here - Humanitarian Law Center/Fond za humanitarno pravo

attempted to rape one of the victims but failed as he was drunk. Alen Ristić denied involvement
in the rape, shifting blame to Đurđević and Jović.
During the presentation of evidence, the court heard the injured parties, namely Kurem Avdić,
son of the late Ramo, Fata Avdić, Ramo’s wife and Nizama Franc (née Avdić). They described
very precisely what had happened to them, specifying the time of the crimes and the manner in
which they were committed, as well as perpetrators. One of the injured parties, Hajreta Avdić,
because of the trauma she endured (she had given birth to a baby only a couple of days before the
incident) declined to take the stand before the Higher Court in Belgrade. Instead, she was
interviewed by the presiding (lady) judge in the premises of the Serbian Embassy in Vienna,
where she currently lives. Also questioned were witnesses Dušan Spasojević, a police inspector,
and Milorad Lovre, a crime scene technician, both working at the Bijeljina SUP at the time.
Immediately after the injured parties reported the crime, the two men performed an investigation
of the scene of Ramo Avdić’s murder, and obtained medical documentation for the injured parties
Nizama and Hajreta. Also, a medical examination of Ramo, Nizama and Hajreta Avdić was
performed to determine the injuries inflicted on them.
Having convicted the defendants, judge Vinka Beraha Nikićević, who presided over the chamber,
outlined the reasons behind the judgment. She said that in the course of evidence presentation it
had been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had committed the crimes they were
charged with. On the basis of their own testimonies, and the testimonies of witnesses, Dušan
Spasojević and Ramo Fejzić, the court established that the injured parties were civilians and that
victim Ramo Avdić was no Muslim extremist, but a reservist of the Bijeljina SUP, a wealthy and
respected man, “actively involved in efforts towards a peaceful settlement of conflicts between
Serbs and Muslims in Bijeljina”. The court also determined that the accused, together with
Milorad Živković (being tried separately), on 14 June 1992 in the ‘Tref’ café in Bijeljina, after
being told by Danilo Spasojević, a local resident, that Ramo Avdić was a Muslim extremist who
supplied weapons to the Muslims and stored weapons in his home, decided to go to Avdić’s
house. They came to Ramo Avdić’s house, searched it and took away the weapons, for which he
possessed all the required permits, as well as gold jewelry and money they found in the house.
The court found that Dragan Jović killed Ramo Avdić by shooting him in the mouth. At the same
time, the accused gang raped and sexually abused Avdić’s daughter-in-law Hajreta, who had
given birth just a couple of days earlier, and his daughter Nizama. After that, the court
established that they had taken the women from the house and put them in a car they had stolen
from the injured party Dosa Todorović, and drove them toward Brčko. They stopped the car in
Ljeljenča and raped and sexually abused Nizama and Hajreta again, after which the accused left
the scene leaving the victims without clothes or shoes by the side of the road.
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