Memorable Excerpts from Dr. Dobričanin’s Testimony in the Hague

Professor Dr. Slaviša Dobričanin testified in the Hague as a defense witness in the trial against the late Yugoslav and Serbian President Slobodan Milošević from April 7-13, 2005. In addition to confirming conclusive findings of the Serbian, Finnish and Belorussian teams of pathologists, that Račak casualties were killed in combat, Professor Dobričanin revealed a number of fascinating, unknown details, vividly illustrating the violent anti-Serbian bias of Western riffraff that flocked to the Serbian province in preparation of NATO aggression, and the dramatically charged Serbophobia that enabled Račak hoax.

It is important to note that, after the testimonies of Judge Marinković and Professor Dobričanin, the Račak-related charges were dropped from all five indictments at the Hague, including those of former Presidents Milošević and Milutinović. For this reason, the following excerpts include the most interesting, revealing parts of Dr. Dobričanin’s testimony, rather than the parts related to the actual evidence that reduced Račak to what it was from the very start — an ugly hoax used by NATO as a trigger to launch a 78-day bombardment of Serbia.

On April 7, 2005, Professor Dobričanin told the Hague judges how he learned about the casualties after Serbian police clashed with the Albanian KLA terrorists in the village of Račak, on January 15, 1999.

Top specialist in forensic medicine, former Director of the Forensic Medicine Institute in Priština, Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija, and a university professor, Dr. Dobričanin was called by the Priština District Court Investigative Judge Danica Marinković to accompany her to the scene of the battle, to record the findings and examine the bodies, as the common part of the investigation. Although they started their journey to Račak village already the next day, on the morning of the 16th, they were prevented from reaching the trenches where the bodies of 40 KLA fighters were found, until three days later, on January 18, when the bodies were carried over to the local mosque.

“I Am the Famous General No-One’s Ever Heard Of”

Professor Dobričanin: Ten minutes after our arrival to the police station in Štimlje, a general who introduced himself as British General John Drewienkiewicz entered with the translator — two of them, I suppose translators, or one interpreter and a young lady, I don’t know in what capacity. He introduced himself saying: “I am the famous General John Drewienkiewicz”, and I have never heard of him before. He was very arrogant in his conduct towards all of us at the time. Personally, I felt very uncomfortable when he started ordering us around and saying we can’t go to Račak, that only an investigative judge can enter Račak, that perhaps only I can accompany the investigative judge, without an armed escort — without policemen — that he guarantees our security and that, if anyone were to shoot at the Račak inhabitants, he will personally take Mrs. Danica Marinković to the Hague.

When she asked him: “And what will happen, General, if they should start shooting at us?”, he answered, “The same thing will happen, because you provoked them, and I will detain you and take you to the Hague in that case too.”

After hearing those words, Mrs. Danica Marinkovic stopped talking to him and ordered us to set off towards the village of Račak.

Mr. Slobodan Milošević: … the investigative judge decided to go to Račak nevertheless. Do you know why the investigative judge decided that way?

Dobričanin: In addition to the threats that he issued at the office in the Internal Affairs Department Štimlje, this same gentleman, Mr. Drewienkiewicz, repeated when we left the office and were setting off to go to Račak. As an investigative judge at Priština District Court, Mrs. Marinković had the right and was the only one competent and authorized to lead the investigation and, moreover, she was required to go under the legislation of Kosovo and Metohija and the Republic of Serbia. So she acted in accordance with the rule of law in our country, and I believe she was right.

Struggle for the Corpses

[Inside the mosque, where the bodies were brought]

Milošević: Were the OSCE observers in the mosque at the time you arrived?

Dobričanin: Yes, they were with us all the time.

Milošević: Were there reporters as well?

Dobričanin: Yes. There were two of them, and there was a camera there as well. I don’t know who was filming and for whom.

Milošević: You said that all the bodies were numbered by the investigating technicians. Were they also photographed on the spot, in the mosque?

