Witness Refutes Former MP Head's Testimony

The crime investigation did not officially start because the area was under UNPROFOR supervision.

Ante Gugic, the head of the military police crime department in 1993, clarified his role in the events for which generals Rahim Ademi and Mirko Norac are on trial, in his testimony at the trial for the war crimes in the Operation Medacki Dzep. 

After Minister Susak had issued the order for the investigation of the events in the Gospic area, a crew headed out in the field on September 29.  

“Our task was to enter the area and conduct a police crime investigation. I expected the team that MUP (Ministry of the Interior) was to form to be there. However, Mr. Ugarkovic at the police administration there told us that MUP had no knowledge of any criminal acts. Then, at about 19 h, we went to Ademi and Primorac to see what the conditions were for conducting the investigation. Mario Prlic was the one who talked to Ademi, not I in person. [The conversation] lasted 10 to 15 minutes. We were informed that UNPROFOR was in the area, which meant that we would not be able to do the work we came to do. To clarify, [we] were to contact their representatives and I was not authorized to do this.” 

Gugic also said that, in the course of the operational work, a part of his team acquired about 30 different documents which were placed as an appendix to the report that was filed. The witness replied to the questions asked by the prosecutor saying that he had not felt that his work in Gospic had been obstructed. Nevertheless, he is not satisfied with the report because it includes speculation and assumptions and not facts. MUP, the investigation judge or the prosecutor was responsible for the investigation, concluded Gugic. 

“The report was given to Lausic at a staff meeting”    

Unlike Lausic, Gugic claims that the report was “given to Lausic at a staff meeting and record of this exists.” To clarify, it was customary to do this at staff meetings, Gugic pointed out. When he was informed that Lausic said that Gugic had taken the report directly to the Defence Minister or his assistant, Gugic said that he did not remember this. 

The witness also said that Ladanovic and Ivankovic were in Gospic on behalf of the General Staff. They were to collect personal evidence there. Gugic does not know what they did because he had not seen any of their reports.      

General Mirko Norac’s attorney Zeljko Olujic asked for the record to be entered so that a quality investigation of the experts at the Department of Forensic Medicine would make it impossible to destroy the evidence. To clarify, Gugic’s report states that, over time, bodies exposed in the open are destroyed by different external factors and that inexpert people are unable to recognize this.   

The trial continues in September.