Page 2497
1 Tuesday, 20 February 2007
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 [The witness entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 9.01 a.m.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Tapuskovic, please continue your
7 cross-examination. Can I have an indication, Mr. Tapuskovic, of how long
8 you will be?
9 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I thank you for
10 giving me the floor. Yesterday afternoon and this morning, I used my time
11 to keep cutting back my questions, and I think I will take a lot less time
12 to complete my cross-examination than the Prosecutor originally took to
13 examine the witness in chief.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Proceed.
15 WITNESS: WITNESS W-137 [Resumed]
16 [Witness answered through interpreter]
17 Cross-examination by Mr. Tapuskovic: [Continued]
18 Q. [Interpretation] Witness, sir, yesterday the last thing we spoke
19 about was the UNPROFOR report dated the 18th of June. Some other
20 questions related to that report before I tender the document as a Defence
21 exhibit.
22 Is it true what the report says, that the UNMOs were not allowed
23 to visit the hospitals since the 15th of June, 1995? Is this true, sir?
24 A. I know nothing about any ban on UNMOs visiting hospitals. It's
25 the very first I hear of it, sir.
Page 2498
1 Q. It's not me claiming it. It's the UNMO report. It's the UNPROFOR
2 report; it's the UNPROFOR people who are claiming this, not me.
3 A. First I hear of it, as I said before.
4 JUDGE ROBINSON: He said he knows nothing about it, so please move
5 on.
6 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
7 Q. Can you confirm that the BH army offensive, along all
8 confrontation lines, got off the ground on the 15th of June? Can you
9 confirm that, sir?
10 A. No, I can't confirm that. I didn't deal with things like that.
11 My job was an entirely different one.
12 MR. SACHDEVA: Excuse me, Mr. President. I just want to ensure
13 that counsel turns off his microphone when the witness is answering.
14 That's all.
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: I believe there is a system in place for it to be
16 turned off automatically, is there not?
17 [Trial Chamber and registrar confer]
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: I understand the primary control remains with
19 counsel, although the AV booth can override. So it is your
20 responsibility, Mr. Tapuskovic, to turn off the mic when you're not
21 speaking.
22 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
23 Q. Witness, I'm putting it to you that that was not allowed because,
24 for the most part, victims of the armed conflict were in hospitals?
25 A. Victims of the armed conflict in Sarajevo, as never before in
Page 2499
1 history, were for the most part civilians. The greatest number of
2 casualties was among the civilian population, and that's the extent of my
3 knowledge.
4 Q. Given the fact that you conducted an investigation of the Simone
5 Bolivar school incident, you must know that on this particular occasion
6 UNPROFOR were granted permission to access the hospital and inspect the
7 victims of the June 18th incident.
8 A. As for this permission or the fact that they went there and
9 inspected the victims, I know nothing about that. We had nothing to do
10 with that. We just determined the equipment and the weapons used and the
11 azimuth; that is, where the shells were coming from.
12 Q. Thank you.
13 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Can 65 ter document 00532 please
14 be admitted as a Defence exhibit. Thank you.
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
16 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit D73, Your Honours.
17 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
18 Q. Witness, sir, yesterday I showed you 65 ter document 113. This is
19 an official report. I read back to you the following portion: "All the
20 evidence found was preserved and photographed. The scene of crime was
21 sketched and photographed."
22 Is that true?
23 A. Yes. I saw many of those sketches and photographs.
24 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Could we please have photograph
25 P257 brought up for the benefit of the witness.
Page 2500
1 Q. These are the two photographs that the Prosecutor showed you
2 yesterday.
3 A. Indeed.
4 Q. Is it true that in this first photograph you marked the spot, the
5 exact point of impact of the projectile, and then the shrapnel flew back
6 towards the positions that you marked hitting a considerable number of
7 people, blowing their heads off. Many of them were killed and some were
8 seriously wounded. Isn't that right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Look at this place, sir. There's some white surface there,
11 something white on the ground. I see some glasses. Could that possibly
12 be paper, sheets of paper? There is not a single blood-mark in this
13 place. Can you explain that, sir?
14 A. Whenever you had mass murder and massacres, blood-marks would be
15 removed once the investigation was over, or maybe it had to be removed for
16 the traces of the shell to be identified. So this is no paper and no
17 paper sheets. This is light coming from outside. And these are not
18 buckets; these are jerrycans that people used to fetch water.
19 Q. Therefore, you are saying that did you not take any photographs of
20 those persons as you found them, nor did you take any photographs of the
21 horror that you found, having arrived at the scene.
22 A. I found a lot of blood and body parts before they were removed,
23 but the victims themselves were removed before my arrival. I did not take
24 any photographs myself. I wasn't the one using the camera. I don't know
25 how many photos were taken or who took them, but it was a team from the
Page 2501
1 security services centre who were performing this on-site investigation
2 along with our team.
3 Q. You say that when you arrived there were no blood-marks or human
4 bodies for that matter, were there?
5 A. Yes, there were. It was cleaned up the first time around. Most
6 of it was cleaned up in the first go, so to speak, same as was the case at
7 Markale. They tried to remove the bodies, but some blood-marks always
8 remained.
9 Q. At Markale, even those people who were killed were taken away
10 immediately. Their bodies were removed; right?
11 A. Yes. There were a lot of cars, mostly Golf vehicles with their
12 boots open. Bodies were placed inside, two or three bodies at a time, and
13 they were taken away as soon as possible, or taken to the clinical centre
14 if they were still to be treated. Those collecting the bodies were never
15 entirely certain whether a body was dead or still alive. They just picked
16 up the bodies as quickly as they could, all of them.
17 Q. At any rate, can you confirm that at the time this occurred on the
18 18th of June, the school as such had not been operating in that building
19 for a long time. There were no children there. Can you confirm that?
20 A. Yes, because right at the outset of the war, the aggressor bombed
21 the school deliberately and used incendiary devices on the school. Not
22 just this one, another school at Dobrinja as well. One was further to the
23 west and the other was further to the east.
24 Q. Do you know who removed the blood-marks so that we perhaps might
25 be able to identify witnesses?
Page 2502
1 A. I don't know, but I assume that, as is normally the case, it was
2 the people who ran over to help, the people who took away the bodies.
3 There someone -- there someone fetches some water and they try to clean up
4 and remove the blood-marks. It's a perfectly normal, natural human
5 reaction.
6 Q. In your statement, Official Note, which shows that you were
7 involved --
8 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Can 65 ter document D13 please be
9 shown. It's an official report. D13. I have to go back to that report,
10 Your Honours, after what I've just heard. Yes, that's the one.
11 Q. There, sir, the second-to-last paragraph, the previous one
12 says: "The UNMOs were informed about the incident and they did not
13 inspect the scene."
14 Is that right?
15 A. Yes. We said yesterday they came two hours later and they
16 strongly objected about us doing anything. They said we were supposed to
17 wait for them. If we'd waited for them all the time, we'd probably no
18 longer be alive.
19 Q. Next paragraph, and that's the reason I'm going back to this. You
20 say: "The crime scene was secured by Sarajlija Hasan and Fuad Begic,
21 members of the police."
22 Is that true, sir?
23 A. They are police officers, members of the security services centre
24 of Novi Grad, and they were the closest to the scene and they could secure
25 it and inspect it. The Novi Grad police building was two buildings away
Page 2503
1 from the actual crime scene, and this was part of Dobrinja, in purely
2 administrative terms.
3 Q. Can you explain to the Chamber how anyone at all was allowed to
4 touch any evidence that was found at the site, such as blood-marks and the
5 great number of people who were killed and injured there, since these
6 people were securing the scene, as you say? Especially washing away the
7 blood-marks - blood-marks, probably the single most important piece of
8 evidence to be secured at any crime scene.
9 A. I really don't know how to reply. There was a huge shock, human
10 bodies blown to bits. Now to imagine that someone was to keep in mind
11 things such as preserving evidence, not washing away the blood, keeping it
12 just for all the world to see what we had been made to go through. Well,
13 that spells a huge offence to the honour of the victims themselves.
14 That's at least what I think.
15 Q. The Prosecutor refrained from showing photographs of any dead
16 bodies yesterday in order to avoid causing shock. I think that was
17 entirely justified. However, those photographs were taken at the morgue;
18 right?
19 A. Yes, I think the photographs were taken where the bodies were
20 being held.
21 Q. Nobody clicked a camera; nobody took a single photograph at the
22 actual site, did they?
23 A. I had nothing to do with the photographs. I didn't see anyone
24 taking photographs. My job was a different one.
25 Q. You say that your team did the sort of job that is normally done
Page 2504
1 in cases like these; right?
2 A. Whatever investigators do at a crime scene is always an error. If
3 they photograph dead bodies at a crime scene, they're accused of
4 photographing dummies that were made to look like dead bodies. If the
5 bodies were taken away, why were they taken away. If the blood-marks are
6 washed away, why are they washed away. Why is there 12 litres of blood
7 only? Why is there not only as much as -- as many as 5 litres.
8 So what you're suggesting very much like sounds like causing
9 offence to the honour of the dead victims to me, sir. Let me suggest
10 that.
11 Q. I was pursuing my line of work throughout the war. I was greatly
12 affected by the sufferings of the people of that country. But you have to
13 explain some things. Those investigating the crimes should do what is
14 necessary so that now this Court could reach a judgement that would be
15 reasonable and justified. That's all I am asking you about.
16 A. I can only tell you what I did. I can only speak on my behalf. I
17 was highly professional in doing my job. We determined the equipment and
18 the kind of weapon used in each of the incidents that we handled; the
19 point of impact, the angle of descent. Whatever happened to be our job,
20 we did it in a highly professional manner. As for this UNPROFOR report,
21 it's not true that they removed any evidence. The wall that the shell hit
22 remained there for years, completely intact.
23 The next day, in 10 days, in 15 days, you could always go back and
24 check where the shell had come from as well as the direction stated in the
25 report. Whatever is in that report is just so, so, biased that I would be
Page 2505
1 hard put to identify a single report that I've seen in my life that was
2 less competent and more biased.
3 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreter's note: Could the speakers kindly
4 be reminded to observe a pause between questions an answers and also,
5 please, to slow down for the benefit of the record. Thank you.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: I will remind them.
7 Did you hear that? The interpreter is asking you to slow down.
8 You are speaking too fast and you're overlapping. You must observe a
9 pause between question and answer.
10 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I keep in mind the
11 instructions received from His Honour Judge Mindua. I wait for the last
12 letter on the screen to appear before I ask my question. So this time
13 it's not my fault, thanks to the instructions previously received from His
14 Honour Judge Mindua. If the witness is speaking fast, I think he is the
15 one who should be cautioned and told to slow down.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Let's move on.
17 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
18 Q. Witness, all of this happened on that spot on that same day. Was
19 it not the case, in fact, that same day Sarajevo and the entire world
20 watched a school get hit on their TV screens; people being killed, over 20
21 people being killed? Everybody knew. This piece of news was broken to
22 everybody that a great crime had taken place and this was something that
23 had been done by the Serbs.
24 A. Yes, I think so. Even on our TV it was said that the shell had
25 arrived from Lukavica. It was not true. That was erroneous. That was an
Page 2506
1 error made by the journalists. After the evening news, the next day, I
2 went there again. I conducted an analysis again, once again to ascertain
3 the facts. However, the news of this horrible crime went around the
4 world, and rightly so, I would say.
5 Q. Witness, can we please have a look at 65 ter 533. This is another
6 UNPROFOR report in relation to Sarajevo.
7 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] There is no B/C/S translation of
8 this document. I would like to have page 2 of the English.
9 Q. I have a translation and I will read it to you. Page 2, indeed.
10 Do you see that witness? All right. You don't speak English, or do you?
11 A. It's fine. I'm sure that we'll have no trouble understanding each
12 other. Just cite the relevant portion and zoom in.
13 Q. I don't know. I have to translate this into B/C/S. But the
14 passage marked as "A," halfway down the passage, the first word of the
15 relative portion is "Total" Can you see that? Can you see that?
16 A. Halfway through?
17 Q. Yes. The sentence begins with the following words.
18 A. "The Sarajevo airport was opened shortly today ..."
19 Q. No. Take the word "Total." There were a total of -- but you
20 don't speak English, so that's why I am reading from the B/C/S
21 copy. "There were also a total of 305 explosions."
22 Can you see, sir? It reads: "There were also a total of 305
23 explosions reported." Can you see that? "Most in the areas of Igman,
24 Butmir, Osijek airport, Ilidza, Nedzarici," and a number, "the 18th of
25 June, 1995. A 120-millimetre mortar shell impacted in Dobrinja in an area
Page 2507
1 where civilians were collecting water, killing seven civilians and
2 wounding 11."
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Has the witness found it? It's near the top.
4 It's actually the second sentence in paragraph A, or the third sentence in
5 paragraph A.
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I see it. "A 120-millimetre shell
7 impacted in Dobrinja in an area where civilians were collected water.
8 Seven civilians were killed ..." and so on and so forth. I see the
9 sentence. "The Sarajevo airport was opened shortly today to allow a
10 French soldier ..." I see that.
11 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
12 Q. I read that. Is that what it says? This is a report dated the
13 18th.
14 A. We all see that that is what it says.
15 Q. Is that true, what it says? That's what I'm asking.
16 A. I can't confirm. I have no knowledge of that. I'm under oath. I
17 can't just extemporise. I'm not sure if this many shells fell on these
18 areas. I don't have accurate information indicating that and I simply
19 can't say. Simple answer: I don't know.
