or appropriated.
Witness Haris Duhovic said that on May 22nd, strong detonations and gunfire were heard, and that he started running towards the Drina.
While running away, he saw that one woman was killed and several people were wounded, the witness confirmed. He managed to escape, and later found out that a grave had been found with the bodies of people who had been shot, Duhovicsaid. He told that his uncle Ibrahim Duhovic was never found.
The trial continues on November 15th, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
