here - Humanitarian Law Center/Fond za humanitarno pravo

conclusively determined, he stated that in no case would he exclude the possibility that injuries
inflicted to their soft tissue by a firearm could have caused their death.
Expert witnesses Dr Branko Mandić and Ana Najman, who conducted psychiatric and
psychological examination of protected witnesses ‘Alfa’, ‘Beta’ and ‘Gama’, stated that the
injured parties employed defense mechanisms, such as repression, withdrawal and denial. When
reliving a traumatic experience, they did not add new images but simply recollected past events
and re-experienced the trauma. The protected witnesses` capacity for perception, calling to mind
and retelling what they remembered had been preserved, even after such a long period of time,
and they showed no propensity for false memories or memory disorder.
Analysis of proceedings
The proceedings revealed serious flaws in the work of the Victim and Witness Assistance and
Support Service of the Higher Court. The injured parties had the status of protected witnesses and
testified under code names at main hearings which were closed to the public. These measures
were necessary, but proved insufficient, because the Assistance and Support Service failed to
properly do their work. The Service did not even provide appropriate conditions for the
victims/protected witnesses during their stay in Belgrade. One of the victims, who came to testify
from abroad, where she lived, was provided only with bed and breakfast, without lunch, despite
the fact that her testimony was lengthy and she was going back home immediately upon
testifying. Also, none of the victims/witnesses received adequate assistance to become familiar
with the procedure for testifying. More importantly, none received psychological support. During
their testimony, all three of the injured parties/witnesses were under great stress and their
testimonies had to be interrupted to provide them with medical assistance. They were clearly
confused, unfamiliar with the audio and video equipment and the sequence and manner of
questioning.
These injured parties, as victims of sexual violence, of whom two were underage at the time of
the crimes, are considered especially vulnerable and they were inevitably exposed to secondary
victimization while testifying, which affected their testimonies. Bearing in mind the importance
of the testimonies of victims of sexual abuse in war crimes trials, specific mechanisms for the
protection of such witnesses have been developed in practice. International criminal courts have
established procedures in order to adequately cater for the special needs of this category of victim
encompassing special protection measures, special procedures to adduce evidence, provision of
assistance and psychological support by trained experts throughout testimony. Some countries in
the region have adopted these procedures. Despite the fact the Law on Organization and
Jurisdiction of Government Bodies in the Prosecution of War Crimes provided the legal
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