20 Q. What about this bit about the shell hitting the school at
21 Dobrinja? You can confirm that, can't you? "... in an area where
22 civilians were collecting water. Seven civilians were killed and 11
23 wounded." That's what the report says, and it's dated the 18th. Is that
24 right?
25 A. I don't see the date of the report. Perhaps it's somewhere at the
Page 2508
1 top of the page. If everybody else can see it, then that's all right, I
2 suppose. That's what it says, but that's as far as I can go.
3 Q. Can you please look at page 1 of that document.
4 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Can that please be shown to the
5 witness.
6 Q. You see the date is the 18th; right?
7 A. It says "2359B, June 95." Is that it? Is that what you mean?
8 Q. Yes, that's what I mean.
9 A. It's a very weird method of writing down a date. "182395BJUN95,"
10 never seen a thing like that in my life.
11 Q. You can't say whether it's the 18th of June, can you? And you do
12 speak English, or at least that's what you claim.
13 A. I have never before set eyes on this document. It says page 201
14 in the upper right corner, and then the 19th of June, 1995. That's what
15 it says, not the 18th, in the upper right corner of the page. There,
16 right there, the bit that is zoomed in.
17 Q. If you look further down the page, there's talk of the 18th there.
18 A. Yes, but it says, "Date: 182359B June 95." It's a code that they
19 used. I can't comment on it. I have never seen a date written down like
20 this.
21 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I don't want to
22 waste any more time. I need your assistance here. I don't know how to
23 proceed in this situation. The witness disagrees in a certain way that
24 this is the 18th of June.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: I don't think he disagrees. He just says that he
Page 2509
1 is not familiar with that way of writing the date. But what is the
2 question that you want to put to him?
3 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] My question was:
4 Q. First, the UNPROFOR report that I showed you yesterday, dated the
5 19th, you completely disagree with it.
6 A. It was totally incompetent.
7 Q. This report was dated the 18th, before the UNPROFOR report that
8 you disagree with was prepared. Now, what I would like to present to you
9 is on pages 6 and 7 of this report that you have in front of you.
10 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes, that's the page.
11 Q. Can you see it, where it says "UNPROFOR ..." first, second, third,
12 fourth, fifth -- please look at paragraph 6, and I'm going to read it out
13 to you.
14 "Bosnian media reported that as many as nine civilians were killed
15 and 16 were injured in the Dobrinja area when two BSA shells impacted
16 where they had gathered to collect water. UNMOs were able to confirm that
17 seven were killed in the incident and were informed that there were ten
18 wounded. (UNMOs are still unable to have free access to hospitals given
19 present BiH restrictions). In reaction to the shelling, Bosnian Prime
20 Minister Silajdzic reportedly stated his intention to once again press to
21 have the armed embargo lifted."
22 Is that what it says here? And can you confirm what we just said
23 a while ago that the Bosnian media took this course of action and that
24 Silajdzic made this statement publicly?
25 A. At the moment I don't know anything about this kind of statement
Page 2510
1 given by Mr. Silajdzic, but I do know that he repeatedly said that the
2 arms embargo should be lifted from Bosnia-Herzegovina, the arms embargo,
3 that is, because we were the only ones subjected to these embargoes. For
4 four years we were disarmed an attacked. By this, he wanted to emphasise
5 the right to self-defence, which is a primary right which overrides all
6 other rights. Every tree has a right to defend itself from insect. Every
7 animal has a right to self-defence. Why shouldn't a human being have it?
8 That is as far as self-defence is concerned.
9 Concerning the media, they often portray distorted pictures. I
10 told you that on the news that night it was said that the shell had come
11 from Lukavica, that is, from the west, and that was wrong information.
12 The shell had come from the east -- I apologise, from north-west, and the
13 UNPROFOR report that you refer to denies itself in the sentence where it
14 says that the shell had probably come from the west or from north-west.
15 This kind of ambiguity is totally unacceptable when it comes to a serious
16 UNMO officer's report. For that reason, I don't take this report to be a
17 relative piece of evidence.
18 Q. At this point in time, after everything you said about the
19 direction from which the shell had come, I'm not going to ask you any
20 further questions. In my view, this should be done by somebody who had
21 more expertise than you.
22 But I would like to ask you and suggest to you --
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: Just proceed to do your job. Leave out the
24 comments.
25 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] You're right.
Page 2511
1 Q. And my suggestion is that there were no seven people killed in
2 this incident, nor 20, as originally reported, injured people, as it is
3 stated in the report. I put it to you that this is not true, and I would
4 kindly ask you to tell me what you think about this.
5 A. There is a saying in Bosnia about this war which says that all
6 shells that did not kill or wound anyone were fired by the Serbs. All the
7 shells that killed people and maimed people were fired by the Bosnians.
8 This is a paradox and this was part of the crime and part of the pattern
9 of this war of intimidation. However, all the denials relating to victims
10 I personally deeply feel as being offensive and something that kills these
11 people for the second time. I deeply believe in that, and I'm very sorry
12 that we didn't see these photographs yesterday, because that was something
13 that occurred on a daily basis.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: In future, I want shorter answers from you,
15 Witness.
16 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
17 Q. Can you confirm the fact that the photographs were taken in the
18 morgue rather than on the scene where they were allegedly killed?
19 A. I'm telling you for the sixth time that I know nothing about who
20 took the photographs, what was photographed, et cetera. I had nothing to
21 do with that.
22 Q. Are you saying that the Prosecutor was wrong yesterday for
23 suggesting that we do not look at these photographs from the morgue?
24 A. I think we would have grasped the situation better and understood
25 what actually happened had we emotionally travelled back in time and seen
Page 2512
1 these photographs.
2 Q. At any rate, after all this, these casualties were presented and
3 portrayed in the world as victims of the Serb shells; is that right?
4 A. Yes, it is.
5 Q. Thank you. I have no further questions regarding this document.
6 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] And I move that 65 ter 533 be
7 admitted into evidence as a Defence exhibit.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, we admit it.
9 THE REGISTRAR: As D74, Your Honours.
10 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. A respectable officer of NATO, General Nicolai, has been examined
12 here in this courtroom and, according to the transcript, page 1004, line
13 13, he confirmed the following, and I'm going read it out to you. It read
14 as follows:
15 "One of the examples of the attitude taken by the Bosnians was
16 when Minister Muratovic complained about the sniping of the water
17 distribution point and requested protection from the UN. When I asked him
18 where this point was, my interpreter explained to me that it was on the
19 Square of Heroes, near the confrontation line, and it is completely
20 visible to the VRS. I said to Muratovic that in that way sniper
21 activities could be provoked, and suggested to him that this point be
22 moved to a safer location."
23 Now, my question to you is: Did you know about these tactics
24 pursued by your minister, because at the time you were employed with the
25 Ministry of the Interior, which was conducive to provoking sniper
Page 2513
1 activities?
2 A. I'm sorry --
3 THE REGISTRAR: I'm sorry for the interruption, but I've been
4 notified by the AV booth again that counsel's microphone is not being
5 turned off on a regular basis. It might also be helpful to suggest to the
6 witness that he not speak if he sees that the red light of counsel's
7 microphone is on.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Tapuskovic, you must turn your mic off when
9 you're not speaking because the witness is a protected witness.
10 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Has everything that I've said
11 been recorded?
12 Q. So can you confirm that your superior pursued these kind of
13 tactics and that he had been first warned about it by UNPROFOR and then --
14 do you know anything about that?
15 A. I believe that this is a very cynical interpretation of the
16 situation in which civilians, by the very fact they existed and needed
17 water to survive, irritated sharp-shooters. What were the snipers doing
18 there? They were just sitting there and shooting randomly at densely
19 populated places, and 90 per cent of the civilians were killed by them. I
20 was wounded by a sniper to my leg. Luckily there were no serious
21 consequences. And that was the place where the sharp-shooter was active
22 all the time in order to sever Dobrinja from the rest of Sarajevo.
23 Whatever was moving, an old man, a woman, a child, was the target. Anyone
24 showing any signs of life --
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you. Next question, please.
Page 2514
1 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. I'm asking you straightforwardly, did the BiH army fire from such
3 positions as to provoke the activity of the VRS that was obliged to
4 protect their men and fighters? There were civilians there as well.
5 MR. SACHDEVA: Mr. President.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Sachdeva.
7 MR. SACHDEVA: I'm sorry, but I don't know how the witness is able
8 to answer that. He was not in the military; he was in the police during
9 the time of the indictment.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, let us hear his answer.
11 Short answer. What's your answer to the question?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, I can answer. It was
13 technically impossible for Minister Muratovic to say or determine how
14 water was to be fetched and how the people should behave there. Had he
15 given such an order, nobody would have folded. So these collection points
16 were part of their right to life, and even that was being -- tried to be
17 taken away from people in Sarajevo.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, just try to answer the question as
19 straightforwardly as possible. The question was: Did the BiH army fire
20 from such positions to provoke the activity of the VRS? And what is the
21 answer to that?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Not at all. It was impossible.
23 That's an insane idea.
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Next question.
25 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 2515
1 Q. Can you tell me, on that day were this fierce fighting from both
2 sides during this offensive in those days? We are talking about the 18th
3 of June. Was there intense activity on both sides, on both warring sides,
4 that they were firing from heavy artillery?
5 A. I cannot confirm that because I really don't remember.
6 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I wanted to present something to
7 the witness, but I'm aware of the time constraints.
8 Q. Yesterday you spoke about air bombs; is that right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. I'm not going to go back to what you said yesterday, but every
11 time the victims of these bombs were mentioned a position was immediately
12 taken and it was spread all over the world that these bombs killed many
13 people and inflicted huge damage; is that right?
14 A. Yes. When they hit the densely populated area, that was true.
15 But sometimes they fell in fields and other unpopulated areas, creating
16 only a huge crater there.
17 Q. I'm going to put to you again the statement given by the witness I
18 mentioned yesterday. His name was Hansen and he was supposed to testify.
19 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] It's DD00- --
20 THE INTERPRETER: Could the counsel please repeat the number of
21 the document.
22 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] It's D72.
23 Q. Can you please look at page 3. I think it's page 3 in both
24 versions. Please look at the third paragraph from the bottom, which
25 reads: "An UNMO informed me that he had seen the shelling of the TV
Page 2516
1 building." That's the incident of the 28th of June, 1995. Do you
2 remember that incident where the TV building was hit by a shell?
3 A. I don't remember the incident described in this way, but we are
4 talking again about the report that I commented on. This is not a report
5 compiled in proper military language. This is like hearsay or rumours;
6 this person said this and that person said that. In the way, how it's
7 written, its style and its arguments, this report, unfortunately, does not
8 merit any attention.
9 Q. You are protesting even before I read anything to you. Let me go
10 on. I don't know how you know what I'm going to read.
11 A. Yes, I can see it.
12 Q. "This shell that hit the TV building was fired by the BiH army."
13 What do you have to say to this?
14 A. I repeat again: This report does not resemble any proper military
15 report or expertise. This is like old wives sitting around and having
16 coffee and commenting on the incidents. This is my general view about
17 this document.
18 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, could the witness
19 please give me shorter answers. I am just putting to him what is written
20 in this report. I didn't even ask him a question --
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: I have already asked him to give short answers.
22 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
23 Q. Please look at what it says onwards.
24 "Another UNMO who heard the bomb told me that the bomb only flew
25 for a short period which fitted with the findings of the first UNMO that
Page 2517
1 the bomb was fired from BiH-held territory. I sent my report about this
2 event to my superiors by secure means."
3 My question is: You know that the BH army or, before that, the
4 MUP of Bosnia and Herzegovina had at their disposal these kinds of air
5 bombs, and that in this particular instance, a group of MUP members
6 launched this bomb at the TV building.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: There are two questions there. The first
8 question is: Do you know that the BH army or, before that, the MUP of
9 Bosnia and Herzegovina had at their disposal these kinds of air bombs?
10 Yes or no?
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No, we definitely didn't have these
12 kind of air bombs. But the question was put to me with the underlying
13 claim that I know anything about this, and I'm saying that this is not
14 true.
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: The second part of the question was --
16 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please, for the President.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: The second part of the question was that in this
18 particular instance, a group of MUP members launched this bomb at the TV
19 building. Do you know anything about that?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can't confirm that.
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. Do you know anything about that?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No, I know nothing about that.
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: Next question.
24 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
25 Q. Witness, yesterday, in response to the Prosecutor's questions, you
Page 2518
1 said that when investigating these kind of events, no one had such
2 experience anywhere in the world as you and your team had when it comes to
3 these kind of incidents?
4 A. Precisely. There is no information, historical information, that
5 any city had been under siege for such a long time and been shelled, so
6 that's our experience. And also military surgeons had enormous experience
7 working in Sarajevo because there were wounded people coming in on a daily
8 basis.
9 Q. I never questioned or doubted medical conscience, and I know that
10 the doctors in Sarajevo were very busy. I never doubted that.
11 I questioned here a few very young people who were part of your
12 teams, among others, an 18-year-old boy. Is that correct?
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Sachdeva.
14 MR. SACHDEVA: I object, because when counsel is talking about
15 part of his team, he has to be more specific. The witness's team is the
16 KDZ.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, there's merit in that. The 18-year-old boy
18 was not a part of his team.
19 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] He already confirmed that there
20 were young members of the team.
