TRIAL OF SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL MOMIR SAVIC TO CONTINUE TOMORROW IN SARAJEVO

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (August 13,2008) - The indictment was read yesterday and the Prosecution and Defence presented introductory arguments in the trial of Serbian war criminal Momir Savic before the Bosnian State Court for war crimes committed in the Visegrad area in 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Serbian war criminal Momir Savic is accused of persecution, murder and rape of Bosnian civilians in the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad. He is alleged to have been a member of the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's formations.

Bosnian State Prosecutor Adnan Gulamovic said he would examine 33 witnesses and present 82 pieces of material evidence. He said the evidence would confirm the allegations contained in the indictment.

The Defence will seek to prove that Serbian war criminal Momir Savic never participated in persecution, forcible resettlement, murder or rape of Bosnian civilians in the Visegrad area,during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The indictment states that Serbian war criminal Momir Savic participated on several occasions in torture of unlowfully detained Bosnian civilians in Visegrad. He is also accused of false arrest, pillage and murder, and he is charged with having raped a Bosnian woman several times between June and September 1992.

The Bosnian State Prosecution alleges that Serbian war criminal Momir Savic and other members of the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's formations took 10 Bosnian civilians from their homes in the Drinsko settlement, tortured them and then murdered them in Pusin do forest in May 1992.

The Prosecution said it had documents to prove the indictee's wartime status, and other evidence to support witnesses’ statements.

The Defence denied all the allegations in the indictment and questioned the credibility of Prosecution witnesses.

"Twenty-two, out of 33, Prosecution witnesses, know the indictee by sight or do not know him at all. Those who do know him have not confirmed that he committed the crimes described in the indictment," attorney Dragan Medjovic, said, arguing that it is absurd to have witnesses who have never seen the indictee accuse him of grave crimes.

Medjovic said that during the trial he would show that his client "kept numerous Bosnian civilians from being murdered and helped them safely leave Drinsko village", and that he had to leave Visegrad in early 1993 because of that.

The first prosecution witnesses will be examined on Thursday,August 14.
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