The cantonal court of Mostar has sentenced Esad Gakic and Ramo Zilic to a total of five and a half years in prison. Gakic has been sentenced to one year and a half in prison, while Zilic has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Presenting its closing statement before the cantonal court of Mostar, the prosecution called upon the court to find Ramo Zilic and Esad Gakic guilty of war crimes in the Konjic area. The defense proposed a verdict of release.
A prosecution witness testifying at the Esad Gakic and Ramo Zilic trial said no prisoners were abused during his term as prison manager at the Musala prison facility in Konjic.
The Ramo Zilic and Esad Gakic trial has been postponed due to the failure of two defense witnesses to appear in court.
A defense witness testifying at the Ramo Zilic and Esad Gakic trial said he never saw Zilic. The same witness said he used to see Gakic at the Musala detention camp in Konjic, but didn’t know his name at the time.
Testifying in his own defense, former military policeman Esad Gakic said he worked as a guard at the Musala detention camp but didn’t enter locker rooms where Serb prisoners were detained.
Testifying in his defense, Ramo Zilic told the cantonal court of Mostar that he did not beat prisoners while he was a guard at the Musala school building in Konjic.
Statements by two witnesses were read at the trial of Ramo Zilic and Esad Gakic at the cantonal court in Mostar. The witnesses described the beating of prisoner Dragan Kuljanin.
As the trial of Ramo Zilic and Esad Gakic for crimes in Konjic continues, Prosecution witnesses tell the Cantonal Court in Mostar that detainees were beaten in a school building in Musala, but they cannot say anything bad about the indictees.
Ramo Zilic and Esad Gakic appear before the Court of BiH and plead not guilty of crimes against civilians in the Konjic area during 1993 and 1994.