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Show The Salt Lake Tribune UTAH/WORLD Wednesday, May 8, 2002 AS Serb’s Apology Is Rejected subjected to regular beatings = forced labor, and deprived SLCresident recounts injuries as victim of war of proper food and medical care. On Tuesday, prosecutor Preys Reidy asked Mehinovic the beatings caused him any noe health problems. BY BRENT ISRAELSEN THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE THE HAGUE,Netherlands — The attorney for war crimes suspect Simo Zaric expressed his client’s regrets on Tuesday for the igreof Kemal Mehinovic, a Bosnian refugee now living in Salt Lake City. Having just recounted nu- line of questioning further, from a 2-centimeter-deep, 5 chairs the three-judge panel centimeter-long crack in his cranium. His ribs, which he said also were fractured during the beatings, occasionally cause him discomfort as well. day of testimony in a United Nations trial of four Bosnian Serb men accused of “ethnically cleansing” non-Serbs from Bosanski Samac, Mehinovic’s hometown. On Monday, Mehinovic testified that Serb police arrested him on May27, 1992, and took him to the police station, where, on the orders of Zaric, he was repeatedly beaten for several days. » Now 53, Zaric was Samac’s police chief before the war and a well-known folk musician. : For 2% years following his arrest, Kemal would be hearing the Bosanski Samac case. Lukic and Zaric’s attorney, Aleksander Lazarevic,also at- And two years ago, doctors removed halfofhis stomach, 16 centimeters of intestine and ceived in a wartime military that my [abdominal] injuries ness stand. The courtroom drama occurred on Mehinovic’s second ruled Florence Numba, who tempted to pokeholes in Mehinovie’s testimony regarding a three different medications now. “My doctors can confirm staring at Zaric from the wit- bles with the law. Mehinovic acknowledged he was once convicted of embezzlement before the war. But Novak Lukic, attorney for Tadic, could not pursue that Mehinovic said he is bothered by frequent headaches half of a kidney during four surgeries in six days. He takes Mehinovic did nottake the overture well. “I do not accept it,” he said, testimony, defense attorneys probed Mehinovic’s past trou- were due to blows,” he said. Zaric, Miroslav Tadic, Blagoje Simic and Milan Simic, all ethnic Serbs, are charged with war crimes and crimes humanity for their alleged role expelling and perse- cuting ethnic Croats and Muslims duriing the 3-year Bosnian co! ‘Thedefendants and their attorneys are seated to the right of a three-member panel of judges hearing the case in one of three courtrooms of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. About 30 feet in front of the judges sits the witness stand andto the left are the prosecutors. Thick bullet-proof glass separates the press and public gallery from the courtroom. Mehinovic, a Muslim, is one of about a dozen witnesses to testify so far in the Bosanski Samactrial. In their cross-examination, which began midway into Tuesday’s five-hour-long death-penalty conviction he recourt held by the rebel Serb armyin the northeastern town of Bijeljina. Mehinovic, who denied the charge that he participated in an armed uprising against THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: — With [A samples from a beheaded girl in Missouri to a missing 5year-old girl from Miami, anger and frustration over the Florida child’s disappearance cen- tered on the state welfare workers who were supposed to keep tabs on her. Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman lashed out at the Departmentof Children & Families in court, calling the state’s handling of Rilya Wilson’s case “absolutely despicable.” » The judge was particularly critical of Deborah buskey, the caseworker charged with reporting Rilya’s status to the court. Lederman said Muskelly reported that the girl was fine even as she went missing. : Detectives are now treating Rilya’s disappearance as a possible homicide. Geralyn Gra- ham, whohas identified herself as the girl’s grandmother,said she last saw Rilya in January 2001 and thoughtthe girl was in thestate’s care. Lederman also criticized the department for removing Rilya’s sister, Rodericka, from without first obtaining In the end, however,testi- mony about the Serbs’ case against Mehinovic will probably not be considered by the war-crimes judges because it occurred within the borders of the newly created state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. SALE 39.99 tionally Acorn,red, black, navy, white. Orig. 59.99. TheSerb military court was not sanctioned by the interna- judge's consent. Charles Auslander, recognized Bosnian government, which broke away from the Serb-dominated Yugo- tinues today. The trial, which began in September, is expected to last through the summer. Children & Families Secre- Florida Pair Oppose Carter Trip to Cuba KNIGHT RIDDER MIAMI — Two South Florida members of Congress appealed personally to President Bush to block Jimmy Carter’s upcoming tary Kathleen Kearney raised the possibility of criminal perjury charges against Muskelly, trip to Cuba, claiming U.S. policy does not authorize travel by “formerpresidents seeking to appease anti- Investigators are now wait- American dictators.” In the March22 letter obtained by The MiamiHerald, whoresigned in March. ing for the DNA test results from police in Kansas City, Mo., to see if the girl found beheaded there in April 2001 and since nicknamed “Precious Doe”was Rilya. Miami police previously compared a hand print from Rilya and said it didn’t match thatof Precious. Lawyers also argued in court Monday over who was taking care of Rilya when she disappeared. Linda Wells, the DCF’s top lawyer,said Geralyn Graham’s sister, Pamela Graham, had been givenlegal custody. Maria Shohat, a ee for the Grahams, said the sisters jointly cared for Rilya. ralyn Graham has said a woman claiming to be a state caseworker took Rilya for the being in state custody. DUNE slavia in early 1992 and was besieged at the time by Serb forces in Sarajevo. Mehinovic’s testimony con- of their criminal investigation into the disappearance. evaluation in January 2001 and never returned her. DCF officials have norecord of the girl White, acorn. Orig. 49.99. his testimony regarding his military court trial, prompting Reidy to complain of witness ring. Miami, said Rodericka was removed based on what MiamiDade Police uncovered as part the the Graham home last week FLATTER appointed an attorney. The lawyers pointed out a of inconsistencies a department’s administrator in results pasing in tests comparing SALE 39.99 Serbs, said he was never properly informed of the charges or State Worker Criticized In Missing-Child Case MIAMI CHOOSE BORDERSTITCH — COMFORT SANDALS FOR MOM Naturalizer Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen bypassed Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, whose Cabinet department enforces the U.S. embargo of Cuba. “We are forced to write you with this request concerning Mr. Carter because of Mr. O’Neill’s publicly professed opposition to your policy on Cuba,”they wrote. O'Neill a week earlier told a Senate subcommittee that, if he had discretion, he would use resources to track down terrorists rather than chase down Americans who _ the U.S. embargo of SALE 39.99 LARGO White,aay: black, acorn. Orig.59. the Rendersich Event Carter will go to Havana on Sunday and Bushis optimistic that the formerpresi- dent will deliver a strong human rights message. 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