30 May 2013 - ICTY

49525
Trial Chamber finds that the Unit took part in combat operations in the Skelani area under the
command of Unit member Božović in March and April 1993. 3331
1676. The Trial Chamber will now consider whether the Accused directed the Unit during
these operations. The Stanišić Defence argues that during these operations, Božović and the
unit he commanded were subordinate to General Mrkšić and the Tara Joint Staff. 3332 Mladić
notebook excerpts (in evidence as exhibits P392 and P393) reviewed above, indicate that in
February 1993, Generals Mladić and Panić met with Simatović and others at Mount Tara to
plan “Operation Udar”. Based on the context (including the time and place of and the
participants in the operations) the Trial Chamber understands the Unit’s 1993 Skelani
operations to have been part of Operation Udar. The diary excerpts, as well as Vakić’s
interview, and the certificate referring to an order issued by the Tactical Group Commander
General Mrkšić, 3333 suggest that the Unit in Skelani was part of Tactical Group 1 under the
command of General Mrkšić during the Skelani operations. In the absence of further
indications as to the Accused’s involvement in the Skelani operations, the Trial Chamber is
unable to conclude that the Accused directed the Unit during the Skelani operations.
1677. The Trial Chamber will now review whether the Accused organized the involvement
of the Unit in the Skelani operations. Documentary evidence reviewed above indicates that in
1993, the Unit in Skelani was formally subordinated to the Skelani Independent Battalion and
that its members were officially considered conscripts of this battalion. However, the same
evidence indicates that Unit members in fact refused to follow the battalion’s orders. The
evidence 3334 further indicates that during the Skelani operations, the Unit in Skelani
cooperated with Sešelj’s Chetnik volunteers (including Branislav Vakić), the VRS, VJ, and
3330 See in particular the testimonies of Witness JF-030 and Witness JF-053, as well as the 15 May 1993 report
on the establishment of Red Berets in Skelani in evidence as P399, Vakić’s interview in evidence as P1053,
hand-written statements relating to Milenko Popović and Ranko Lačević in evidence as P3172 and P3179, and
the statement pertaining to the death of Žarko Teofanović and Ljubomir Obradović in evidence as exhibits
P3040.
3331 The Trial Chamber has considered the submissions of the Simatović Defence disputing the reliability
Witness JF-030’s evidence. See Simatović Defence Final Trial Brief, 14 December 2012, paras 1060-1062.
However, the Trial Chamber considers that Witness JF-030’s evidence regarding the Unit’s participation in the
Skelani operations is consistent with other evidence it has reviewed. The Trial Chamber has further considered
Witness JF-033’s testimony that he did not see any Serbian DB units whilst participating in several operations in
Eastern Bosnia in 1993. However, the Trial Chamber will not rely on Witness JF-033’s evidence in this respect,
in light of the evidence clearly establishing the Unit’s involvement in the operations.
3332 Stanišić Defence Final Trial Brief, paras 791-793, 798, 804, 815, 827-834.
3333 In evidence as exhibits P1053 and P1442, respectively.
3334 See in particular the evidence of Miroslav Deronjić, Witness JF-030, Witness JF-053, the Excerpt from
Mladić’s notebook in evidence as P392, Vakić’s interview in evidence as P1053, Šešelj’s press conference in
evidence as P1443, and the statement pertaining to the death of Žarko Teofanović and Ljubomir Obradović in
evidence as P3040.
Case No. IT-03-69-T 593
30 May 2013