21 Q. I can ask him if there was any young person in his team.
22 A. Yes, there were young people, but at the time they were all over
23 18 years of age. I repeat again: There were young people, but there were
24 no 18-year-olds or under-18-year-olds.
25 Q. Well, I don't understand now. First you said that there were
Page 2519
1 young people. Now you denied it. What is the truth, the first thing or
2 the second thing?
3 A. Your question was not clear. You said that you had questioned an
4 18-year-old man. If you questioned him here, then he must have been 8
5 years old during the war, so that's not clear to me at all.
6 Q. Yes, I was not very precise. At the time, during the war when he
7 was working there, he was 18, when he was a member of the investigation
8 team.
9 A. I know nothing about such person.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Sachdeva.
11 MR. SACHDEVA: Mr. President, in my submission, the witness'
12 answer is very clear. He has said there were no 18-year-olds or
13 under-18-year-olds on his team. That leaves open the possibility there
14 was a 19-year-old, I admit. But the question, in my view, has been
15 answered.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
17 Let's move on, Mr. Tapuskovic.
18 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Very well.
19 Q. I'm not allowed to comment on this, but let me ask you this: I'm
20 asking you, at the time when the war broke out, what did you know at all
21 about weapons, given that you were an expert in a certain field? What did
22 you know about weapons that existed at the time in the world in various
23 armies, including the JNA, including the BH army and the VRS army? What
24 did you know about those kinds of weapons?
25 A. Our army learned so much during the war that they became much more
Page 2520
1 versed in weapons than some of the professionals. Those who have to
2 defend themselves learn very fast about weapons, how they operate, et
3 cetera, and the level is very quickly reached. What I knew before that,
4 my father was a hunter. As a child I read a lot about it and probably I
5 knew quite a lot about the subject.
6 Q. I know nothing about hunting weapons. I'm asking you about heavy
7 weaponry, about serious things that every army in the world used. What
8 did you know at all about how certain weapons operate under certain
9 circumstances? Did you have any basic knowledge; and if you did, where
10 did you acquire it?
11 A. I knew nothing about heavy weapons but you saw the math involved
12 in calculating the angle of descent. That's secondary school level
13 mathematics. That's when trigonometry is taught. It's basic maths, you
14 might say. You can find the same thing in the textbooks used in the JNA
15 for operating mortars, how exactly it works. This sort of knowledge is
16 acquired in a perfectly simple way.
17 Q. I'll take your word for it, but let me ask you this: Why did none
18 of your teams ever include any top-qualified military experts who know
19 about each and every weapon?
20 A. There were no such military experts to be used. Wherever there
21 were any, they were at the front line where their presence was badly
22 needed to protect their people. Some of them in Sarajevo were experts for
23 military production and they were always available to our investigation
24 units to consult in order to resolve any problems that we came across.
25 Q. Witness, I'm putting it to you that they refused to accept your
Page 2521
1 methods, the methods that you, the Bosnia-Herzegovina MUP, used in your
2 work; isn't that true?
3 A. If you're asking me that, I have to say I disagree. They were at
4 the front lines where their presence was most needed.
5 Q. What about the reports that we've gone through involving you? I
6 never found a single opinion by an investigating magistrate. How do you
7 explain that, sir?
8 A. We had magistrates running or being in charge of many of these
9 investigations, but in -- many times it was the case that an investigating
10 magistrate simply could not physically be in charge of everything. Many
11 of these reports begin by the following wording, "The Investigating
12 Magistrate such-and-such conducted an analysis to the extent that ..."
13 However, in Sarajevo, we would have needed to have thousands and thousands
14 of investigating magistrates for them to be in charge of everything. This
15 was war, not peace.
16 Q. I'm asking you about the incidents that you investigated. There
17 is not a single opinion proffered there by an investigating magistrate; is
18 that true?
19 A. I don't know about that. I know that in many of the cases, Zdenko
20 Eterovic, who for a while was an investigating magistrate in Sarajevo,
21 would join us quite a number of times on our way to a crime scene, and the
22 team would, as a rule, be coordinated by this investigating magistrate.
23 Q. No, I'm asking you precisely about the incidents that you
24 investigated, the Simone Bolivar school, the Markale incident and some
25 other incidents. Why no opinions there?
Page 2522
1 A. I can't answer that. It wasn't down to me whether an
2 investigating magistrate would be present or not. I think there were
3 opinions offered by those and I think there must be other documents that
4 reflect the fact.
5 Q. You spoke many times yesterday about the fact that
6 Bosnia-Herzegovina was under the protection of the United Nations. Do you
7 know about any country that is under the protection of the United Nations
8 where investigations are conducted without the expertise of investigating
9 magistrates? I'm talking about any country that is under UN protection.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Sachdeva.
11 MR. SACHDEVA: Mr. President, I object because the witness is only
12 going to have to speculate on this. How is he to know what are the
13 internal workings of the legal systems in other countries under UN
14 mandate? What's the basis of his knowledge for that?
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, let him say.
16 Do you know any knowledge of this? Short answer.
17 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I see it this way: Bosnia and
18 Herzegovina was recognised by the UN, but it was left to its own devices
19 in a way that no country had ever been. It was left to do or die.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Next question. This is not getting us anywhere.
21 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, there can be no
22 legal system without courts. That lies at the heart of my question. I
23 have received my answer. It is not my intention to dwell on this.
24 However, DD00-0843, that is the document that I intend to show
25 now. These are the proofing notes for Witness 137 by Mr. Sachdeva on the
Page 2523
1 14th of February, 2007. These notes have been translated. DD00-0843.
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Sachdeva.
3 MR. SACHDEVA: Can I just, Mr. President, ensure that this is not
4 broadcast.
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: Court Deputy?
6 THE REGISTRAR: I've informed the AV booth not to broadcast it,
7 Your Honours.
8 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] We can't see the witness's name
9 anywhere.
10 These are notes that I received from Mr. Sachdeva. This was
11 produced on the 14th of February; that's the one I'm talking about. The
12 Prosecutor should have the document. Nevertheless, can I please be
13 allowed to question the witness on this?
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Of course. Go ahead.
15 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I would like for the Chamber to
16 have the document in front of it. 847. It's not 843; it's 847.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Is that the document on the screen now?
18 Mr. Sachdeva.
19 MR. SACHDEVA: Now it's on the screen.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, it's now on the screen.
21 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: Yes.
22 Q. [Interpretation] You see that, sir, don't you? You talked to the
23 Prosecutor on the 14th of February, to Mr. Sachdeva; right?
24 A. Yes, that's right.
25 Q. Here is what the first sentence says:
Page 2524
1 "With respect to possible bias within the French UNPROFOR troops,
2 the witness related a story regarding a massacre in 1994 in which two
3 children were killed."
4 Is that what you said, sir?
5 A. Yes, that's right.
6 Q. "UNPROFOR conducted their investigation whilst the witness and his
7 team conducted theirs."
8 Is that right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. "The UNPROFOR report stated that there was shelling from Serb and
11 BH positions."
12 Is that right?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. "The Serb shelling did not injure anyone whilst the BH shelling
15 was responsible for the casualties."
16 Wasn't that what the UNPROFOR report said?
17 A. Yes, that's what the UNPROFOR report said, and thank you very much
18 for asking me.
19 Q. Is that true?
20 A. True.
21 Q. It goes on to say:
22 "There was this agreement as to the distance which the shell would
23 have travelled. The witness states that he spoke to two French UNPROFOR
24 soldiers who were using a Vietnamese range table which had insignia from
25 the Vietnam war. This table was based on 82-millimetre mortars with
Page 2525
1 different parameters to the 82-millimetre mortars used in this incident.
2 The Vietnamese table shows a much shorter firing range which would suggest
3 the Bosnian government was firing on its own people. The actual mortars
4 used had a much larger firing range."
5 My question, sir: The French soldiers were wrong and you were
6 right?
7 A. Yes, that's right. The French soldiers were, as I believe,
8 deliberately wrong in order to present evidence in an erroneous light and
9 to mislead everyone. The thing is, both mortars had the same calibre;
10 however, all they had to go on were two poor photocopies to determine the
11 firing range. The entire range turned out to be much shorter as opposed
12 to the weapon that was used in this area. It's, for example, as if you
13 had a Volkswagen car and you were using a maintenance book for a Citroen
14 car. The thing is, the table of ranges showed totally erroneous values
15 and did not correspond with the weapon that was used in the area. This is
16 one of the many cases where the French UNPROFOR soldiers provided
17 erroneous information. Even when their own soldier was hit by sniper,
18 they wouldn't allow the case to be investigated, nor did they submit his
19 shirt for analysis, which would have proven beyond any doubt at all that
20 he had been killed by a shot that had been fired from positions held by
21 the Serbs.
22 Q. Why, then, would the French soldiers, being members of one of the
23 most honourable armies in world history --
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: I stopped you because the interpreter was having
25 a very difficult time. You started your question before the
Page 2526
1 interpretation was concluded. So just let us have the question again.
2 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. Why, then, would the French soldiers, being members of one of the
4 most honourable armies in the history of civilisation let themselves down,
5 counteract what their own conscience would tell them to do and do
6 something different?
7 A. Only they can say. I'm a witness to the fact that they had tables
8 that did not correspond, were not consistent, with the mortar weapon from
9 which the shell was used. It's not that they were ignorant. They were
10 told to do it that way. Who instructed them to do just that, I don't
11 know. You should go and ask them. Only they can answer that question. I
12 cannot.
13 Q. The last sentence of your interview with Mr. Sachdeva reads: "He
14 suggested that this reflected a French policy bias towards the Serbs."
15 Is that your position, sir?
16 A. There were, unfortunately, many cases in relation to which this
17 was the only possible interpretation.
18 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, this was tendered
19 as D66 MFI, our Exhibit DD00-0681. Can I please have the Court's
20 permission to show the witness the document? This is what the President
21 of BH, Alija Izetbegovic, found out from the French ambassador.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
23 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I have to read the entire
24 document.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: And how long is that?
Page 2527
1 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] There. Have a look.
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Sachdeva.
3 MR. SACHDEVA: Mr. President, might I inquire if there's a
4 translation available?
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: Do you have a translation? If not, it's a
6 relatively short document. Go ahead, read slowly, and we'll have the
7 interpreters ...
8 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. Have a look, sir. Do you see that this is from the main logistics
10 centre of the BH army? You see that; right?
11 A. Yes, I do.
12 Q. You see the following paragraph, Presidency of BH -- this is being
13 sent to General Delic, the commander of the General Staff of the BH army.
14 Isn't that what it says?
15 A. Yes, that's what it says.
16 Q. Further down:
17 "General, just this morning, the French Ambassador Henri Zakolen
18 visited my office and, among other things, shared this with my advisor
19 Memija: France makes it official that it is furious over the murder of
20 one of its soldiers at Dobrinja. Military expertise has shown that the
21 soldier had been hit from a position held by the Bosnian army. We have
22 not been allowed an inspection which gives rise to doubt and suspicion.
23 The Chetniks have, in this particular incident, displayed an unlimited
24 willingness to cooperate by allowing UN investigators to enter every flat
25 in each and every position along their own line. Our men, on the other
Page 2528
1 hand, have refused each form of cooperation by not allowing access to any
2 of the numerous locations from which our soldier could have been hit."
3 He said:
4 "Once the BH army has allowed the UNPROFOR commission access to
5 the buildings from which the bullet could have been fired at the French
6 soldier, we shall be able to speak of a normalisation of relations between
7 Paris and Sarajevo. The French ambassador caused us an unpleasant
8 surprise by saying that he had evidence that over half of the 24 murders
9 of their soldiers from the UN troops, not counting those killed in the
10 traffic accident at Igman, were committed by the BH army."
11 He goes on to say: "General Gobillard complained to him that for
12 weeks our own commanders had been refusing contact with UNPROFOR."
13 He went on to add:
14 "We do not understand this kind of behaviour and we do not see
15 what can possibly be achieved in this way. Of course, some of these
16 statements should be taken with a pinch of salt, but it's also necessary
17 for you to know what their objections are. Remove any obstacles to
18 cooperation wherever these are not indispensable from a military point of
19 view. Salam, Alija Izetbegovic, Sarajevo, 21 April 1995."
20 Witness, in view of what you said about the French soldiers a
21 while ago, the fact that you didn't trust them, in view of your belief
22 that they had a pro-Serb bias, can we therefore say that this constituted
23 a reason why French soldiers came under fire by the BH army?
24 A. I have never seen this report before. I have to repeat something
25 that I was personally involved in and I can vouch for its truthfulness.
Page 2529
1 Whatever this report says, it means nothing to me since I have never seen
2 it before. I'm not involved in anything that concerns this report, and I
3 can't testify to any allegations contained therein.
4 I have to say again that I nearly clashed with them because they
5 were using erroneous tables, indicating that we had been killing our own
6 children, to all practical intents.
7 Q. My question was a different one. Yes or no, please.
8 A. What do you mean, yes or no?
9 Q. Yes or no?
10 A. What's the question?
11 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I think Mr. Sachdeva wants to say
12 something.
13 MR. SACHDEVA: Mr. President, I have no objection to this line of
14 questioning. However, the specific question that counsel has asked, in my
15 submission, asks the witness to put -- to be able to know what was in the
16 mind of the BH army if and when they did fire upon French soldiers. I
17 don't see how the witness can answer that, answer that specific question,
18 in my submission.
19 [Trial Chamber confers]
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: The witness has denied any knowledge of the
21 document, so no questions should be put to him on the basis of this
22 document.