Dobričanin: Yes. They were photographed, and they were numbered 1 to 40. It was done on the spot by the scene-of-crime officers.

Milošević: What was done with the bodies then?

Dobričanin: Mrs. Marinković issued orders that the bodies be loaded on the truck and transported to Priština, to the Institute of Forensic Medicine. We set off through the village, through those narrow streets where the fighting had taken place according to our information, and when we came close to those trenches, we heard explosions. They were probably from mortar shells or something like that, it was something very powerful.

Through the radio communication, the policemen who accompanied us found out that the truck with the bodies was fired at from the mortar weapons, in an attempt to destroy the truck and the bodies in it. The truck driver very skillfully avoided the fire and continued his way to Štimlje which is very close, as I already mentioned.

We did not attach any particular importance or significance to this at the time while we were touring the trenches. We were just surprised. We couldn’t understand. We couldn’t think of any reason why would anybody fire at the truck with the corpses. Talking among ourselves, we said this was now a rather unique situation where we had to fight for the corpses, instead of the living, because that indeed was a struggle for the corpses.

From America, With Love

Milošević: Where did you go when you left Račak?

Dobričanin: I accompanied Mrs. Marinković, the investigating judge, who went to a house right below the hills where we found the trenches later. We entered the premises. I saw a great many scattered things there belonging to the KLA members. They took pictures of weapons. I saw an Albanian flag and also documents, some lists scattered about. I really was not very interested in this. I was just interested in seeing what their headquarters looked like under the circumstances. I went out and I looked at some of the smaller rooms on the side next to the headquarters. I found a mess hall, a dining hall with a long table and dishes that were used for serving food. I found a kitchen and white coats that were probably used by cooks and the like. I found a warehouse right next by, where there were many yellow-colored packages, with “US Aid” written on them or something like that. And those were the packages we were finding everywhere in Kosovo at the time, when the police would seize something, or when there were armed clashes. And sometimes in the pockets of participants in the conflicts we would find such packages. There was a large quantity of those packages there. We also found some sacks with flour, sugar. In the upper part of the yard there was a bakery that could have been seen from the distance. There were also some other buildings in that yard, but I don’t know what their purpose was.

Miloševilć: All right, Professor. You described to us now — let’s just stop here for the moment — you saw a dining room. It was some kind of a room for collective meals, if I understand you correctly?

Dobričanin: Absolutely.

Milošević: You said there was a long table and benches?

Dobričanin: Yes.

Milošević: For how many people was this, approximately?

Dobričanin: Well, to give a rough approximation… there were two benches, one on each side… Perhaps 30 or 40 people… say, about 30 people could sit down at the same time and have lunch there.

Milošević: All right. What you saw there, that is to say headquarters and these materials, you saw the dining-room or, rather, a mess hall, then cooks’ clothing, warehouses with food… Did this look like a type of military barracks to you?

Dobričanin: Being that I had completed my military service and since I was a reserve officer, I can say that is exactly what it looked like.

OSCE Leaves Serbian Officials to Get Killed

Milošević: After that, I assume you went back to the center of Račak, where your vehicles were, with the intention of leaving.

Dobričanin: After that, we went to the right from that particular spot (when facing the hill). We passed by a facility they told me was the village aqueduct which supplied water to the Račak village. We walked downhill, taking the village path towards the first houses in Račak and when we got close to those houses, a fierce gunfire started. I noticed that those two orange vehicles belonging to the OSCE monitors were near those houses. At the moment the shooting started, they simply started their cars and went into the village — they simply disappeared. Personally, I expected their presence would prevent some heavier gunfire and our killing, but they simply left us to our own devices.

There were five or six policemen with us who took their weapons out but didn’t want to shoot. First of all, they didn’t see where was the shooting coming from and, secondly, they didn’t want to reveal where we were. We were hiding behind some baskets at the back of some houses, in a yard which was rather undefined. They weren’t proper residential buildings.

