Srebrenica Genocide Convicts ‘Did Not See’ Any Executions

Ex-policemen Mendeljev Djuric and Petar Mitrovic, who have both been convicted of involvement in the Srebrenica genocide, told the war crimes trial of eight former Bosnian Serb special policeman at Belgrade Higher Court on Monday that they did not see any executions at an agricultural warehouse in the Bosnian village of Kravica in July 1995, even though they were both found guilty of participating.

Testifying by video link from Sarajevo, defence witness Mitrovic said that he spent two days guarding the road near the Kravica warehouse while serving with the Second Squad of the Sekovici Special Police, but saw no murders in that period.

However, Mitrovic said that he saw dead bodies in front of the warehouse after an incident in which captives allegedly threatened the lives of their Bosnian Serb guards.

"I didn't see the incident. I heard later that someone seized a rifle and 15 to 20 people were killed. They were members of the 28th Bosniak Division, not civilians," Mitrovic said.

The witness added that hadn't heard about any murders of civilians.

"Those were prisoners of war, given that they were members of the 28th Bosniak Division," he said.

Defendants Nedeljko Milidragovic, Aleksa Golijanin, Milivoje Batinica, Aleksandar Dacevic, Bora Miletic, Jovan Petrovic, Dragomir Parovic and Vidosav Vasic, all former members of the Bosnian Serb Interior Ministry's Special Police Brigade, are accused of taking part in the executions of 1,313 Bosniak captives from Srebrenica at Kravica.

The killings in Kravica were among several massacres after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995 that left more than 7,000 Bosniak men and boys dead.

Defendant Milidragovic questioned the death toll.

"The Bosniak side must prove the...