23 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I'll try to rephrase my question.
24 Q. What about his belief, the belief that existed that French
25 UNPROFOR soldiers displayed a pro-Serb bias? Were those French soldiers
Page 2530
1 ever targeted in the any action that involved any members of his own
2 unit? Yes or no?
3 A. No. I'm deeply convinced that the answer is no.
4 Q. Thank you very much.
5 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, again I can't
6 tender this document as a Defence exhibit. This remains D66 MFI, so I may
7 have to reach for it again.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, it's marked for identification.
9 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you.
10 JUDGE HARHOFF: Excuse me, counsel. Your line of questioning
11 suggests that it would somehow be possible to identify French UNPROFOR
12 soldiers from other UNPROFOR soldiers from a distance. So could you
13 perhaps clarify with the witness whether, to his knowledge, it was
14 possible to distinguish between a French UNPROFOR soldier and an UNPROFOR
15 soldier from another country from a distance?
16 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] As the trial proceeds, I may be
17 able to show just that. During our defence case, I will also show how
18 certain Serb citizens were picked out by BH snipers and how the snipers
19 were informed about who the Serbs were in the streets of Sarajevo so that
20 they could be targeted. I will prove that in my defence case. I think I
21 will equally be able to prove by using other evidence - and we shall have
22 French generals testify, and we'll hear something about that, too - that
23 would have been a very easy thing to achieve.
24 JUDGE HARHOFF: Thank you. Counsel, I do not wish to interfere in
25 any way with your line of questioning to the witness, but my suggestion
Page 2531
1 was that you put to the witness the question of whether, to his knowledge,
2 it was possible to distinguish French soldiers from other soldiers
3 belonging to the UNPROFOR.
4 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I'll ask the witness just that.
5 Q. Was it possible for one of the BH army members to inform someone
6 further down the line in some way where the French soldiers were
7 positioned?
8 A. You're asking me about possibilities. Anything is possible. We
9 need to ask ourselves who, where, when, but that doesn't prove anything in
10 itself, does it?
11 Q. I'm happy with this answer.
12 JUDGE ROBINSON: You haven't answered the question. Was it
13 possible for the BH army or anyone else to distinguish between French
14 UNPROFOR soldiers and others? Don't sermonise. Answer as directly as
15 possible.
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] All UNPROFOR soldiers look very much
17 alike in terms of their general appearance. They each displayed the
18 insignia of their own countries but very small ones. Only those who
19 looked very high perhaps would have been able to distinguish, but to us
20 they were all the same. It was that simple.
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, next question. Well, we are -- one more
22 question before the break.
23 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I have two or three
24 topics that I would like to cover and I will try to wrap up as swiftly as
25 I can after the break. I can't just ask a single question now before the
Page 2532
1 break. I have this many documents to show, there, you see, and ...
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: Very well. We'll take the break now.
3 --- Recess taken at 10.30 a.m.
4 --- On resuming at 10.51 a.m.
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Tapuskovic.
6 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, thank you.
7 At the accused's suggestion, I was instructed to ask one question
8 of the witness and this concerns the following:
9 Q. Were certain members of certain armies deployed in specific areas,
10 i.e., did they have specific areas that they controlled?
11 A. Can you please repeat the question. I don't understand it.
12 Q. For instance, did the Russian Battalion cover a certain area? Did
13 the French Battalion cover a certain area? Did the Ukrainian Battalion
14 cover a certain area?
15 A. I cannot guarantee you that, but I think that was the case.
16 Q. Were there any specific distinguishing marks? Not only patches,
17 but they also had different helmets. They all wore uniforms of their
18 representative armies.
19 A. It was obvious that there were different uniforms. Some had
20 smaller patterns; some had bigger patterns.
21 Q. Another question in this connection and it's a very important
22 thing. Did you know that members of the police used to check -- ID people
23 in the street, irrespective of their ethnicities, for security reasons?
24 A. I heard about these things happening.
25 Q. Did you hear about instances of IDs being checked, and once it was
Page 2533
1 established that the person was a Serb, after 100 metres, a sniper would
2 kill this person?
3 A. I heard speculations of that nature and even worse than that, but
4 I don't believe that that was the truth.
5 Q. Thank you.
6 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, there were three
7 statements given by this witness, one given in 1995, et cetera, but it
8 doesn't matter. I'm not going to ask him any questions relating to these
9 statements, although there was an interesting one given on the 25th of
10 November.
11 I would move on now to an incident. It's P122, Prosecution
12 Exhibit. If it can please be shown to the witness. That's an official
13 report bearing the name of another protected witness, and if can we can go
14 into private session before I ask him anything. Let's move to page 1 of
15 this official report dated the 22nd of May, 1995.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, private session.
17 [Private session]
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 (redacted)
22 (redacted)
23 (redacted)
24 (redacted)
25 (redacted)
Page 2534
1 (redacted)
2 (redacted)
3 [Open session]
4 THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session, Your Honours.
5 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] On page 3 of this document,
6 there's no name mentioned there, so in that respect this report, dated 22
7 June 1995, can be shown to witness.
8 Q. Therefore, page 3, report on the forensic examination of the
9 scene, can you see this report?
10 A. Yes, but it's rather unclear.
11 Q. I have a perfectly clear copy in front of me.
12 JUDGE ROBINSON: I have to say that what I'm seeing is not clear,
13 that is, what is on the screen.
14 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I've never received any better
15 copy from the Prosecution.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, let's do our best with it.
17 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
18 Q. I'm going to read it now. "Report on the shelling, Goethe Street
19 Number 12, 22nd of June," and at the end it says: "Armedina Burik, a
20 little girl, was killed."
21 Is that what it says approximately here? Is that true?
22 A. Yes, I can see it.
23 Q. Can you confirm this, that everything that is written here is
24 completely accurate as far as you were involved in this investigation?
25 A. As far as I can remember, I think everything is in order.
Page 2535
1 Q. I'm going to be very brief. Can you tell me how this girl was
2 killed? You know that she was killed, according to this report, by an air
3 bomb. Is that correct?
4 A. Yes, that's correct.
5 Q. You know that a wall had been penetrated, as stated by another
6 protected witness, and that this girl was killed in a flat.
7 A. Yes, that's correct.
8 Q. You know that there was no penetration of the wall at all.
9 A. If I can kindly ask you not to tell me what it is that I know.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, that is the way the question is put. He's
11 putting to you that you know that, and if you don't know, then you say you
12 don't know.
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] There were many such cases like this
14 one. I believe that this was an incident in which this girl was in a
15 pyjama in her house and that the father took her out already dead. The
16 walls in this neighbourhood were made of soft concrete that even a bullet,
17 a rifle bullet, can penetrate, let alone shrapnel.
18 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. That's not what I asked you but what your team established on the
20 spot. Your team established that the wall had been penetrated. Is that
21 correct?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. And this protected witness, whose name you just saw in the
24 document, said here that this wall had not been penetrated at all.
25 A. So what are you saying now? What are you asking me?
Page 2536
1 Q. I'm putting to you that this girl was not killed at this specific
2 location at all. How long are we going to stare at each other?
3 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Why isn't he answering?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] You know better about everything
5 that happened, and you were never in Sarajevo at the time. You just don't
6 believe us who were in Sarajevo. I don't know what you want me to answer
7 you.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: He has put to you that the little girl was not
9 killed at that specific location at all. What's your answer to that?
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] If I remember correctly, there were
11 many cases. One cannot remember what you had for lunch three months ago,
12 let alone cases like this. However, when we visited the scene, I remember
13 that the girl's father took her out; he carried her in his arms. She was
14 in pyjama. So what else do you want me to say? He carried her out,
15 crying and screaming. Are we going to insult this man now by claiming
16 that he had killed her?
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, next question.
18 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. Since your team carried out the investigation, did you establish
20 what happened in that flat? Did you photograph this punched wall and did
21 you see any traces of the killing?
22 A. Myself and my team didn't go to that flat.
23 Q. No member of your team photographed the traces of this horrendous
24 crime in this flat?
25 A. In order to respond these kind of questions, I need to see the
Page 2537
1 entire report. This is just a detail about the casualties.
2 Q. I received this document and other documents from the
3 Prosecution. There is not a single photograph relating to what you just
4 said. How do you account for the fact that there were no photographs
5 taken in the room where this little girl was killed?
6 A. I have no explanation for that. We didn't always carry a camera
7 with us. My team almost never had a camera with us. This was to be done
8 by the security services centre. We dealt with explosive charges and by
9 establishing who was killed, who was wounded, and what damage was
10 inflicted. Other forensic evidence was collected by the security services
11 centre, and I believe that you will have an opportunity to ask them how
12 they processed the scene, why they didn't take any photographs, et cetera.
13 Q. Witness, I'm not asking you about any case. I'm asking about this
14 specific case presented here by the Prosecution and the investigation in
15 which you took part.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Sachdeva.
17 MR. SACHDEVA: Mr. President, I apologise for raising late.
18 However, I have had to check the transcript. And I just want to point
19 out, just for clarity, that the protected witness that counsel has been
20 talking about in fact said the following, if I may, with your leave.
21 My question to the protected witness was this: "That damage to
22 the facade that you speak of, was it caused by the projectile that
23 exploded at the impact point that you've indicated with figure 1 on the
24 sketch?"
25 The answer was: "That's right. This damage was caused by a
Page 2538
1 fragment of the projectile that tore through the wall and hit the little
2 girl who was lying in her bed."
3 In my submission, this is different to what counsel has put to the
4 present witness, suggesting that -- suggesting that, and I quote his
5 question, "and this protected witness, whose name you just saw in the
6 document, said here that this wall had not been penetrated at all."
7 I think that needs to be clarified.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Tapuskovic, reformulate the question.
9 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes, yes, that's correct. That's
10 what he said in response to the Prosecutor's question. When he was
11 presented with all this during cross-examination, he was asked to look
12 carefully at the wall. I don't have it in front of me, but this part of
13 the transcript, he said very decisively that after he had looked at the
14 photograph carefully, the wall had not been penetrated. So the answer he
15 gave to the Prosecutor is one thing; however, what he said during
16 cross-examination is a different thing. And he did confirm, and he said
17 it very firmly, that the wall had not been penetrated.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: And what portion of the transcript is that?
19 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] In the portion of the
20 cross-examination. I cannot look for it now - that is why I have
21 curtailed my examination - but if it becomes necessary to explain this,
22 I'm going to do that. So maybe if my -- if this question of mine is not
23 being admitted, then I agree with that.
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, what I'll do is I'll have the legal officer
25 check the transcript and we can come back to that.
Page 2539
1 But how much time -- how much more time are you planning to
2 spend? You have now utilised the same amount of time, if not more, than
3 the Prosecutor did in examination-in-chief.
4 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I do not agree, but I will try to
5 make it as brief as possible. I will not tackle these three statements
6 that the witness gave.
7 Let me now move on now to Markale, if possible.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Did you say you didn't agree? What didn't you
9 agree with?
10 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I cannot be sure, Your Honour,
11 because yesterday the Prosecutor took all three sessions yesterday and I
12 only started my cross-examination during the last session. The Prosecutor
13 took up two and a half sessions and that's what I remember. I started my
14 cross-examination after ten past 1.00.
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: I'll just check with the court deputy. Please go
16 ahead. I'll ask the court deputy to give me the times.
17 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I will stop the
18 moment you tell me that I have exhausted my time, and rest assured that I
19 will not object to that.
20 [Trial Chamber confers]
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Court Deputy.
22 [Trial Chamber and registrar confer]
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, we won't get into that now, but the court
24 deputy said that the Prosecutor spent two hours and 24 minutes. He didn't
25 count the 45 minutes of Judge's questions.
Page 2540
1 We're not going to get into a discussion on time, because I'm not
2 a time-keeper. And I really resent that I have to resort to a
3 time-keeping exercise in a court of law, but it's a necessity.
4 Yes, Mr. Sachdeva.
5 MR. SACHDEVA: Mr. President, I don't intend to get into such
6 discussion. I just want to -- for the benefit of the Court, the issue
7 with respect to the wall and the penetration or not, my submission is
8 answered by the protected witness that the counsel has identified on
9 page -- it actually stems from a question from His Honour Judge Harhoff,
10 1389, 1390, 1391, those are the pages, and the date of the evidence is 1st
11 of February, 2007, just for the benefit of the Court.
12 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Tapuskovic.
13 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
14 Q. Witness, yesterday you spoke at length about Markale and the
15 incident that happened there on the 28th of August, 1995. Can you tell
16 me, first of all, from the place where the shell landed - and we're going
17 to look at the photographs again - to Markale, there's more than 100
18 metres.
19 A. Are we going to look at the photographs, as you said?
20 Q. Yes, we are, but that's my first question.
21 A. Let me make it clear: There's a closed market and there's an
22 open-air market at Markale. That was the same at Markale 1. So you are
23 talking about the distance between the two? Is that what you are
24 interested in?
25 Q. If you can specify the distance between the impact spot of the
Page 2541
1 shell to either of the markets.
2 A. If you are referring to the case that we call Markale 1, the shell
3 hit the open area. As for Markale 2, the distance between the closed
4 market and this place, roughly speaking, is about 200 metres.
5 Q. No, no, I'm not asking about Markale 1 at all. I'm asking you
6 about the incident of the 28th of June, 1995, because that is the subject
7 that is being discussed her.
8 A. What distance are you referring to?
9 Q. I'm asking you --
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Sachdeva.