At some point the gunfire stopped, and we used the opportunity to get into our vehicle, the Lada Niva, and we went into the village itself in order to reach the crossroads where the road to Štimlje was.

After that, there was shooting all over the village, non-stop. I could not tell where the firing was coming from because I was in this vehicle. Certainly there was a bit of fear involved, too. When we got out of the village, I can just tell you that, at one moment, on this village path, on the right-hand side, next to a high wall which is characteristic for the Albanian villages, I saw those two [OSCE] vehicles parked one after the other. I did not see anyone in the vehicles, and they stayed there, and we went ahead.

From the center of village we turned left towards Štimlje, and the automatic gunfire got heavier when we got into a clearing. That’s where I think I heard the bullets whizzing by the car — one hears that quite loudly, and there was a lot of gunfire coming from a mortar. I realized that because all around us, wherever we were going, there were sprays of sand and pebbles, due to the pebbly terrain there. Our driver was comforting us, promising he’d get us out. We were all a bit afraid. After all, that is only human… At one moment, I saw the back window break…

… When we were hit, we went down the side to get to the road and on to the police station in Štimlje, and that is how our work in Račak ended.

Milošević: … No one was hurt?

Dobričanin: Thanks to the bulletproof windshield projectile had hit.

OSCE’s Pederson Flips

Milošević: Before starting to perform the autopsies, did anyone from OSCE contact you?

Dobričanin: Yes. Mr. Pederson, who reacted very violently to the fact that we were starting our autopsies, stating that we had to wait for the team from Finland. They have announced their arrival, but only few days later. I have informed the investigative judge, Mrs. Danica Marinković, about this. She consulted somebody else, I don’t know who. At some point, I was called by Mr. Janković, who was a Justice Minister at the time. He asked whether the autopsies could be postponed. I told him the decay had already advanced to such a degree that any further delay would hinder our findings in a major way. He agreed we should follow the judge’s orders. We rejected Mr. Pederson’s intervention and agreed to start working.

Milošević: So, the Justice Minister from Belgrade intervened, asking you for a postponement, until the arrival of the Finnish examiners. You gave professional reasons why there should be no delays. Did I understand you correctly?

Dobričanin: Yes.

Milošević: And did you explain to Pederson what were the problems of delaying the autopsy and what could happen?

Dobričanin: Yes.

[...] Milošević: What was Pederson’s reaction to the decision the autopsy should go ahead straight away, without waiting for the Finns?

Dobričanin: He was extremely angry. He left the building. But when we started the autopsies he nonetheless did attend.

Milošević: And what is his profession?

Dobričanin: Well, I assume he’s a lawyer, because after the armed conflict in Kosovo and our withdrawal, I believe he became the head of the legal department of the UNMIK administration.

The Exhumation and the Ambassador’s Wife

Milošević: Who made up the Finnish team?

Dobričanin: The Finnish team was made up of Professor Dr. Antti Penttila, Kaisa Lalu, Rainio — I think his name was Juha Rainio… He was a crime technician, scene of crime officer, photographer, and so on. And at the head of the Finnish team was Mrs. Helena Ranta, who was a forensic dentist.

[...] Milošević: …From this document in tab 1 we can see that the Finnish team was present in Kosovo all the way back from 1998; is that right?

Dobričanin: Yes.

Milošević: For what purposes and how was it that they were present in a capacity related to your professional work?

Dobričanin: They came over in 1998, immediately after the bodily remains or, rather, bones [of Kosovo Serbs killed and cremated by the KLA] were found in the Klečka location, probably with an assignment agreed with our state organs to assist us in identification process and with everything that accompanied that event.

