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Podujevo 1999 – Beyond Reasonable Doubtconsequence of growing up in a patriarchal family on one side and the resultof the choice of profession on the other, the profession he had decidedon in his youth. During the time of analysis of the mental condition of thedefendant at the time of the crime he has been charged with, the expertwitnesses had in mind the temporal context the event took place in. In theopinion of the expert witnesses, participation in the war activities, in general,creates, in all persons, a feeling of uncertainty, insecurity and expectation,as well as apprehension for personal, social and vital existence, all ofwhich can apply to the personality of the defendant and his psychologicalfunctioning in times of war. All this generates, in him, a continuous state ofemotional tension and, at the same time, lowers his threshold of toleranceto frustration. This points to a possibility of uncontrolled and hasty reactionsin certain provocative situations. Once all of this has been placed inthe context of the crime he is charged with, his ability to comprehend thesignificance of the crime and to control his actions, in the opinion of expertwitnesses, were reduced, but not significantly.The court has accepted this opinion in full and the expert witness had explainedit at the main trial. However, on the other hand, the court had inmind the fact that the defendant, at the time he committed the crime, hadalready been an experienced soldier so that his arrival to the field wherearmed conflicts took place were not something to surprise him greatly.What is of great importance is the fact that nobody of the plaintiffs, withhis or her behaviour, contributed to the increase of emotional tension of thedefendant. The situation, in fact, was such that, in the town of Podujevo itself,obviously, only the civilians, women and children and old men, hadbeen left. Upon the arrival of the Scorpions unit, these people who had lefttheir houses had offered no resistance and had formed a column that wasleaving Podujevo. This was mentioned by the plaintiffs and by the membersof SAJ who were present in Podujevo on that particular day. Besides,at the time of removing the people from their houses, the defendant wasarmed, like all other members of his unit, and not one of them ever entereda house or a courtyard all alone. On the contrary, they entered in groupsand, with their behaviour, obviously created fear among the civilians. Uponentering the courtyard where the Bogujevci family was, the defendant hadalready seen a group of women and children who were in the street and,together with them, entered the courtyard. Because of that, in view of thefact that it was the case of the women and children leaving their houses335