30 May 2013 - ICTY

49553
1592. At the Kula ceremony in 1997, Simatović stated that in the early stages of the war 26
training camps for special police units of the Bosnian-Serb Republic and the Serbian Krajina
had been formed, including at Doboj. 3143 During his testimony, Witness JF-005 was shown a
video of that ceremony, and testified that a room in the Kula camp shown in the video
contained flags the unit had captured during battle and pictures of members of the unit who
had been killed, as well as a map of the locations of training camps. 3144 The witness
recognized on a separate video the same map depicting the locations of Red Beret camps and
training centres (including Doboj and Ozren), which hung in a memorial room at the Kula
camp. 3145 Zvezdan Jovanović was present at the Kula ceremony in 1997. 3146
1593. The Trial Chamber recalls Adjudicated Fact I-202 in relation to the JNA’s arming of
paramilitary groups in 1991/1992, as set out in chapter 6.4.4.
1594. The Trial Chamber will first assess the reliability of Witness JF-005’s evidence. The
Defence submits that the witness was inconsistent in his evidence, that the fact that he could
not recall details of his own prior convictions impacts his reliability, and that his account of
employment with the Serbian DB in light of other evidence is highly implausible. 3147 The
Simatović Defence also points out that the witness’s tasks as described by him appear
implausible given his inexperience and young age at the time. 3148 The Trial Chamber
considers that the witness may have shielded his own involvement in illegal acts. This would
similarly apply to his testimony about his prior convictions. The Trial Chamber further notes
some inconsistencies in the witness’s evidence but does not consider them to be of such a
nature as to significantly reduce his reliability. The Trial Chamber considers that the witness,
inter alia due to his young age, played a relatively marginal role in the events in Doboj in
1992. In this respect, the Trial Chamber does not consider it of primary importance whether or
not the witness himself was subordinate to Božović. More important is whether the testimony
of what he observed corresponds with the other evidence received. In this respect, the
witness’s testimony is corroborated by other evidence and consistent with the evidence at the
base of the Trial Chamber’s finding with regard to the Unit’s formation in 1991. Accordingly,
3143 P61 (Video of award ceremony at Kula with transcript), pp. 10-11.
3144 Witness JF-005, T. 2817-2818.
3145 Witness JF-005, T. 2836-2840, 2844-2845; P162 (Video of memorial room at Kula camp, date unknown),
Clip 1, 00:06-01:03; P163 (Images from video P162 of memorial room at Kula camp, date unknown), pp. 2-6.
3146 See P61 (Video of award ceremony at Kula with transcript), p. 5..
3147 Stanišić Defence Final Trial Brief, 17 December 2012, paras 682-685, Annex III-A; Simatović Defence Final
Trial Brief, 14 December 2012, paras 1109, 1123.
3148 Simatović Defence Final Trial Brief, 14 December 2012, para. 1110.
Case No. IT-03-69-T 565
30 May 2013