However, apart from that, they started touring Kosovo and Metohija in general, going to some sites and locations which didn’t mean anything to me at the time, and I didn’t know about them.
They went to Glodjani, for example, where 40 bodies were found in a lake and in the lake estuaries. They went to the village of Golubovac, in Drenica, I knew nothing about. They visited Gornje Obrinje, for example, another location. What was interesting was that they went to Gornje Obrinje without anyone’s knowledge, without any of the state organs knowing about it, they went on their own and toured a location where, allegedly, the bodies of Albanians were found. Just to explain in few sentences that, as agreed with Mrs. Helena Ranta and the investigating judge, Mrs. Marinković, we went to that village on December 9 to jointly attend the exhumation on a discovered location. When we arrived, we were provided with good security, because Drenica is a very difficult zone and a very dangerous area.

Milošević: … You mentioned the fact that they had arrived to see some bodies, dead bodies in a lake. What do you know about that? Who was that?

Dobričanin: Those were bodies of the individuals who were kidnapped and killed in 1998, perhaps even in 1997. They were in a state of decomposition, of decay, from the Glodjani area, Dečani area, that general region, and some other villages in that area. Members of the KLA had kidnapped these people, killed them, and thrown them into the lake, Radonjić Lake. At the time, a team from the Belgrade Institute for the Forensic Medicine, appointed by the District Court in Peć, examined the bodies and determined the identity of, I think, some 20 of them. Around 20 of the bodies remained unidentified and buried in the graveyard of the village Piškote, near Đakovica. The year before last we exhumed those bodies again and, before that, the Court, actually the Prosecution or the Prosecution investigative organs have also performed the exhumation in an effort to determine the identity of those bodies. In the past months we have been receiving the information about their identity…

[Returning to the joint attendance of the exhumation in Obrinje] We started out to the village of Obrinje for an exhumation, together with the Finnish team. Now, for you to be able to assess the atmosphere that prevailed and everything that took place afterward, I’ll tell you this: In addition to the experts, the Finnish team also had the ambassador — the Finnish ambassador to Yugoslavia with his wife; the Finnish Human Rights Minister, Mr. Kimo Lahelma; the first secretary or maybe a second secretary of the German embassy in Belgrade, Mr. Ottmann; and several other individuals whom I did not know and who, in my professional opinion, had no place at the exhumation of the bodies. In fact, never — never in my entire career, civilians outside the profession, people who were not authorized by the judge to attend, would show up to attend the exhumation.

At one point we stopped at the clearing on the road. There were the slopes on both sides and several houses could be seen. There was lots of snow and we noticed people in black clothes running over from both sides. This is clearly visible in the snow, and the distance was around 200-250 meters to the positions they took on both slopes…

Judge Robinson: Professor, tell us why did you say that, according to your opinion, certain members of the Finnish team should not have attend the exhumation of the bodies? What was it that disqualified them in your opinion?

Dobričanin: … They were disqualified by the fact the investigative judge’s directive did not include their attendance, allowing them to attend the exhumation. Secondly, nowhere in the world is it a common occurrence to have the exhumations of the grave sites outside the graveyards attended by the ambassadors of certain states, who are not authorized by the either side to attend these events.

There was clearly a whole other issue at stake here, other than attending the exhumation. It is certain that madame ambassador’s wife wouldn’t attend the exhumation, either. I don’t know where would they be at the time of the exhumation, but we were the exhumation team, not a picnic delegation. That’s the thing. If you allow me just to explain, in few sentences, what happened after…

Judge Robinson: Yes, please.

Dobričanin: When we saw the KLA members lining up, and that was clearly visible, our policemen were told over the radio connections that they are preparing to liquidate us. We told the Finnish team that we should go back, but they wanted to press on. We had mixed up in with the Finnish team and after three hours of arguing, all of us went back. That is the whole story about that event.

Ranta, a Political Choice

Milošević: [...] What was the role of Helena Ranta on the Finnish team, and what were the roles of the other members of the team?