11 MR. SACHDEVA: Just so we clear up any confusion, the transcript
12 has 28th of June - and that's what I heard in the interpretation -
13 however, the Markale incident was on a different date.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: What is the date that you are putting to the
15 witness, Mr. Tapuskovic, for the Markale incident?
16 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] This is obviously a slip of the
17 tongue. I'm not sure what I said. I was dealing with Markale 2, and that
18 happened on the 28th of August, 1995. If anyone heard me saying "June,"
19 that could only have been a slip of the tongue.
20 Q. So I'm asking the witness about the incident of the 28th of
21 August, 1995.
22 A. Can you please repeat the question. Which distance specifically
23 are you interested in?
24 Q. I'm interested in the distance between the place where the shell
25 hit the pavement to Markale 1 open-air market and the other market, which
Page 2542
1 is at a different place.
2 A. I'll partly answer your question. The shell, first of all, did
3 not land on the pavement but it landed on the driving lane. And the place
4 where it landed, in the case of Markale 2, to the place where the shell
5 landed in open-air market known as Markale 1 --
6 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I need your
7 assistance. I'm not asking him about Markale 1 at all. I'm asking him
8 about Markale 2, but the witness keeps mixing these two things and wasting
9 our time.
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] But you are mixing the open-air
11 market --
12 JUDGE ROBINSON: You are being asked about Markale 2, the 28th of
13 August, 1995. Would you answer the question as directly as possible.
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Sir, I will do my best, but I must
15 remind the Chamber that Mr. Tapuskovic is mixing up the open-air market
16 and the closed market, and that is probably why he is not putting the
17 question rightly and therefore I cannot understand his question.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: The question was: What is the distance between
19 the place where the shell hit the pavement to Markale 1 open-air market
20 and the other market, which is at a different place?
21 Was that the question, Mr. Tapuskovic?
22 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, let me just be very
23 precise, if you'll allow me.
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, reformulate it.
25 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 2543
1 Q. You explained where the shell hit. Can you tell at which market
2 were people killed by this shell on the 28th of August, 1995?
3 A. Those were the people who were in the street. Some were on
4 motorcycles; some were pedestrians. And there was -- there's always a lot
5 of people there as if it were a marketplace. They were all in the street
6 in front of the gate to the closed market, which is the second most
7 crowded selling point in Sarajevo.
8 Q. So they were killed in front of this closed-roofed market; is that
9 what you're saying?
10 A. Those were the people in the street. Yes, these people were in
11 the street.
12 Q. In front of the market or on the street itself where the shell
13 landed?
14 A. Mainly on the street in front of the market. But there's about
15 200 metres between the two markets, so there's always a large crowd of
16 people, because that's the main market in Sarajevo where people come to do
17 their shopping.
18 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Could we please have the
19 following photograph brought up, the first photograph: 65 ter number
20 2595, page 2, photograph 1.
21 Q. You see that, sir, don't you?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Can you please show the spot in this photograph where the shell
24 impacted. And mark it, please.
25 A. The image is not that clear, but I think this should be the spot.
Page 2544
1 Q. Can you please use an arrow to indicate how the shrapnel spread.
2 A. The bits closer to the pavement went down and the remaining shards
3 flew in a circular motion and spread that way, roughly speaking. The
4 direction is not right because it flew over the building. And if can I
5 just make a small correction there.
6 Q. All right. Explain the direction in relation to this roofed-over,
7 closed market.
8 A. It's just in front. It's this building right here.
9 Q. You say that there were over 150 people in this place, 120.
10 A. What I'm saying is if right now, as we speak, you called Sarajevo,
11 told them to block the traffic and count all the people there, you would
12 find about 100 people there between the spot where the shell landed and
13 the open-air market, which is over here, roughly speaking.
14 Q. What is the distance between this place and the open-air market?
15 A. It's the 200 metres that I told you about, 200 metres in this
16 direction, where the arrow points. Open-air market, "OM." The open-air
17 market and the indoor market, the one over here, constituted the greatest
18 concentration of shops with food in Sarajevo at the time. I went on a
19 monthly basis here. I carried the cigarettes there, since I didn't smoke
20 myself, and I exchanged those for food. A kilogramme of sugar was 100
21 German marks, and so on and so forth. This was a place that ensured
22 survival. People exchanged goods there, and this was the greatest
23 possible concentration of living human beings in an open area in the
24 entire town.
25 Q. Can you show the Chamber, what is the distance between the place
Page 2545
1 where the shell landed and impacted and the corner of this building here?
2 A. You mean this car, behind this car? Is that what you mean?
3 Q. My question was clear, wasn't it? The place where the shell
4 impacted against the ground and the corner of this yellow building to the
5 right.
6 A. Is this the one you mean? Here, I'm marking it for you. Maybe
7 some 7 metres, but that's just a very rough estimate based on me looking
8 at this photograph. It's nothing else.
9 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Tapuskovic, at 11.15 you had used two hours
10 and 34 minutes, ten minutes more than the examination-in-chief. We will
11 give you until 12.00 noon to conclude the cross-examination.
12 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I will be sure to finish by then,
13 Your Honour.
14 Q. Witness, I wasn't asking you about that corner. I'm asking you
15 about the corner up front here which can't be seen because of the car
16 that's parked there. The yellow building, what is that distance? You
17 keep doing something that is not what I'm asking you to do.
18 A. No, you're saying things the other way around. I asked you about
19 the corner behind the car and you said no. I said the corner behind the
20 car? You said no, so I drew the other one. So you must be asking me
21 about this corner. 8 metres, perhaps, 13 years later, but based on a
22 memory that isn't as clear as it used to be. It could be anything between
23 6 and 8 metres.
24 Q. My question is crystal clear. I said the building behind the car,
25 not the corner. I wasn't asking you about that. I'm asking about the
Page 2546
1 distance between the place the shell hit the building behind the car, its
2 corner. That's what I'm asking.
3 A. The building has two corners. This is one of the corners, the
4 blue dot, and the other one is behind the car. I can't see the other
5 corner. Which one do you mean? There are two on the southern side of the
6 building and four more up on the roof. So, please, can you try to be a
7 bit more specific.
8 Q. I can't possibly be more specific, Witness. I'm asking about the
9 distance between the impact of the shell and the dot you drew on the car.
10 What's the distance?
11 A. 6 metres, 8 metres, perhaps. Nobody knows the respective
12 distances with the possible exception of the architects who built the
13 building and maybe dwelled on these specific distances. My shot would be
14 between 6 and 8.
15 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Could we please go into closed --
16 private session, please.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, private session.
18 [Private session]
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 (redacted)
22 (redacted)
23 (redacted)
24 (redacted)
25 (redacted)
Page 2547
1 (redacted)
2 (redacted)
3 (redacted)
4 (redacted)
5 (redacted)
6 (redacted)
7 (redacted)
8 (redacted)
9 (redacted)
10 (redacted)
11 (redacted)
12 (redacted)
13 (redacted)
14 (redacted)
15 (redacted)
16 (redacted)
17 [Open session]
18 THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session, Your Honours.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: I believe you indicated when we were in private
20 session that you wanted to have this admitted.
21 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Just another moment, Your
22 Honour. I would like to ask something else.
23 Q. Honourable Witness, you say it was possible for a shell to be
24 timed in such a way as to impact between these two buildings, each about 4
25 or 5 metres long, and land exactly in the spot where it landed.
Page 2548
1 A. What I'm saying is that shells are even more accurate than that.
2 And if you have an artillery expert, they will tell you that he can hit a
3 kitchen plate at quite some distance or target the opening of a chimney.
4 That's how they describe the accuracy of a shell. Hitting a street that's
5 at least 8 metres across is no great deal at all.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Tapuskovic, I'm very upset at what you did.
7 Let us go back into private session.
8 [Private session]
9 (redacted)
10 (redacted)
11 (redacted)
12 (redacted)
13 (redacted)
14 (redacted)
15 (redacted)
16 (redacted)
17 (redacted)
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 (redacted)
22 [Open session]
23 THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session, Your Honours.
24 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Could this please be admitted as
25 a Defence exhibit.
Page 2549
1 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
2 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit D75, Your Honours.
3 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
4 Q. Esteemed Witness, you said yesterday that you'd only heard a
5 single explosion. Is my understanding correct?
6 A. There were five explosions in this particular incident.
7 Q. How come you were there ten minutes later and not in any of the
8 other four locations?
9 A. I was off with one of my colleagues from the bomb squad to this
10 particular location, and then on the main street, 200 metres to the west,
11 I saw a huge number of cars sounding their horns, with human arms and legs
12 sticking out of the cars. We knew that something horrible had happened.
13 We went back to the bomb squad unit, which was three or four minutes from
14 there. We collected our equipment and went back to this same place, which
15 took about seven or eight minutes altogether. The respective distances
16 are several hundred metres in each case. The bomb squad headquarters was
17 near the central bank office of Sarajevo, the national bank with the
18 statues and everything. If you walk fast, it takes about seven or eight
19 minutes.
20 I was halfway there not when the shell landed, but rather, I with
21 my colleague, we had been off to the market to exchange some cigarettes
22 for some food coupons. I saw a large number of cars and deafening noise
23 of the horns being sounded, carrying bodies of dead and wounded people,
24 arms and legs sticking out of the boots of those cars, blood all over the
25 place, taking them to Kosevo. We were there in no time at all because
Page 2550
1 that was our place, that was our headquarters.
2 It was God's will that I wasn't there myself five or ten minutes
3 earlier, because had I been there five or ten minutes earlier, I would
4 have come to grief as well.
5 Q. You know about Markale 1, right, the 5th of February, 1994? A
6 single shell was fired which led the experts to doubt the accuracy of the
7 targeting, how it was possible to target so accurately with a single
8 shell. You remember that?
9 A. Yes, I remember that, but I'm deeply convinced that NATO experts
10 will tell you that was no problem at all. If you had a mortar position
11 and emplacement, if it had been there for a long time, they would have had
12 the coordinates, they would have had all the necessary parameters, and
13 they would have been perfectly able to target any grid reference in
14 Sarajevo with a very high degree of accuracy.
15 Besides, their positions were high up in the mountains surrounding
16 the town, and that would have made it even easier for them to target
17 specific locations inside the town, because Sarajevo was virtually in the
18 palm of their hand.
19 Q. The town was in some sort of a valley, a hole; I know that. But
20 the claim here is that this came from Trebevic. Colina Kapa is part of
21 Trebevic, yet it's 1.000 metres high. In theory, the shell could have
22 come from Trebevic, couldn't it? From Colina Kapa; right?
23 A. It came from an azimuth that we determined, and I still stand by
24 that assessment. The direction was determined with great accuracy. Even
25 the UNPROFOR artillery men determined the same identical angle in relation
Page 2551
1 to that shell that landed right there.
2 Q. Nevertheless, I'm putting it to you that at least five shells
3 should have landed in order for you to be able to claim with certainty
4 that what happened was a result of something that the army of Republika
5 Srpska had done. And then there would no objections being raised about
6 the possible accuracy of a single round being fired.
7 A. Unfortunately, the forces of Republika Srpska were very
8 experienced and they were extremely good at targeting what they wanted to
9 target. I'm sure that this dilemma can be clarified by the Chamber if
10 NATO artillery experts are brought in to confirm the incredible accuracy
11 of angles of descent in case of shells. It is not used for horizontal
12 targeting, as guns usually are. A shell is a weapon that is used for
13 vertical targeting.
14 Q. You did not hear the sound of these five incoming shells, did you?
15 A. No, I didn't.
16 Q. You said yesterday that at the time the radar equipment was very
17 poor, right, the radar equipment that was used.
18 A. No, that's not true. What I said was that the radars brought into
19 Sarajevo by the French forces at the beginning of the war, promising that
20 each projectile fired would be photographed in the air indicating the
21 direction and source of firing, so this radar, five days later, was
22 declared officially to be out of working order. Obviously, any
23 information produced by that radar was later used for just filing away,
24 but it certainly wasn't used for any other more helpful purpose.
25 Q. A well-regarded expert on weapons, radars, and other types of
Page 2552
1 technology testified before this Court, General Nicolai. At page 1023
2 through 1024, General Nicolai spoke about the fact that at the time of
3 this incident - I have to do this the way the Prosecutor thinks I should,
4 and it's the normal way to do it - General Nicolai stated that at the time
5 of this incident, which occurred on the 28th of August, 1995, there was a
6 cutting-edge Dutch device for monitoring what was going on in the Sarajevo
7 area. Likewise, the English Battalion had very up-to-date radar
8 technology to monitor the Sarajevo area. He said that those radars had
9 registered nothing at all, no shell flying, and not even those five shells
10 fired allegedly from territory under the control of the BH army -- I mean
11 the army of Republika Srpska, or the army of Bosnia and Herzegovina for
12 that matter.
13 My question is: Why is it that you're saying that there was no --
14 there were no radars?
15 A. It is not my duty to know what sort of equipment different
16 sections of UNPROFOR are using. That would probably be confidential
17 information anyway. Report G2, all right, I see what the source is of
18 this security. I see that there no radar -- artillery activity from
19 positions held by the BH army on the day in question.
20 Q. What I really want to know is nothing was registered as being
21 fired from the area under the control of the Republika Srpska army. The
22 radars never clocked anything. How can you explain that? How can you
23 explain the fact that the radars would never clock a thing?
