The Trial Chamber of the Court of BiH pronounced the first instance acquittal verdict to the war commander of the Army of RBiH Naser Oric and a member of the Army Sabahudin Muhic, who were indicted for crimes against prisoners of war in Bratunac and Srebrenica in the year of 1992 or for alleged crimes committed in villages Zalazje, Lolici and Kunjerac.
According to the indictment, Oric, then commander, and Muhic, a member of the Army of the RBiH, killed three captives of Serbian nationality in 1992, in villages Zalazje, Lolici and Kunjerac.
During the two-year trial, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH invited four experts to present their findings and heard 14 witnesses, including one protected witness(O-1) who said that he saw Naser Oric killing three prisoners. They submitted some material evidence as well. On the other hand, the Defense of Oric and Muhic completely denied the allegations of the indictment with 18 witness testimonies, as well as with material evidence.
The Defense of Naser Oric focused on the credibility of the protected witness O-1, and informed the Court of BiH that the witness was legally convicted of false reporting, fraud, abuse of rights and social security, etc.
The judge, among others, stated that the testimonies of witnesses were quite different. The testimony of a protected witness was inconsistent since he gave different statements in 2003 and 2014.
To recall, Naser Oric was arrested on June 10, 2015, at the border of France and Switzerland on the request of Serbia, for war crimes committed in the village of Zalazje near Srebrenica. Serbia and BiH both sent their requests for his extradition. He was extradited to BiH, after which prohibitive measures were imposed by the Court of BiH and Oric defended himself from liberty.
(Source: S. H./Klix.ba)
