In its opening statement, Enver Hadzihasanovic's defense indicates it will try to prove the 3rd Corps commander did everything possible in difficult wartime circumstances to prevent and punish crimes against non-Bosniaks.

Enver Hadzihasanovic was a "responsible commander" and should not be made into a "scapegoat" for crimes committed in Central Bosnia, defense counsel Stephane Bourgon said today at the beginning of the defense case at the trial of the former commander of the BH Army 3rd Corps. Hadzihasanovic is being tried with the former commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade, Amir Kubura.

“The crimes were committed, they are deplorable and the victims deserve sympathy," Bourgon noted, adding that his client had "done all that was his duty as a commander" and that his corps had "on several occasions ordered investigations to be conducted and forwarded them to the competent" military courts. "The defense supports the efforts of the prosecutor to find those responsible for the crimes committed by the mujahedin," the lawyer said. He will try to prove Hadzihasanovic should not be held criminally responsible for those crimes.

The defense will present evidence to prove that the commander of the 3rd Corps did everything possible in difficult wartime circumstances to prevent and punish crimes against the non-Bosniak population. "The circumstances must be taken into account," the defense counsel stressed. In his view, the prosecution’s case "ignored the general context" of the war in Central Bosnia, "showing just a couple of trees, not the entire forest."

After the opening statement, Enver Hadzihasanovic's defense will start calling witnesses, three of which are planned for this week.

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