13 Oct 2010 / 10:57
On the second day of his testimony at the trial of wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, ballistics expert Mirza Sabljica spoke about investigations into several sniper and artillery incidents in Sarajevo in 1994.
Dragana Erjavec
During the course of cross-examination Mirza Sabljica, a former ballistics expert with the Safety Services Center in Sarajevo, spoke about an incident that took place in Dobrinja on February 4, 1994, when three artillery projectiles hit a children’s playground and surrounding area.
“The first two grenades exploded simultaneously. They destroyed a ground floor apartment in a residential building. According to the report I made in collaboration with my colleagues, the third projectile fell on a nearby children’s playground. One child was wounded,” the witness said, adding that the three projectiles were of a highly-destructive caliber.
During the course of cross-examination Mirza Sabljica, a former ballistics expert with the Safety Services Center in Sarajevo, spoke about an incident that took place in Dobrinja on February 4, 1994, when three artillery projectiles hit a children’s playground and surrounding area.
“The first two grenades exploded simultaneously. They destroyed a ground floor apartment in a residential building. According to the report I made in collaboration with my colleagues, the third projectile fell on a nearby children’s playground. One child was wounded,” the witness said, adding that the three projectiles were of a highly-destructive caliber.
Sabljica, who testified for the Prosecution with his face obscured for protection, said that, judging by the power of the projectile, the Dobrinja incident was among the most severe incidents that took place in Sarajevo during the course of the war.
The prosecution at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has charged Radovan Karadzic, the former president of Republika Srpska, with responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995.
The indictment against Karadzic lists 16 sniper incidents that took place in Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995, as a result of which more than 20 adults and children were wounded.
When asked by Karadzic if he could determine in what order the projectiles had been fired in the February 1994 incident, Sabljica said it was not possible to determine the order.
“It is not possible to determine the order in which the projectiles had been fired. Only the person who had fired them knows this or perhaps the witnesses can recall it. We did not try to determine this at the time, as it was not important,” Sabljica said.
While the indictee insisted on having Sabljica determine the direction from which the three projectiles had been fired using a sketch he made at the hearing at Karadzic’s request, Sabljica did not want to do so, saying it would be “unserious and unprofessional”.
“I do not make conclusions on the basis of sketches. If we stuck to this sketch, we could say the projectile had come from any direction. However, my work is based on actual traces,” the witness explained.
Responding to Karadzic’s request to have 30 hours for examination of this witness, the Trial Chamber rendered a decision today, saying the cross-examination of the witness could last for up to seven hours, explaining that seven hours was “sufficient time” for examining this particular witness.
“It would be better to focus on concrete questions instead of the unnecessary reading of documents. Mr. Karadzic, you have to focus on important things. In law, cross-examination is an art. It may be good for you to seek advice from your team of attorneys,” a Trial Chamber member told the indictee.
The cross-examination of witness Sabljica is due to continue on October 13.
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