Untitled

Podujevo 1999 – Beyond Reasonable Doubtwhen the families from the courtyard were leaving their houses. This witness,in his words, when the civilians had come out, entered the house butwent out when he heard a volley and learned from defendant Saša Cvjetanthat it was he who had fired a volley in order to hasten the civilians to leaveas soon as possible. Witness Olujić then left in order to bring the remainingsoldiers while defendant Saša Cvjetan remained. Chronologically, thiscorresponds with the explanation of the defendant who stated that he, aftera large group of civilians had left the Gjata courtyard, had entered thehouse and carried out a search. In one of the houses he discovered a Zbrojovkapistol which he appropriated.In the immediate vicinity of the Gjata house, in the street, there was agroup of women and children of the Bogujevci, Ljugaliju and Duriqi families.Earlier, they had been evicted from the Bogujevci family house. PlaintiffsSelatin Bogujevci and Enver Duriqi are fathers, husbands and sons ofthe women and children who were in the group and who had, before theevent in question, left their houses and it was on the basis of their statementsthat the identity and the number of the members of their families remainingtogether in their houses has been determined. After the killing, themembers of their families who had been killed at the same occasion in thesame courtyard were buried together and later exhumed and identified.Thus, on the basis of the statements of witnesses Selatin Bogujevci who, inthe morning hours of 28 March 1999, had left his home, it was determinedthat his family - that is, his mother, wife and underage children - had remainedin this house, and the family of his brother, Safet, as well as the parents,wife and underage children of their friend Enver Duriqi. At the maintrial, witness Selatin Bogujevci sketched the place their house was locatedin Podujevo, at No. 265 Kosančić Ivana Street, and in the same courtyardthere are some more houses. As the plaintiffs and their children, present atthe event, had described, they had first been in Selatin’s house and thenhad gone to the house of Selatin’s and Safet’s uncle where all of them weretogether with the Duriqi family.The injured party/witnesses - underage children Lirrie, Jehona, Fatos andSaranda Bogujevci - gave identical descriptions of the essence and the detailsof the event. It has been determined on the basis of their statementsthat their wives and children, their mother, aunt and sister-in-law had been297