30 May 2013 - ICTY

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fuel tanks departed for Mount Tara. 3848 They stopped at a hotel which had been turned into a
Red Berets Training Centre. At this Training Centre were a number of Red Berets members,
including a person nicknamed “Riki” and Rajo Božović, who Witness JF-035 described as a
commander. 3849 Arkan’s men spent some three to four nights at the Centre, where they were
given equipment and went through more training. At that time, Milorad Ulemek began
separating officers from soldiers in the unit and imposing strong military discipline within the
troops. 3850
1906. Witness JF-027 also provided evidence about this training. He testified that he and
other SDG members were taken to Lipovačke Šume, outside Belgrade, where he observed
armoured vehicles painted in the same camouflage colours as his uniform. 3851 At this location
the witness signed a document, which he believes may have been a contract, although he was
not sure what it was, and was given some money. The next day, the witness was transferred to
Mount Tara, where he lodged at a hotel which belonged to the MUP. At Mount Tara, the
witness saw Red Berets for the first time. At Mount Tara, at what the witness later learnt was
a MUP-owned base used by the SDB, the witness received training for a week, consisting of
military drills and practice together with the Red Berets. Legija was in charge of the
training. 3852 Witness JF-057 also testified that some of Arkan’s Tigers stated that before
going to Velika Kladuša, they first went to a Serbian DB camp on Mount Tara, where they
received training for about a week. 3853
1907. The Trial Chamber notes that Dragoslav Krsmanović also testified about this training.
Considering the overall assessment of the witness’s reliability as outlined in chapter 2, the
Trial Chamber will not, however, rely on his evidence.
1908. The Trial Chamber will first address the challenges to the credibility of Witness JF-
057. The Stanišić Defence urges the Trial Chamber to approach the evidence of Witness JF-
057 with utmost caution. 3854 It challenges the witness’s credibility and reliability on two main
grounds: (1) the witness only had direct knowledge about Arkan’s relationship with Simatović
3848 P494 (Witness JF-035, witness statement, 18 October 2000), p. 17; P496 (Witness JF-035, Slobodan
Milošević transcript, 22-23 October 2002), p. 121923.
3849 P494 (Witness JF-035, witness statement, 18 October 2000), p. 17, Witness JF-035, T. 5418.
3850 P494 (Witness JF-035, witness statement, 18 October 2000), p. 17.
3851 P1596 (Witness JF-027, witness statement, 27 February 2004), para. 12; P1597 (Witness JF-027, witness
statement, 8 November 2010), p. 1.
3852 P1596 (Witness JF-027, witness statement, 27 February 2004), paras 12-13; Witness JF-027, T. 8920-8921,
8924.
3853 P1615 (Witness JF-057, witness statement, 9 July 2002), p. 3; 1618 (Witness JF-057, Prior testimony), pp.
19460-19461, 19578-19579.
3854 Stanišić Defence Final Trial Brief, 17 December 2012, paras 1047, 1064.
Case No. IT-03-69-T 670
30 May 2013