Reynaud Theunens, witness at the Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic trial

Prosecution military expert Reynaud Theunens testified at the trial of two former chiefs of the Serbian state security service, Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic. Theunens contends that crucial evidence on the role of the units under Stanisic’s and Simatovic’s control in the wars in Croatia and BH can be found in intelligence and other military documents. The Belgian expert put together his findings in a report, Military aspects of the roles of Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic in the conflicts in Croatia and BH from 1991 to 1995. On the first day of his evidence, Theunens was examined by the prosecutor and provided some explanations about parts of his report.

A JNA intelligence report drafted at the very beginning of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia notes that the Serbian state security service decided to establish contact with an Australian citizen, Daniel Sneden, who gained notoriety later as Captain Dragan. The document – sent to the federal defense minister Veljko Kadijevic – says that Captain Dragan was involved in the training of special units in Golubic near Knin and that throughout that time he kept in touch with the Serbian secret service through Franko Simatovic Frenki and Dragoljub Filipovic Fico.

The role of Dragan Vasiljkovic was discussed in greater detail at a meeting Vasiljkovic had in late 1991 with the Serbian defense minister Simovic. Minutes taken at the meeting state that the Serbian state security had contracted Vasiljkovic for the training of volunteers in Krajina; Vasiljkovic worked together with the intelligence service chief Jovica Stanisic and interior minister Radmilo Bogdanovic. Wrapping up the meeting, Simovic said ‘the question is not whether to use Vasiljkovic to train the specials, but how to do it’.

A military intelligence report drafted in 1996 lists the formations that operated in Croatia and BH under the control of the Serbian state security service and MUP: Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan’s Serbian Volunteer Guard, Vasilije Mijovic’s special unit, the Red Berets under the command of Zivojin Ivanovic Crnogorac and the unit run by Slobodan Medic Boca. According to the military intelligence, Arkan treated the JNA troops in Eastern Slavonia in 1991 ‘arrogantly and bossily’. Arkan’s men ‘got into Croatian houses, interrogated people and committed crimes, the report noted. A memo from Ratko Mladic, dated 23 September 1995, accuses ‘Arkan’s men’ of ‘killing loyal Muslims’ in Sanski Most. Another JNA document blamed the events in Zvornik in April 1992 on Arkan’s men.

Analyzing the engagements of the units controlled by the accused in various battlefields, the witness noted that two of the Red Berets, Radojica Rajo Bozovic and Dragan Djordjevic Crni, were mentioned as participants in the operations in Doboj and Bosanski Samac, while the Scorpions unit that belonged to the Serbian MUP was involved in the Trnovo area in the summer of 1995 together with the VRS. Theunens corroborated this claim with a document from 1 July 1995 in which General Mladic authorizes the use of helicopters to evacuate the wounded Serbian MUP personnel from the Trnovo area.

A chapter in the Belgian military expert’s report is dedicated to the ties between the Serbian state security service and the events in Krajina. As Theunens concluded, Franko Simatovic knew what was going on in that area. From 1991 on, Simatovic regularly received key reports from the Krajina police and the Territorial Defense. His name was not spelled out in full on the recipients’ list: he was listed only as Frenki.

As the hearing drew to a close today, Jovica Stanisic’s defense began cross-examining the witness.

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