Bosnia: Satellite pictures were essential in discovering Srebrenica mass graves

The Hague, 27 Jan. (AKI) – Satellite pictures, supplied by the United States, were essential in discovering mass graves of thousands of Muslims killed by Bosnian Serb forces in eastern town of Srebrenica in July 1995, a prosecution witness told the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on Friday.

Testifying in the trial against Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, the witness Jean-Rene Ruez said Srebrenica massacre was reconstructed based on testimonies of survivors, but it would have been impossible without satellite shots.

“We would never have found the graves without satellite pictures, because one witness even passed by a location without recognizing it,” Ruez, who worked six years as chief investigator for the tribunal, told the court.

He described in detail the killing of 1,000 Muslims in the village of Kravica near Srebrenica and on several other locations. The executions had the characteristics of “well organized obliteration”, he said.

Karadzic has been charged on eleven counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by forces under his command during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war.

The indictment centers on the killing of up to 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica and 44-month siege and shelling of Bosnian capital Sarajevo. Karadzic was arrested in Belgrade in 2008 and was transferred to the Hague for trial.