A recording of a speech the former commander of the BH Army General Staff held at the farewell feast for the El Mujahid Detachment on 1 January 1996 in Zenica was today admitted into evidence through protected witness PW-9.


At the trial of General Rasim Delic, the prosecution called a protected witness, PW-9, and showed the controversial recording of the speech that the former commander of the BH Army General Staff held at the ‘farewell feast’ for the El Mujahid Detachment on 1 January 1996 in Zenica, as alleged in the indictment. A part of the speech of Sakib Mahmuljin, who commanded the 3rd Corps at the time, was also shown. According to the prosecution, El Mujahid Detachment was part of BH army 3rd Corps.

In his examination-in chief, the witness confirmed that he had been present at the gathering organized to mark the disbanding of the El Mujahid Detachment. Commenting on the recording shown in court, the witness noted that it ‘doesn’t reflect at all the atmosphere at the farewell ceremony’. According to him, it was held indoors, while the recording showed it was outside. As for the audio recording, the witness said the voices could be Delic’s and Mahmuljhin’s, but he ‘couldn’t be positive about it’.

The witness doesn’t remember whether on that occasion Delic said that the El Mujahid Detachment was in the BH Army chain of command and that he had told NATO representatives this at their meeting at the Sarajevo airport on 21 December 1995. ‘This would not have been an appropriate comment’, the witness said.

Later in the examination, the witness noted that he thought the voice of the interpreter in the recording belonged to Aiman Awad, former member of the El Mujahid Detachment, but was again not able to be positive about it.

The recording of Delic’s address at the farewell feast in Zenica was admitted into evidence. The prosecution originally wanted to tender this video through Awad the interpreter, but his testimony has been postponed until further notice. As the defense challenges the authenticity of this video tape, a forensic voice analysis was carried out. The results haven’t yet been disclosed.

The prosecution requested NATO and the US Government to give them documents related to the meeting with Delic at the Sarajevo Airport.

The trial continues tomorrow.

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