Untitled

Podujevo 1999 – Beyond Reasonable DoubtThe deputy district public prosecutor asked the witness a question and thewitness answered:“There was no weaponry in the house in which my family was. Idriz and SelimTahiri were killed near Hadži Sadri’s house, which is located some twentymetres away from this shed.Nazim Veseli was wounded when Tahiri father and son were executed. I didnot talk to Nazim about the event when he was wounded. I do not knowwhether there were any weapons in this house where we were staying becausewe were only guests there. I only know that since we left our housealready on 24 December, it was impossible that we had any weapons.”Injured parties’ representative attorney Dragoljub Todorović asked a questionand the witness gave the following answer:“I heard that army and police were coming from Prolom Banja. I think wehad no problems with the regular police. However, paramilitary and militaryunits were coming from time to time to conduct the organised cleansingoperations. Paramilitaries cleansed the area, killed women and childrenand that is practically how they emptied the whole town. KFOR doctorsattended the exhumation and they inspected the corpses. I do not evenknow if they made a record of it. After that I took over the bodies and buriedthem. After this the bodies were not re-exhumed because I could not letthe bodies be exhumed again due to my health problems. Safet and I collected98 bullet cases at the spot where we found blood in Halim Gashi’syard. That place was maybe three metres away from the place we foundblood at. We turned in all bullet cases to the Hague tribunal.”The defence counsellor asked a question and the witness said:“Selim and Idriz Tahiri were murdered, executed on 28 March. We heardthe shooting, but we did not know who was executed around 10:30 or 11:00. I could not say exactly what date it was when the paramilitary formationsarrived. We did not hear that and other people informed us. I heardthat the paramilitaries arrived on 27 March from Prolom Banja and theywere situated in the Brotherhood and Unity school building in Podujevo. Iheard that in the evening of 27 March. The cleansing that I saw began ear-169