Dobričanin: Helena Ranta was the official head of the team of the EU-FET, the European Union Finnish Expert Team. She is a dentist by profession, who finished forensic dentistry specialization, while all the other members of the team were forensic medicine experts, or forensic pathologists, as it is also referred to, and the top international pathologists — first and foremost among them, my good friend Mr. Antti Penttila. Mrs. Ranta could hardly be the best possible choice to lead such a team, consisting of the top world experts in forensic medicine, but I guess that is a matter of political arrangements…

No Differences Between the Serbian and Finnish Forensic Findings

Milošević: Did the Finnish experts perform — correction, compile their own written findings?

Dobričanin: Yes. We received them on the 13th of March, 1999.

Milošević: Professor, look at tab 2. Is this the finding of the EU-FET, the Finnish Expert Team?

Dobričanin: Yes. There were 40 of such reports, each one accompanied by a videotape. This first report, if you allow me, refers to the first body, which we tagged Račak 1, and this number RA-17033EF is proof that it was also examined by the Finnish team.

Milošević: So this is an answer to my question. This is report number 1. And in this tab we see a complete written report of the Finnish team, complete with photographs, expert analysis, et cetera. As a professional, tell us, is this the kind of complete report that is normally done in such a procedure?

Dobričanin: Yes.

Milošević: Now, tell me, did the conclusions of our experts coincide with those of the Finnish experts on all the 40 bodies?

Dobričanin: Absolutely. There are no significant differences.

Milošević: After the completion of each autopsy, did both Yugoslav and Finnish doctors who participated in the postmortems compare notes, so to speak, and compare their analysis?

Dobričanin: Yes, we did. We compared our drawings, sketches and analysis, and you have here one of the drawings done by Dr. Otašević [Serbian], and his drawing was attached to the Finnish report. You can find it on one of the pages behind the text.

Milošević: Yes, we can see this drawing behind the text.

Dobričanin: It is written in longhand. Those are our working notes.

Milošević: So you explained a moment ago that after the completion of each autopsy, both Finnish and Yugoslav doctors compared their findings. I would like to ask you now, did on that occasion both Finnish and Yugoslav doctors who were involved in the autopsies establish whether each particular detail was contained in both the Yugoslav and the Finnish report?

Dobričanin: Yes, in every single case.

Milošević: Did either Yugoslav or Finnish doctors abandon any of the bodies without having completely harmonized their findings?

Dobričanin: No, never.

Milošević: Did Finnish experts perhaps write later about their work in Račak?

Dobričanin: Yes, they published two expert articles. One was published in the Forensic Science International, Volume 16, 15th of February, 2001, signed Juha Rainio, Professor Penttila, and pathologist Kaisa Lalu, all three being members of the team who worked in Račak village.

[...] Milošević: In the last paragraph on page 2, it says: “Forensic investigators from Yugoslavia, Finland, and Belarus took part in the examinations performed in Racak.” And then it says that they worked under the pressure of an extreme international publicity and media pressure, and then it says, “There was a complete understanding”, and it goes on to say the same thing you explained, “The autopsy findings were discussed in the genuine professional agreement. In the examination of the Račak casualties, 60 percent of autopsies were done by us or in our presence, while in 40 percent we have conducted the exterior examination”… In the middle of the last paragraph, it says “In both groups the final conclusions were identical” … “Subsequent to the investigation, Yugoslav authorities have informed the media that no grounds exist for bringing charges against any Serbian police regarding the Račak incident. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, however, has charged five Yugoslav officials, including the president of the FRY, with crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. The first of the seven charges is based upon events at Račak.”

[Milošević, cont.] So, Professor, here in this article the Finns confirm that findings were equally definitive and identical with those of the Yugoslav experts.

Dobričanin: Yes, that is correct. And earlier in my testimony today I have spoken about this. There were absolutely no differences. The best document confirming this is this article published by the Finns.

Milošević: Professor, let’s just have a look at tab 3.1. It’s only presented in English. “Forensic investigation in Kosovo, Experiences of the European Union Forensic Expert Team.” Then it says Rainio, Karkola, Lalu, Ranta, Takamaa, Penttila.