24 A. I'm facing a very unpleasant situation here. It seems that there
25 were no dead. It seems the whole war was not real. It was just a very
Page 2553
1 bad nightmare. The radars didn't catch it; therefore, we just dreamt it.
2 Is that what you're saying?
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Next question. Next question, please.
4 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] I'm waiting for the time.
5 Q. No. People did die; people were killed; lives were lost on both
6 sides. But what I'm talking about here - that's what I'm putting to you -
7 is these were explosions that were planted and activated by telecommand,
8 teleactivated, and there were no victims at all when these explosions
9 occurred. That's what I'm saying.
10 A. This is the blackest lie I have ever heard in my life. This is
11 the third time these same victims get killed. The first time, they're
12 physically killed; the second time around, they are denied; the third time
13 around, this is made a laughing matter on TV where the victims are
14 mocked. So all this achieves is an endless mockery of Sarajevo's victims,
15 which included over 1.500 children under 12 years of age, and go figure
16 what the rest of them were.
17 Q. There were both Serbs and Croats among the victims, as well as
18 Muslims; would that be a fair statement?
19 A. It's true that many Serbs stayed back in Sarajevo. Many of them
20 joined the ranks of the BH army. As for my own bomb squad unit, there
21 were more Croats and Serbs than Bosniaks. They were all loyal citizens,
22 honourable citizens, who tried to get on with their lives. But an
23 exploding shell does not distinguish along ethnic lines. Those up on the
24 hills who were targeting everybody else took everybody else down in the
25 valley to be their enemy. So they just killed indiscriminately. That's
Page 2554
1 what they did.
2 Q. I know that, don't I? But there's this one shell that I'm talking
3 about all the time. This shell killed members of all the different
4 ethnicities living in the former Yugoslavia indiscriminately, didn't it,
5 including Muslims, Serbs, Croats. The victims of this shelling included
6 all the different ethnicities, didn't it?
7 A. I think so. I think the names of the victims that I saw at the
8 time included Serb and Croat names as well, so it seems that you are
9 right.
10 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Could we please look at P250.
11 Q. Do you rule out the possibility that the shell hit the roof?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. You do, don't you?
14 A. I do, because people went up to the roof in order to be high up
15 and look down.
16 Q. Had it hit the roof, the shrapnel would have spread wide; right?
17 A. Had it hit the roof, no one would have been killed, most probably.
18 Q. Explain, please. I see a lot of blood here. It's not a joyous
19 sight exactly. The shell hit right here, it impacted right here. How is
20 it possible that those two bikes leaning against the wall are not
21 blood-spattered? Not a single spot of blood, and the bikes are still
22 there, standing upright. How can you possibly explain that?
23 A. There's a perfectly simple and logical explanation. Those bikes
24 were being used elsewhere at the time. When the road was cleared of the
25 dead bodies and the injured, the two things that were found in the way,
Page 2555
1 obviously, these two bikes, were pushed aside so that they weren't in the
2 way of passing traffic. It's as simple as that.
3 Q. The President, Judge Robinson, asked you about that. So the
4 traffic just got on with it and the bikes were there.
5 A. I didn't pay any attention to the bikes at all, but what I'm
6 saying now is what I think to be the most probable thing. They were
7 probably taken onto the pavement in order for them not to be in the way.
8 But UNPROFOR forces arrived, other cars arrived; ambulances had been
9 called. The road had to be open. If you have a bike lying upside down in
10 the middle of the road, this is normally something that you need to remove
11 in order to make sure that the traffic flow remains unhindered.
12 On the right-hand wheel of this bicycle, you can see a lot of
13 blood. If you zoom in on it, you can see there's a lot of blood there.
14 Q. I won't go back to this because I have very little time left.
15 This is a self-explanatory photograph.
16 Answer me this: If there were thousands of shrapnel pieces
17 produced by this shell -- tell me first, do you know, how much does this
18 shell way?
19 A. As far as I can remember, around 12 kilos altogether. I think
20 there is about 2.5 kilos of TNT inside it, approximately.
21 Q. As far as I know, that's the weight of the shell, and it produced
22 mass shrapnel. Were there any shrapnel hitting the walls of these
23 buildings, since so many people were killed? And can we see on any
24 photograph that can -- the Prosecution can provide showing traces of
25 shrapnel on the wall?
Page 2556
1 A. I absolutely clearly remember there were lots of damaged places in
2 the walls of the buildings. And we also examined the distribution of this
3 damage, because you can see that most of the shrapnel fell on the pavement
4 and on the opposite side, to the north. The damage was a few metres high
5 up from the ground on the windows and the walls, which confirms our theory
6 about the geometry of the dispersion of shrapnel. So there is a lot of
7 damage visible on the buildings surrounding this location.
8 Q. My last question about Markale in order to make it possible for me
9 to put some more questions to you. Some other witnesses are going to
10 testify about this. I do understand that over 80 wounded people were
11 removed from the location immediately, and this is something that must be
12 done. But for the sake and the truth of investigation, was it not
13 required for these wounded people -- or for the people who were killed,
14 why were they so hastily removed from the location?
15 A. In this instance as well as in other instances, civilians run
16 there to offer help, who were on the shot, or the passers-by and the
17 cars. All these people were laymen. If people don't show any signs of
18 life, it does not mean necessarily that they were dead. However, people
19 passing by tried to help. Cars stop. They packed the people inside
20 without thinking about it, took them to the hospital. They just followed
21 their instinct, their human instinct to bring those people to hospital
22 where possibly - and laymen cannot say that - these people can be given
23 help and assistance.
24 Q. I'm sorry that the Prosecution didn't show the photographs of
25 these people. It was evident for at least 10 or 15 people that they were
Page 2557
1 already dead. You went there as experts and you were supposed to provide
2 conclusive evidence about everything. Why did you permit the people who
3 were definitely dead to be removed from the site?
4 A. I'm reminding you that I said that some 200 metres from that
5 place, I was headed for the market and I saw for myself already a large
6 number of cars driving people there. There was no police there, no
7 authorities, no officials. People were just taking away the casualties.
8 That's what I saw.
9 I went back to our HQ and then I returned there. Everything that
10 was done there was done spontaneously. Keeping the dead on the spot in
11 order to do the measurements, to measure how much blood is required, how
12 many litres of blood -- how much do you need, 200 litres? Thirty people
13 times 5 litres of blood, that makes 150 litres of blood, and that's only
14 from the dead. I am not counting the blood from the wounded.
15 Q. Sir, I still put it to you to that they were not killed in this
16 place. What do you say about that?
17 A. That's absolutely untrue. In the wide area, pieces of brain, of
18 skulls, of fingers, were found. The shrapnel travelled downwards from
19 this place and they severed off people's feet completely. And there was
20 so much of that stuff there that had this been planted, it would have been
21 noticed by hundreds of witnesses. So both theoretically and practically
22 it was impossible.
23 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours.
24 JUDGE HARHOFF: Counsel, can I ask you, is it your allegation that
25 the blood we see on the frame here was not coming out of the victims of
Page 2558
1 the shell but was put there deliberately by someone else afterwards; is
2 that your allegation? And do you have any foundation for that?
3 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] What I'm suggesting with full
4 responsibility, not only for Defence counsel for Dragomir Milosevic, that
5 at this location of the explosion there were no casualties at all; that
6 those who were killed were absolutely killed elsewhere and then brought to
7 the location and quickly removed again in order to preclude any proper
8 investigation there. This is what I'm claiming, and I stand behind this,
9 and I believe that these proceedings are going to demonstrate that.
10 JUDGE HARHOFF: I understand. But could you help the Chamber to
11 lay some foundation for this allegation? What is the evidence that you
12 are relying upon in putting this to us?
13 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] A series of evidence that has
14 already been presented, including the fact that the flight of this
15 projectile had not been registered. Also, there was no sound registered
16 of the shell flying and a series of other things that will later be
17 established. But primarily, there is no fact to support that these shells
18 landed where they exploded, but that they were rather explosive devices
19 planted at the time when there were no casualties in other locations and
20 then these casualties were brought to this location. And this was proven
21 in other incidents as well. This is why I left Markale for the end. The
22 same happened in the case of Simone Bolivar school; the same happened with
23 this little girl who was never killed in this place.
24 So it's based on this evidence, and that's why I left Markale for
25 the end, to question this witness about. But I believe that other events
Page 2559
1 will show this, and this is the basis for my argument and for my putting
2 this claim.
3 JUDGE HARHOFF: Thank you.
4 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, since the time is
5 almost up, if I may just present one more document to the witness and
6 thereby conclude my cross-examination.
7 Q. Yesterday the witness said that a million shells landed in
8 Sarajevo and other projectiles as well. Is that correct, Witness? Is
9 that what you said yesterday?
10 A. I heard many times this estimate. This estimate was made by a
11 military expert who monitored the activities on a yearly basis, and that
12 includes all kinds of projectiles, not only mortar shells. In this case,
13 Your Honours, there are lots of survivors, thank God, who can verify and
14 describe to you the situation and each and every incident that happened.
15 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, let me show to the
16 witness, although I have about a dozen other documents. But I have one
17 piece of evidence provided from the archive of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It
18 refers to July 1995 and the consumption of, as they call it, "MTS" that
19 is, ammunition, for the month of July. It's DD00-0733. It's not been
20 translated yet. It refers to the consumption of the ammunition used and
21 spent by the BH army in July 1995. DD00-0733.
22 Q. Witness, do you see that this is a report pertaining to July 1995;
23 is that correct?
24 A. Yes, it is.
25 Q. Look at it towards the end, which speaks about the consumption of
Page 2560
1 MTS.
2 A. Yes. Someone is scrolling it down. I can see it now.
3 Q. "July, consumption of MTS, 287.831 rounds of bullets," and then
4 again "7.62 rounds of bullets," 16.000 and something. Then further
5 on, "Shells, 60-millimetre shells, 82-millimetre shells." A total of
6 around 500.000 mortar solely in July.
7 I have no time to add these figures up, but at first glance you
8 can see that in July the BH army fired at the positions of the VRS army
9 this amount of various calibre ammunition. What can you say to that? Did
10 you notice that there was so much firing in July at the Serbian positions?
11 A. I can say that this report that we're all looking at on our
12 screens is construed totally wrong. You said 500.000 shells. This huge
13 number refers to bullets. And there is a very small number of shells.
14 The comparison would be the same as if a fisherman caught a whale or a
15 million of sardines. This refers to shells and rounds of all calibres.
16 That includes only heavy artillery weapons. However, the ordinary bullets
17 cannot be added to this total figure.
18 Q. I agree.
19 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Can we have the next page,
20 please.
21 Q. Here, it says "TRM." What does that stand for? "3.230 pieces."
22 Can you see that?
23 A. That's a tromblon mine.
24 Q. And then later on, "MB98, 201.850."
25 A. I don't know what this D2 is. "P/GD2," I don't know what that is.
Page 2561
1 Q. "MB98, 2.394"?
2 A. There is no such thing as MB98.
3 Q. My last question is: What's the range of the tromblon mine?
4 A. It's launched from a rifle, and at best it can reach a couple of
5 hundred metres.
6 Q. Thank you very much.
7 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] With this I conclude my
8 cross-examination. Can we please have this document DD00-0733 tendered
9 into evidence.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
11 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit D76, Your Honours.
12 MS. ISAILOVIC: [Interpretation] I'm terribly sorry. With your
13 leave, Mr. President, could I leave the courtroom for just a few minutes
14 before the break?
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
16 Mr. Sachdeva.
17 MR. SACHDEVA: Just very briefly, Mr. President. Can I ask that
18 P255 be brought up, and if it could not be broadcast.
19 Re-examination by Mr. Sachdeva:
20 Q. Witness 137, this is a document that I showed to you in my
21 examination-in-chief. Can you just remind the Court what this document
22 is, please. And there should be an English translation as well.
23 A. I believe this refers to the case of Markale, 28th of August,
24 11.30. Yes. I think that's an authentic document referring to the
25 Markale case.
Page 2562
1 JUDGE ROBINSON: May we have the English translation on the
2 screen.
3 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honour, if we could be given the page
4 reference, it would help greatly.
5 MR. SACHDEVA: Yes, that's the one.
6 Q. Witness 137, if you go to the name that is listed, the first name,
7 do you see the name Asim Kanlic there?
8 A. Asim?
9 Q. Right, the first name there, Asim Kanlic; is that right?
10 A. Yes, that's correct.
11 Q. Can you just tell the Court what -- next to the name there is
12 something there which reflects his job description. What is that?
13 A. Asim Kanlic is a judge of the high court in Sarajevo, and
14 immediately after him, in order to anticipate your question, we have the
15 prosecutor of the high public prosecutor's office in Sarajevo; therefore,
16 we have legitimate officials here present directing the whole
17 investigation.
18 MR. SACHDEVA: I have no further questions, Mr. President.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: Witness, that concludes your evidence. Thank you
20 for giving it. You may now leave.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honours, if you'll allow me to
22 say a few words?
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: It's not the practice. I think you should just
24 leave.
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you.
Page 2563
1 [The witness withdrew]
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: Next witness.
3 Mr. Docherty.
4 MR. DOCHERTY: Your Honour, I'll be taking the next witness. If I
5 may suggest, I had asked leave to present an oral motion concerning
6 protective measures in between the two witnesses. May I suggest that we
7 take that up and also one other motion that I have reason to believe that
8 is uncontested, and then break so that we can make -- I think it will go
9 far more efficiently.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
11 MR. DOCHERTY: Thank you, Your Honour.
12 Your Honour, yesterday in an e-mail, the -- first of all, could we
13 go into private session--
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, private session.
