Indicted

by Tom Saric

  “Answer the question please, Mr. Braun.”

  “Your Honor, the witness spoke to me on condition of anonymity. With all due respect to the court, revealing where the interview took place could compromise that.”

  Judge Yun sighed in defeat. He covered his microphone with his hand, then leaned over and whispered to the other two judges.

  Ratko had taken his earphones off and was shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He could see what was coming on the horizon. The walls were starting to close in.

  Judge Yun turned back and said, “Mr. Braun, we appreciate your discretion, but we do need some details about the setting of this interview. Otherwise we’ll end up having to take your word for it. As you can appreciate, the credibility of every testimony is an important consideration for us, so the more detail you can provide, the better.”

  Braun nodded. “The interview—”

  Ratko shot up and hammered his fist on the table, swearing in Serbian. “This man is not a witness. He is—”

  “Mr. Banović,” Judge Yun said, “you’ll have your turn to cross-examine the witness.”

  Ratko looked at Braun. “You have a binder of fabrications!”

  “Mr. Banović, do not address the witness directly. Would you like to address the court?”

  Ratko took a deep breath and gathered himself. He buttoned up his suit jacket and spoke in Serbian. “What we are about to hear is an abuse of the proceedings. We have heard the prosecution’s theories. And now, illegally, the witness will be reciting a fabricated story from a ‘phantom’ witness that no one can corroborate. The witness is now free to hurl lies and accusations while leading the court further and further from the truth. What, then, is stopping me from producing transcript after transcript of anonymous witnesses who know that I am innocent of these crimes?”

  “Mr. Banović, we understand your position. The credibility of the testimony is something that we have to consider, and for that reason we are asking for clarification from Mr. Braun. Can we move on?”

  “No.” Ratko pointed a finger at Braun. “I have another thing to say. Robert Braun is the man who unlawfully arrested me in Belgrade, held me in a cell without basic sustenance, and then extradited me without following international protocol. I request that the court charge him with these crimes.”

  Judge Yun rubbed his forehead. Ratko was wearing on his nerves. It had been a long day on top of a longer few months. “Mr. Banović, you are on trial here, so I suggest you focus on your defense rather than on leveling accusations at the court and the witnesses. These diversions, I can assure you, will not change the course of the trial. If you continue to speak out of turn, I will hold you in contempt of the proceedings and we will have a record of that.”

  Braun looked at Pink out of the corner of his eye. He took in a deep breath and pursed his lips, suppressing a satisfied smile. They’d succeeded in getting Ratko riled up. The louder he yelled about what was in the binder, the more interested the judges would become in hearing the testimony.

  Nicole didn’t think the testimony would be allowed, and as a result the initial charges leveled at Ratko didn’t include murder. But Pink had come up with a strategy that he thought could sway the judges. And it had just worked.

  Judge Yun motioned for Pink to continue.

  “Mr. Braun, can you please give us some information about the location of the interview?”

  “I interviewed the witness in a hotel room in Sarajevo. Just the two of us. These were his conditions.”

  “What was the reason for the precautions?”

  “He was threatened by men working for the accused. They said that—”

  Ratko objected to that. “The witness is speculating. He was not a witness to this event.”

  Judge Yun nodded. “The prosecutor is advised to watch his choice of language.”

  Pink continued, “Did the witness give you any reason for his conditions of anonymity?”

  “Yes. He said that he and all other members of the White Tigers were threatened by the accused. They were told that if they testified against him, their families would be killed. He was scared.”

  “Was the witness a member of the White Tigers?”

  “Yes, he was.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “He was listed as a member of the group in official documents in the archives in Belgrade. He also showed me the distinctive tattoo that all members of the White Tigers have on the inside of their right forearm.”

  “Can you describe the tattoo?”

  “Upon initiation, all members of the White Tigers have the outline of a Siberian tiger tattooed on their forearm, with a cobra emerging from its open mouth. Below the tiger are the Cyrillic letters тигар, Serbian for ‘tiger.’”

  “Was the witness a member of the White Tigers on December 14, 1997, the date of the massacre in Barimo?”

  “Yes, he was listed as a member on that date.”

  “And how did you find this witness?”

  “I was investigating Mr. Banović in relation to several accusations. I tracked a number of the former White Tiger members down, including the witness.”

  “You tracked him down?”

  “Yes. That is part of my job, finding witnesses.”

  “And what did the witness say to you?”

  Braun testified that the witness had been a member of the White Tigers for three years, spending two of those years under Ratko’s command. The morning of December 14, the White Tigers had set up a roadblock with four convoy trucks at both ends of the road on either side of the village of Barimo. They herded the village men to the field that sloped off the main road and took the women and children to the schoolhouse.

  “Mr. Braun, you have provided the court with a transcript of your interview with the witness. Could you please read from it, starting with line eight on page forty-seven?”

  Ratko shot up, objecting, “The court has the transcript. There is no need for a rehash.”

