First prosecution witness heard in Ivanovic trial

BELGRADE - The cro?-examination of the first prosecution witne? in a case against leader of the Citizens' Initiative 'Freedom, Democracy, Justice' (SDP) Oliver Ivanovic and four other Serbs was completed at the Basic Court in Mitrovica on Thursday.

During the evidence hearing, whi? was begun yesterday, the witne?, Isa Mustafa, a Kosovo Albanian, said that Ivanovic had been the head of a Serb paramilitary police unit who had encouraged his subordinates to kill four Albanians in Kosovska Mitrovica on April 14, 1999.

The prosecution presented Mustafa, worker at the Kosovo Energy Corporation and former football referee, as a crucial witne?, and today, he was questioned by Ivanovic's lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic.

Vlajic told reporters after the hearing that the witne? had spoken about the controversial events, but had said that he could not be sure that Ivanovic had played a key role and that it was po?ible that someone else had given the orders.

The defense counsel said that the testimony was not proving anything, pointing out that the international trial ?amber presided over by judge Roxana Comsa sought to establish the truth.

The question remains, however, if the prosecution will even call witne?es who will speak the truth, said Vlajic.

Ivanovic is ?arged with acting in his capacity as ?ief of the so-called Bridge Wat?ers group (who protected north Kosovska Mitrovica from intrusion by Albanian extremists from the southern part of the city) and ordering the murder of four ethnic Albanians that o?urred in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica on April 14, 1999 (during the armed conflict in Kosovo and NATO bombing of Serbia).

The SDP leader is also ?arged with being responsible for the murder of ten ethnic...