15 [Private session]
16 (redacted)
17 (redacted)
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 (redacted)
22 (redacted)
23 (redacted)
24 (redacted)
25 (redacted)
Page 2564
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11 Pages 2564-2566 redacted. Private session.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 2567
1 (redacted)
2 (redacted)
3 (redacted)
4 [Open session]
5 THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session, Your Honours.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Let the witness make the declaration.
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly declare that I will speak
8 the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
9 WITNESS: SEAD BESIC
10 [Witness answered through interpreter]
11 JUDGE ROBINSON: You may sit.
12 And you may begin, Mr. Docherty.
13 MR. DOCHERTY: Your Honour, for the record, the witness testifies
14 with the protective measure of facial distortion.
15 Examination by Mr. Docherty:
16 Q. Sir, could you begin by telling us your name and what you do for a
17 living, please.
18 A. My name is Sead Besic and I am a forensic technician.
19 Q. Forensic technician. For whom do you work?
20 A. I work for the Sarajevo canton, Ministry of the Interior.
21 Q. Is that a law enforcement or police agency?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Are you a police officer?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. How long have you been a police officer?
Page 2568
1 A. I have been with the police since 1975. I have been in the
2 forensics department since 1987. I took a six-month training course to
3 become a forensic officer.
4 Q. Could you tell the Chamber, please, in general, what the duties
5 are of a forensic officer with the Sarajevo canton of the Ministry of the
6 Interior.
7 A. We go to crime scenes. We take photographs. We video the crime
8 scene, we film it. We collect evidence and submit any evidence found for
9 analysis.
10 Q. Did you attend the scene of a shelling in the Markale market in
11 Sarajevo on the 28th of August, 1995?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Did you go there by yourself or did you go there as a member of a
14 team?
15 A. I was with an on-site investigation team made up of a prosecutor,
16 investigating judge, operatives and myself.
17 Q. When you say "operatives," could you explain what that term means,
18 please.
19 A. These are operatives, operative officers, from the crime squad.
20 They draw up a record at the scene, they take witness statements, and they
21 monitor the whole process.
22 Q. How was it that you and your team went to Markale market on the
23 28th of August, 1995? What were you responding to by going to the market?
24 A. We received word at about 11.00 that a mortar shell had landed
25 outside the entrance to Markale. We were supposed to conduct an on-site
Page 2569
1 investigation. A team was put together, and about 15 or 30 minutes later,
2 we arrived at the scene. This is the sort of thing that is usually done
3 by the cantonal MUP, which was the CSB, the security services centre, at
4 the time.
5 Q. When you arrived at the scene of the shelling in Markale market,
6 did you observe any measures having been taken to preserve the integrity
7 of the crime scene; and if the answer to that is yes, could you describe
8 those measures to the Chamber, please.
9 A. Yes. The crime scene was secured by police officers from Centar
10 municipality. Once they had arrived they did not allow anyone else near
11 the crime scene until the on-site investigation team eventually arrived.
12 Q. Did you obtain any information as to what, if anything, had been
13 done within the crime scene before you and the rest of your team arrived
14 at Markale market on August 28th, 1995?
15 A. Yes. We were told that there had been quite a large number of
16 dead and wounded and that the casualties had been taken to a hospital.
17 Q. Within the team on that day, 28th of August, what were your
18 specific duties? What was your role on that team on that day?
19 A. We were supposed to investigate the crime scene by taking
20 photographs, by filming the scene, by making a sketch, and by collecting
21 any evidence in relation to the incident.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: You received word at about 11.00 that a mortar
23 shell had landed, and it took you about 15 to 30 minutes to get to the
24 market. Were you able to find out more precisely when the mortar shell
25 actually landed?
Page 2570
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The report came at about 11.00 or
2 five past 11.00. It took us 30 minutes after that to set up a team,
3 including a prosecutor, a judge and some operatives. The place where our
4 station was was about 800 metres away from the scene of the incident.
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: Are you in a position to say whether you received
6 the report immediately after the incident?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. The report reached the
8 security services centre via a radio set and that's how we received the
9 report.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: What I'm trying to find out is whether you're in
11 a position to say if any time elapsed between the shelling and the sending
12 of the report.
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] We received the report after the
14 shell had landed, after the shell had landed. We received the report at
15 five past 11.00, possibly ten past.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: But how long after the shell landed did you
17 receive the report, or can't you say?
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can't say.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
20 Mr. Docherty.
21 MR. DOCHERTY:
22 Q. Officer, did you take photographs at the Markale market on the
23 28th of August, 1995?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Before coming to court today, have you taken the time to review
Page 2571
1 the photographs that you took that day?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. And are those photographs fair and accurate photographs of what
4 you saw at the Markale market on that day?
5 A. Yes.
6 MR. DOCHERTY: Mr. President, the photographs have 65 ter number
7 00129. I'm not -- there are approximately 44 photographs in that ter
8 number. I'm not going to take the witness through all of them, but I am
9 going to ask that all 44 be admitted into evidence so that they are
10 available, if needed. As a single -- as a single exhibit.
11 JUDGE ROBINSON: Are you going to show us at least one?
12 MR. DOCHERTY: I'm going to show you many more than one,
13 Mr. President, but I'm not going show you all 44. And I also want to just
14 put on the record that some of these 44 are of a disturbing nature and I'm
15 not going to display those in court.
16 If we could please have e-court page 1 of 65 ter number 00129
17 displayed, please.
18 Q. While we wait for that, Officer -- oh, never mind. Is this one of
19 the photographs that you took that day?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. And can you tell us the name of the street that is going in and
22 out of that photograph and on which the motorbike is lying?
23 A. Mulamustafa Baseskija Street. Once upon a time it used to be
24 called Marshal Tito Street.
25 Q. Did you later take a reverse angle of this view; in other words,
Page 2572
1 looking another way along this street?
2 A. Yes. That is the usual procedure. You photograph a crime scene
3 from both angles.
4 MR. DOCHERTY: If we could see e-court page 2, please.
5 Q. Is this, Officer, the reverse angle; in other words, looking back
6 the way -- from the photograph that we saw before?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Now, later on, after taking these photographs, did you go up to
9 the windows of a building and take some overhead photographs of the scene?
10 A. Yes, I did. I went up to the second floor of the building across
11 the way from Markale, which is the building on the right-hand side of the
12 photograph, and I took an overhead photograph of the entire street.
13 MR. DOCHERTY: At this time I'll ask that e-court pages 3, 4 and 5
14 be displayed one after another to the witness, and then we will have a
15 montage of 3, 4 and 5 that I will have a number of questions to put to the
16 witness about.
17 Q. We've just taken a look, Officer, at three photographs, e-court
18 pages 3, 4 and 5. Did you put these photographs together to make one
19 single large photograph of this crime scene as seen from overhead?
20 A. Yes.
21 MR. DOCHERTY: Mr. Usher, if I could ask, the montage of these
22 photographs is on the ELMO. Could that be displayed, please. That's
23 fine, thank you.
24 And, Mr. President, for ease of presentation, we've also mounted
25 this on -- this way, but I think that would be difficult to display in
Page 2573
1 court. However, given the nature of the cross-examination of the
2 preceding witness about things like shrapnel damage on buildings and blood
3 on bicycles, we thought it important that this be presented in a large
4 format. It will be available for the Chamber, but I intend to use the
5 e-court presentation in questioning this witness. But we can switch to
6 this at any time that the Chamber wishes to do so.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: Very well, yes.
8 MR. DOCHERTY:
9 Q. To begin with, sir, can you tell us where on this photograph the
10 impact crater is seen?
11 A. [Indicates].
12 Q. And behind or between this impact crater --
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: I didn't see the indication.
14 MR. DOCHERTY: I'm going to ask the witness to mark it, Your
15 Honour.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Oh, I see. Yes, now I see it.
17 MR. DOCHERTY: Just one second while we get a pen for the witness.
18 Q. Sir, could you draw a circle around the impact crater on that
19 photograph, please. Just label that IC for the English words, "impact
20 crater."
21 A. [Marks].
22 Q. Between that impact crater and the wall of the building against
23 which the two bicycles are leaning, were any portions of human bodies
24 found by you and your colleagues?
25 A. Yes, we found parts of human bodies, the lower extremities, most
Page 2574
1 of them.
2 Q. When you say "lower extremities," you mean feet and legs?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Now, is it significant to you as a forensic crime scene technician
5 that what is found between the impact crater and the wall of that building
6 are parts of the lower parts of human body rather than the upper parts?
7 A. Yes, it is significant, the reason being, when the projectile
8 landed the angle was closer to the ground. We can see the traces. It
9 hits the ground and the shrapnel are sprayed very low down, which means
10 that normally they hit people's legs or feet.
11 Q. And when the shrapnel -- if the shell comes in at an angle, is the
12 shrapnel sprayed low to the ground in a complete circle around the point
13 of impact, at only part of a circle around the point of impact; and if
14 it's only part of the circle, could you tell us, please, which part of the
15 circle?
16 A. When a projectile lands, it always causes damage in the section
17 that faces the direction from which it came. So this is the angle and
18 this was the damage.
19 Q. Now, in the area in front, as I will say, of the impact crater or
20 the area towards your pen as you're holding it now, does the shrapnel come
21 out low to the ground or not?
22 A. No, it goes up. It spreads upwards. In the photographs, you can
23 see that the building across the way has sustained damage to its upper
24 parts. In this photograph, you can see damage to the lower part of the
25 Markale building itself, in addition to people's limbs being torn to
Page 2575
1 bits. That's another thing that you can see in the photographs.
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Docherty.
3 You did ask the witness about his training and qualifications. I
4 believe he said he took a six-month course in forensic matters. Was a
5 part of this course the investigation of mortar shelling and craters?
6 MR. DOCHERTY: I'll ask. I doubt it, but I think that he will
7 have an adequate foundation if I ask a different question.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. And I'd like to know how much experience he
9 had prior to this in investigation of those matters.
10 MR. DOCHERTY:
11 Q. To ask Judge Robinson's first question first: The six-month
12 course that you took in 1987 when you became a crime scene technician, how
13 much time of that six-month course, if any, was devoted to the analysis of
14 explosions?
15 A. It wasn't necessary, so we didn't do that at all.
16 Q. Where did you learn the things that you've just been testifying
17 about, the way that shrapnel sprays out from an explosion? Where did you
18 learn those things? How did you learn those things? Could you just
19 summarise that for Their Honours, please.
20 A. Well, given the fact that in 1992 we went to a lot of on-site
21 investigations, there were many UN people who came with us. We learned a
22 lot from them about the point of impact, about the type of shell. They
23 helped us a great deal in determining the various directions from which
24 these projectiles were arriving.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Can you give us an idea of how many
Page 2576
1 investigations of this kind he would have carried out.
2 MR. DOCHERTY: That was my next question, Your Honour.
3 Q. How many shelling investigations had you been involved in before
4 you went to Markale market in August of 1995?
5 A. I had been involved in between 30 and 40 of those, including the
6 Markale 1 incident.
7 Q. And as part of those investigations, was it part of the Sarajevo
8 canton of the Ministry of the Interior's job to determine an angle at
9 which a shell had come in, if that was possible?
10 A. Yes. This was done by experts attached to the security services
11 centre, which has now been renamed as the federal MUP. They would
12 calculate the angle of descent of a given projectile. We didn't do that.
13 That wasn't our job. Our job was to investigate a crime scene by taking
14 photographs, by making sketches, by filming and by analysing evidence.
15 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreter's note: We can barely hear the
16 witness.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Witness, please speak into the microphone. The
18 interpreters are not hearing you.
19 MR. DOCHERTY:
20 Q. You say that this was --
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: Judge Mindua has a question.
22 JUDGE MINDUA: One question.
23 [Interpretation] Just one question to clarify a point. We talked
24 about Markale 1 and Markale 2. Those are two different incidents. The
25 Markale 1 is the open market; is that right.
Page 2577
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
2 JUDGE MINDUA: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. So now,
3 talking about the impact point, where were the people who were buying
4 goods and the people selling goods? Were the stalls the day of the event?
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Do you mean Markale 1 or Markale 2?
6 JUDGE MINDUA: [Interpretation] No, I'm actually asking you the
7 question: Which Markale are we talking about here? This particular
8 scene, what is it?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Markale 2.
10 JUDGE MINDUA: [Interpretation] This is the open market or the
11 closed market?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Open air, both.
13 JUDGE MINDUA: [Interpretation] I see. Very well. Then in this
14 particular market, I would like to know, where were the stalls? Where
15 were the people buying goods and where were the people selling goods, with
16 respect, of course, to the impact? Did the projectile fall amidst the
17 people who were buying and selling or were they farther down? Because I
18 imagine that the other market is approximately 200 metres from that point
19 of impact, or from this market.
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] People were at the exit of the
21 Markale market, this area over here. And the vendors were over here, to
22 the left and to the right, people selling cigarettes and various goods.
23 People were leaving, coming out this way. This is the exit. And they had
24 the choice of heading left towards the Markale open market, which lies at
25 a distance of some 150 metres from this spot.
Page 2578
1 JUDGE MINDUA: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
2 MR. DOCHERTY:
3 Q. Officer, is there damage, fresh damage, to the facade of the
4 building against which the two bicycles are leaning?