  Pink stepped in before Yun could get a word out. “Your Honor, the transcript contains details that I would like to question the witness about. That is why I’ve asked for only a portion of the full interview to be read.”

  Judge Yun told Ratko to sit down, then added, “You can read from the interview, Mr. Braun.”

  Braun opened the red binder and flipped through the plastic-protected pages, then began reading out loud.

  What did you do with the men in the field?

  We had them lie down on their bellies while we waited for orders.

  Were you in uniform?

  Yes, we were all in uniform.

  How many of you were there?

  Four in my group, three in the other group.

  The other group was with the women and children in the schoolhouse?

  Yes, we sent fewer soldiers there because we thought we would need more with the men in case they became unruly.

  Did the soldiers have weapons?

  Of course we did. We all had M70s and CZ99s with us.

  “Mr. Braun, if I may interrupt,” Pink said. “You have read the autopsy reports on the victims, is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “And did the autopsies on the exhumed bodies list the size of the victims’ wounds?”

  “The deceased all had multiple gunshot wounds to their bodies consistent with seven-millimeter bullets. A number of the victims also had gunshot holes to the back of their skull made by nine-millimeter bullets.”

  “And are you aware of the bullet specifications used in Zastava M70s and CZ99s?”

  Ratko objected to this. “These weapons were used by every army in the conflict.”

  Braun knew Ratko was right. M70s and CZ99s were standard issue for the Yugoslav army since the 1980s. Croatians, Serbs, Bosnians, and Albanians were all killing each other using the same weapons.

  “Your Honor, I’m trying to establish the credibility of the anonymous witness.”

  “You’ve made your point. Now move on with your exa
mination, please.”

  “Mr. Braun, please continue reading from where you left off.”

  Why did the White Tigers come to Barimo?

  We were ordered to.

  Do you know the rationale behind coming to Barimo?

  A member of our group had been killed by a sniper two weeks earlier while patrolling in a nearby town. Someone heard that the shooter was hiding in Barimo, so we came to find him.

  Did you question the people in the town?

  No.

  Why?

  We were ordered not to.

  By whom?

  Our commander. He didn’t want us to talk to the villagers. He gave the order over the radio.

  Who was your commander?

  Radoslav Banović.

  Pink looked up from his notes, ticked something off, and said, “Please note that the witness has identified the accused as the commander of the White Tigers on December 14.”

  “Noted.” Yun nodded.

  “Please continue, Mr. Braun.”

  What happened next?

  We got another order from the commander.

  What was the order?

  He said to kill them.

  He said “kill them?”

  The exact command was “judge them.” We knew what that meant. It was the code for “kill” among us.

  So you just carried it out?

  We hesitated. We all did. But then we discussed it. What the commander said went. He wouldn’t forgive us if we didn’t follow through.

  How did you kill them?

  We lined them up against the fence, which was barbed wire because that was where they kept the sheep. One of the guys had the idea that they should hold the wire, so we made them grip barbs, pressed their hands into them until they bled. Then we took ten steps back and shot them all. A few were still alive, twitching, so we shot them in the head.

  Then what did you do?

  We went to the truck and radioed the commander, told him the job was done. He told us to start digging. Bury the bodies. We started doing that, and I decided to go to the school to see if the other men needed help. When I got there, I saw…

  What did you see?

  Dead children. They were all shot. The women were dead too. They were sitting at desks. A few of them were in the hall. I assumed they were trying to run.

  Did you ask the soldiers what happened?

  I did. The sniper couldn’t have been one of the women or children. But they said the commander ordered them all to be killed.

  How many bodies were there in the school?

  Sixteen.

  How old was the oldest?

  Ratko objected again, saying that guessing ages was speculative.

  Pink replied immediately; he wanted this part of the testimony to get on the record. “Mr. Banović is correct that the witness obviously didn’t check the victims’ ages. However, we are all capable of estimating ages. In addition to providing details on the events of the date in question, accurate estimates of ages can add to the witness’s credibility, which Mr. Banović has already called into question.”

  “You may continue, Mr. Braun,” said Judge Yun.

  How old was the oldest?

  About seventy-five.

  The youngest?

  Probably about six months.

  The room was silent. The faint buzz of a power bar could be heard somewhere.

  Pink seemed satisfied that the testimony had gone as planned. Braun thought he would be happy, yet he felt sick to his stomach for having used a dead baby as leverage in the case. He reminded himself that it would lead to Ratko spending the rest of his life in a cold room made of cinder blocks, which was the ultimate goal.

  Pink left the lectern without saying a word, allowing Ratko to lumber up to it. Ratko wore headphones so he could hear the Serbian translation of Braun’s testimony. Judge Yun noticed that Braun didn’t put his headphones on and instructed him to do so.

  “I am fluent in Serbian,” Braun said.

  “Is it your native tongue?”

