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Podujevo 1999 – Beyond Reasonable DoubtWitnesses testifying against policeThe defendant’s counsel, his family and wartime comrades began suspectingStoparić’s “patriotism” as soon as they learned I had met with him in acafe in the town of Šid. The local police called him in for questioning, wantingto know what we had talked about. Then his comrades began coming,asking if it was true that he was going to “betray the Serb nation.” Asthe trial approached, they warned him to desist or “nothing will save you”.Just before Stoparić was due to appear in court, on 10 December 2003, hisformer commander Boca offered him a substantial reward if he behaved“like a patriot should” and said the punishment for traitors awaited him ifhe did not.I did not dare tell anyone that a former member of the special police forceshad decided to speak out about the killing of Albanian women and children.The day before Stoparić’s appearance in court, I spoke with the SerbianPublic Prosecutor, gave him a statement by Stoparić and requestedprotection for him. When I told the prosecutor about the threats made byStoparić’s former commander and the latter’s connections with the police,he replied that Stoparić need not be afraid, that the police, prosecutor’s officeand court would do their job in the professional and responsible wayenvisaged by the law.The first measure ordered by the court was that Stoparić would join the Albanianwitnesses who were already under protection. He was taken to aroom near the courtroom where he found Enver Duriqi, Florim Gjata, RexhepKastrati and Naim Veseli. In Serbian, Duriqi said, “For the first time,I feel better.” Gjata put out his hand to shake Stoparić’s, and Kastrati andVeseli said: “We were afraid to come to Belgrade, but it was worth it.”The news of Stoparić’s “betrayal” had in the meantime reached Šid. First,the wall around his brother’s house was defaced with vulgar slogans. Thenon 17 January 2004, Igor Sabo called Stoparić’s brother on the telephoneand, speaking for himself and Milovan Tomić, another former member ofthe Serbian special police forces who carries a Croatian passport, threatenedto fire a LAW rocket into his house. Sabo also advised him to buy awreath, saying his brother was a traitor and “a dead man”.201