5 A. Yes. There's damage in the whole area.
6 Q. Thank you. I was going to ask you to circle -- if one was looking
7 on the large photograph for that damage, could you just make some marks on
8 this photograph where fresh shrapnel damage appears for -- as a key to
9 where to look.
10 A. Precisely here.
11 Q. And so this shrapnel damage, was it low down on the building or
12 high up on the building?
13 A. This part of the wall is about 60 centimetres, which means up to
14 80 centimetres or 1 metre. But it's concentrated here, in this portion.
15 Q. How does that pattern of shrapnel damage compare to the pattern of
16 shrapnel damage on the building across the street?
17 A. The building opposite had a lot of windows broken and also damage
18 on the facade at about the height of 1 metre or 1.5 metres.
19 Q. Now, I understand you won't be able to give us a compass direction
20 from which this shell may have come, but from the fact that the building
21 against which the bicycles are leaning has shrapnel damage down low, the
22 building across the street has shrapnel damage higher up, and that
23 injuries to people between the impact crater and the building against
24 which the bicycles are leaning were to their lower extremities, what, if
25 anything, can we tell about the general direction from which this round
Page 2579
1 came?
2 A. This shell came from the south towards north, so from the south.
3 Q. Looking at the crater itself --
4 MR. DOCHERTY: Mr. Court officer, if we could see page -- oh,
5 excuse me. I will offer the marked-up document that is on the ELMO into
6 evidence, please.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. But is he going to explain the conclusion
8 he has arrived at? Are you moving to that?
9 MR. DOCHERTY: Well, I can. I had thought that I had done that by
10 talking about the way in which the shrapnel comes out low and high, in
11 different directions, but I can do it again.
12 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, I overlooked that, but that shouldn't be
13 done because really that's leading on an important question. You should
14 ask him -- to say "What direction did the shrapnel come from, and what is
15 your reason for that," and then he would have provided all of the
16 information that you provided in your question.
17 MR. DOCHERTY: For the record, Your Honour, I believe that all of
18 the information that I incorporated in the question was evidence which the
19 witness had testified to in response to non-leading questions, and I was
20 summing up only for the sake of clarity.
21 Q. But let me ask you this --
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: I would like to have him explain it.
23 MR. DOCHERTY:
24 Q. Officer, the conclusion that you just gave us, that the shell came
25 from the south, can you explain your conclusion, please.
Page 2580
1 A. The determination of the direction of a projectile is based on the
2 impression or the trace left on the ground, and it's like this: The
3 direction from which a shell is coming makes the trace in the form of a
4 paw. At the point of explosion, shrapnel is released. It damages the
5 asphalt or whatever. And by joining these two points, you draw a line and
6 you arrive at the direction from which the shell came, because this is
7 where the damage is.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: It's as simple as that.
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. It's very simple, and we had
10 been shown how to do that by UN personnel.
11 JUDGE ROBINSON: Very well.
12 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, this will be admitted as Exhibit
13 P261.
14 MR. DOCHERTY: And if we could please, then, move to e-court page
15 8, please.
16 Q. On the monitor in front of you, Officer, there is a photograph.
17 Is this one of the photographs that you took that day?
18 A. Yes. That's the centre of the explosion, marked with number 1.
19 Q. Who placed the number 1 in this scene?
20 A. I did it.
21 Q. And is this crater in exactly the same condition that it was
22 immediately after the shell had landed or has it been changed; and if it's
23 been changed, could you describe what's been done to Their Honours,
24 please.
25 A. Yes, it's been changed, because there's a lot of rubble
Page 2581
1 immediately after the explosion and we cannot make our determinations
2 without clearing up the scene. After removal of the material, we arrived
3 at this pattern of damage, based on which we determined the direction of
4 this shell.
5 Q. Has any part of the crater been outlined in chalk?
6 A. The centre itself wasn't. Only these benchmarks were marked with
7 chalk.
8 Q. Were those chalk markings made by a member of your team?
9 A. Yes. I cleared the scene, and a colleague of mine put these
10 markings to facilitate the identification of the direction and to get a
11 better photograph.
12 Q. And I think you anticipated my next question, which was going to
13 be: What was the purpose of making this chalk outline?
14 A. As I said, in order to make it possible -- as much as possible, to
15 determine the incoming direction. We mark all the visible points on the
16 scene, that is, on asphalt in this instance.
17 Q. Now, moving the rubble and making the chalk outline obviously has
18 changed the appearance of the crater. But my question is: What effect,
19 if any, has moving the rubble and making the chalk outline had on the
20 actual gouges in the asphalt of the road.
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Tapuskovic.
22 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] My learned colleague was putting
23 a leading question. He said that the removal of this rubble has affected
24 changes. He should have asked this question in a different way.
25 Nevertheless, he said that the removal of the rubble changed the picture,
Page 2582
1 and I think this is a most leading question. He may just ask him what
2 happened with this surface and this area after the intervention carried
3 out by his team.
4 JUDGE ROBINSON: The question, as I see it, is: What effect, if
5 any, has moving the rubble and making the chalk outline had on the actual
6 gouges in the actual asphalt of the road? That's not leading.
7 The witness may answer that.
8 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Then the translation was
9 incorrect.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Perhaps. I pass no judgement on that.
11 But the witness may answer the question.
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No, no major changes occurred,
13 because this was a hard asphalt surface which suffered no major changes
14 and alterations.
15 MR. DOCHERTY: If we could see e-court page 22 of this ter number,
16 please, Mr. Court Officer.
17 Q. And while that is coming up, Officer, I will ask: Was the
18 stabiliser fin to a mortar grenade found at Markale market that day?
19 A. Yes, it was found.
20 Q. Was it near or far from the impact -- or how far was it from the
21 impact crater, approximately?
22 A. Between 25 and 30 metres from the point of impact, approximately.
23 Q. We're now looking on the screen at e-court page 22. Is this a
24 photograph that you took that day?
25 A. Yes.
Page 2583
1 Q. Do you see a number 9 and a number 12 that have been written on
2 the photographic print?
3 A. Yes, I do.
4 Q. What is the significance of the number 12?
5 A. Number 12 signifies the stabiliser fin.
6 MR. DOCHERTY: I want to take a look at some close-ups of this
7 stabiliser fin, and that will be e-court pages 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. If
8 we could start with number 24, please.
9 Q. Is this a photograph that you took that day?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. And does this show the stabiliser fin where it was found?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And this number 12 on the small black board, what's the purpose of
14 putting these objects at crime scenes, these numbered placards?
15 A. That's also a standard procedure. When all this physical evidence
16 has to be collected and sent for examination, they are marked with numbers
17 first. And here we also marked the extremities and the damage at the very
18 entrance to the Markale market.
19 MR. DOCHERTY: And if we could move to e-court page 26, please.
20 Q. Did you take this photograph, Officer?
21 A. Yes. This was taken against a ruler in order to give it the size,
22 and these little fields are 1 centimetre each.
23 Q. So just to clarify, each of those squares, whether black or white,
24 is 1 centimetre in length.
25 A. Yes.
Page 2584
1 Q. Through your work in Sarajevo, did you become familiar with what a
2 stabiliser fin to a mortar grenade looks like?
3 A. Yes. There are three types, and after an impact -- could you
4 please be more specific with your question.
5 Q. Certainly. Does this stabiliser fin appear to have suffered
6 damage; and if the answer to that question is yes, could you specify what
7 sort of damage this stabiliser fin has received?
8 A. Yes. Upon impact it approximate becomes damaged. In this
9 particular case, the stabiliser was flattened probably by the cars that
10 were passing by there, providing assistance to the wounded and the killed.
11 So one part of it is flattened, as can you see.
12 Q. And you have just offered an explanation as to why the stabiliser
13 fin was flattened. Can you offer any explanation as to why the stabiliser
14 fin was located 25 to 30 metres from the point of impact?
15 A. Since at that moment there were many people offering assistance to
16 the casualties, whether someone wanted to take it as a souvenir or whether
17 it was just kind of pushed under the tires of the automobiles, it's
18 difficult to say how it happened for it to be there where it was, at 25 to
19 30 metres.
20 MR. DOCHERTY: And now if we could see the last two photographs,
21 please, e-court page 27 and e-court page 28. And then lastly e-court page
22 28, please.
23 Q. Did you take this photograph?
24 A. No, I didn't. It was taken on the premises of the police station
25 by a man working in the photo laboratory.
Page 2585
1 Q. And this photograph and the one immediately preceding it, do you
2 note damage to the stabiliser fin of this mortar grenade?
3 A. Yes, they are identical.
4 Q. And again, when you say "it's identical," are you talking about
5 the flattening of the fins that you testified to a few minutes ago?
6 A. Yes.
7 MR. DOCHERTY: If we could now move, please, to e-court 145A.
8 Q. And while that's coming up, Officer, did you prepare a free-hand
9 sketch of the crime scene that day?
10 A. Yes, I did.
11 Q. What's the purpose of making a sketch?
12 A. The purpose is to be able to reconstruct the event at any future
13 point in time.
14 MR. DOCHERTY: May I have a moment, Your Honour.
15 [Prosecution counsel confer]
16 MR. DOCHERTY: And if we could see the third page of this
17 document, please.
18 Q. Is what's on the monitor in front of you, Officer, the sketch that
19 you drew that day?
20 A. Yes, that's the sketch of the scene.
21 Q. There are a number of dimensions on that sketch. How are those
22 measurements taken? And, in particular, what steps were taken to make
23 sure that they were accurate?
24 A. These measurements were taken from the building, the Markale
25 building, from the left-hand side building to the right-hand side
Page 2586
1 building, which constitutes about 10.5 metres' distance. That is where
2 the impact point was. It was about 4 or 4.5 metres away from the wall of
3 the building. Besides, these numbers signify body parts, bicycles,
4 shoes. All the physical evidence found on the spot were photographed and
5 marked with numbers. And the sketch is always part of a photo file.
6 JUDGE HARHOFF: Counsel.
7 MR. DOCHERTY:
8 Q. Who took --
9 MR. DOCHERTY: Oh, I'm sorry.
10 JUDGE HARHOFF: Can you ask the witness to identify the direction
11 of north on this map.
12 MR. DOCHERTY: Yes.
13 Q. Which way is north on this map, Officer, on this sketch?
14 A. Approximately, this is the northerly direction.
15 Q. Okay.
16 MS. ISAILOVIC: [Interpretation] It would be maybe be useful to put
17 N, Mr. President, because one might think that S means south. That could
18 be a problem.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. Please put an N.
20 MR. DOCHERTY: Before we mark this, can we tender the unmarked
21 one?
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
23 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, the unmarked will be admitted as
24 Exhibit P262, and unfortunately we'll have to remark the exhibit.
25 MR. DOCHERTY:
Page 2587
1 Q. Can you show -- on this map, besides the dimensions, there are
2 number of numbers with circles drawing around them. Is there any
3 correspondence between the numbers in circles on this sketch and the
4 numbers that we saw on the little black placards at the crime scene? If
5 there is a correspondence, can you explain it to the Chamber, please.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Tapuskovic.
7 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, as far as I was
8 able to locate this document, I wasn't able to do so in the set of
9 documents provided by the Prosecution. However, I have no objections.
10 Let us proceed.
11 JUDGE ROBINSON: But it may be a matter for concern.
12 MR. DOCHERTY: Your Honour, this document was turned over -- I'll
13 check, but last week, I think.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, let us proceed. If you have another
15 occasion in which you can't find a document, bring it to our attention.
16 MR. DOCHERTY:
17 Q. The question that was pending, Officer, was: On this chart there
18 are a number of numbers inside little circles, and I'm asking if there's a
19 correspondence between the numbers and the circles on this chart and the
20 numbers on the -- the white numbers on the black placards that we saw in
21 the photographs of the crime scene. If there is a correspondence, could
22 you please explain it to the Chamber.
23 A. There is no correspondence. What has been done in the sketch
24 corresponds to the photographs, and the markings are identical.
25 Q. I'm sorry, the word "correspondence" may not have been well
Page 2588
1 chosen. But, for example, on the far left of the sketch, we see the
2 number 12 circled. What was at number 12?
3 A. Number 12 was the stabiliser fin of the mortar shell.
4 Q. And earlier we saw the stabiliser shell on the pavement and a
5 photograph of it taken, and there was one of those little placards beside
6 it. What number was on the little placard in the photograph?
7 A. Number 12.
8 Q. And the last two markings I'm going to ask you to make on this
9 sketch are -- because the markings are quite small, could you show us,
10 please, the impact crater.
11 A. [Marks].
12 Q. And second of all, just for purposes of orientation, we saw some
13 bicycles up against a wall in some earlier photographs. Can you show us
14 approximately where those bicycles were so that people can correspond the
15 sketch to the photographs.
16 A. [Marks].
17 Q. Thank you.
18 MR. DOCHERTY: And could --
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: May I just ask him, what condition were those
20 bicycles in?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] We didn't look at them, but one can
22 see in the photographs whether these bicycles are damaged or not. But I
23 myself cannot say that. There couldn't have been any damage, particularly
24 because body parts of the people who had been there had absorbed most of
25 the shrapnel. Therefore, these bicycles could have been protected by the
Page 2589
1 victims' bodies.
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: I see.
3 We have to take a break now.
4 MR. DOCHERTY: Okay. Can I tender this before we take the break.
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, we admit it.
6 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit P263, Your Honours.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, we'll adjourn until tomorrow.
8 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 1.47 p.m.,
9 to be reconvened on Wednesday, the 21st day of
10 February, 2007, at 9.00 a.m.
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