  “No, it is not, Your Honor,” he said. “But neither is English, and I didn’t require headphones for that. I’m fluent in eight languages.”

  The judge nodded. Ratko slid off his earphones and said, “The witness that you found, did he commit any of the murders he described?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many?”

  “I’m not certain. At least one.”

  “Maybe more?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe five?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Okay, you testified earlier that the secret witness had received orders from me to kill all of the villagers in Barimo. ‘Judge them.’ Does that mean killing?”

  “In this case, according to the witness—”

  “I’m not asking about this case. I’m asking if that is what it means.”

  “‘Judge them’ meant the same as ‘kill.’ It was used as military code.”

  “I’m not asking what the secret witness said, I’m asking you if it means the same thing.”

  He hesitated and stared at Ratko. Braun was preoccupied with trying to stay a step ahead of him and determine where he was going with his line of questioning. He sensed Ratko was setting a trap, but he couldn’t see it.

  “No, they do not mean the same thing. But the witness explained—”

  “That’s all I needed to know on that, thank you.”

  Braun looked at Pink and then Nicole, wondering if they were going to object. But they both sat expressionless.

  “You testified earlier that you found the witness,” Ratko continued. “How did you locate him?”

  “As part of the investigation, I searched out all of the individuals who may have been involved, or who were witnesses to the massacre in Barimo. I interviewed many people, including police and government officials, and searched through documents. I covered a lot of ground. Many of the people had moved, changed identities. A lot of them didn’t want to be found.”

  “Did you track down any members of the so-called White Tigers?”

  “Yes. I located all sixteen surviving members who were in the region of Barimo on the day of the massacre. I traveled to four continents to find them.”

  “You left no stone unturned.”

  “That is correct.” Braun decided to leave out Juan’s part of the investigation—his work was always thorough and complete. There was no need to bring it up; it would allow Banović a chance to question the credibility of an investigation that contracted independent investigators.

  “You arrested them?”

  “We had enough information to indict four men. Their trials are pending.”

  “How many of the sixteen agreed to testify?”

  “One.” Braun cleared his throat as he said it, and the word came out less than confidently.

  “And the one that testified, what are his charges?”

  “He is not currently charged.”

  Ratko made a perplexed face, exaggerating for the court. “But I thought you said he had committed a murder.”

  Braun said nothing.

  “Did the secret witness admit to killing some of the men?”

  “One.”

  “‘At least one’ is what I believe you said.”

  It wasn’t a question, so Braun stayed silent.

  “So how is it that he was not indicted for murder?”

  This was the stumbling block that Nicole had warned him about. As valuable as this testimony was for linking Ratko to a larger crime, the credibility of the witness, in the eyes of the court, was precarious. Braun had been in the room with the witness, looked into his eyes, watched his breathing, his hand motions. Braun knew he was telling the truth.

  But the facts could cast doubt. He had cut a deal in order to get the testimony, but the witness wouldn’t budge on remaining anonymous. He was scared. Braun could feel fear in his bones while sitting across the hotel table from him.

  “The witness had agreed to provid
e his firsthand eyewitness account. In exchange, we agreed not to prosecute unless further evidence came to light.”

  “So the witness agreed to testify against me in order to be spared prosecution for a crime he freely admitted to.” Ratko turned his nose up. “How many others agreed to testify?”

  “None.”

  “When did you become aware that the witness was one of the shooters?”

  Braun could feel people staring at him. He looked at the prosecution table, silently pleading for them to object. They only stared back, defeated.

  “Some time earlier.”

  “Before the interview?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you were aware that he had killed someone. Did you bring this up with him?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did you threaten him with an indictment?”

  Pink objected to the wording of the question, which Ratko immediately withdrew.

  Ratko flipped through some papers in front of him on the lectern. “Mr. Braun, what do you know about coercion?”

  Judge Yun spoke before Pink could get his objection out. “Mr. Banović, please refrain from asking hypothetical questions.”

  “Very well. In 1989, did you work as an investigator for the Grand Ducal Police in Luxembourg?”

  Braun hadn’t even brought up the Paul Stoltz incident with Nicole or Pink. They both sat up a few inches in their chairs. That case seemed like a lifetime ago, something he had packed away neatly. He hadn’t intentionally kept this information from them. It was that dusty book you forgot about on your bookshelf.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you investigate the murder of a young girl named Steffi Frank?”

  It had been dealt with, the pardons were issued, Braun said to himself. He hadn’t even told Nicole after he applied to work for the Tribunal. It seemed irrelevant. Mistakes were made.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you charge a man named Paul Stoltz with her murder?”

  Nicole and Pink exchanged nonchalant glances, but in this courtroom, everything seemed deliberate and stiff.

  “Yes.”

  “Were the charges eventually dropped?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did an inquest determine that you had”—Ratko held the paper in front of his face and read the report word for word—“‘unlawfully coerced the suspect, Paul Jon Stoltz, resulting in a false confession?’”