I’d like to draw your attention to page 220, just a passage here. “At the conclusions on the autopsy findings concerning injuries and cause of death were discussed by the Yugoslavian, Belorussian and Finnish specialists. This was done in full professional consensus, and there was no disagreement on these issues. The working atmosphere in Priština between the EU-FET and Yugoslavian and Belorussian forensic experts was professional, friendly and fruitful.”

And How do You Have Your Morning Coffee?

Judge Robinson: Doctor … did you find anything to indicate that these individuals [Račak casualties] were other than unarmed civilians?

Dobričanin: Your Honour, first of all, we have found several layers of clothing, which indicated these people were out in the open in the month of January, the 15th or the 14th of January, because it is not common to sit in one’s house in that much clothing. I have here with me the exact list for four cases, from my notes I took with me by chance when I left Priština — if you allow me, I would read that. May I?

Judge Robinson: Yes.

Dobričanin: Number 7: Dark blue overcoat, dark red sweater, dark green sweatshirt, light green sweater, short-sleeve t-shirt, dark blue corduroy pants, sweatpants, red sweat suit with the drawstring, dark blue socks, black half boots made of rubber, with the zipper, lined with the artificial fur, brand OZEL with two dots over the ‘O’. That’s one case.

[...] Case Račak 11 had the following clothing on: black cotton jacket, green sweater, olive green sweater, gray sweater, dark red short sleeve t-shirt, pair of jeans, sweatpants, long knitted underpants, handmade, in gray color and two pairs of socks. We found no shoes on this body.

Next is Račak 22, “Ra22″, who had dark red jacket on, made of cotton and lined, dark blue knitted sweater, gray knitted sweater, shirt, black cotton t-shirt, long sleeved, black rubber boots identical to the ones I just described, lined with the artificial fur, of OZEL brand, gray short socks, green knitted wool socks, lined jeans, black sweatpants, long white underpants.

“Ra24″ also had jeans on, black lined cotton jacket, short lined black jacket — so, two jackets — beige short sleeved t-shirt with the collar, black-gray short-sleeve t-shirt, jeans and the blue sweatpants.

People dressed like this certainly do not sit at home in the early morning hours when, according to the information, this event took place. So, this indicates the individuals who, dressed as warmly as this, had to be somewhere outdoors. And the second thing this clothing suggests, which leads us to a conclusion I stated yesterday, according to my experience, is that all the external parts of the clothing, jackets, top coats, and so on, were either black or dark in color, dark brown or black or dark gray — very close to black, which was the color of the members of a “territorial defense”, whose task was to secure the [KLA] headquarters in the villages, and of a large number of KLA members who did not have sufficient number of uniforms to put on, but were distinguished in this way. Indeed, this was the color of the KLA police.

Judge Robinson: Thank you. Mr. Milošević, please continue.

The Case of Miraculous Skullcaps

Milošević: We have seen here, Professor, many photographs of the Račak bodies. On some of those photographs of the bodies, at the place they were shown when William Walker was there, that was shown on several occasions in this courtroom, at least on two bodies we see they are lying down with the traditional Albanian cap, called the Keca (skullcap), on their heads. We have those photographs in tab 5. There are, of course, better quality photographs in color, but one can nevertheless see Walker next to a body with the keče on. And on the previous page we can see another body, also with the keče on his head. This one, as we see, was hit in the head, in tab 5. Now, as somebody with a great deal of experience in this field of forensic science, in the cases of killings by the firearms, how can you comment? Somebody who has been hit, has fallen down and, here, this man who was hit has a cap on his head. Is that possible?

Dobričanin: Never, not in a single case throughout my entire career had it happened that someone is hit by a projectile, and falls down to the ground — or hit by a vehicle for that matter, or by a stick or stone, and so on, by a shovel, and there was a lot of that in Kosovo and Metohija — never could that person have retained a cap of this type on their heads. Without exception, the cap would have fallen closer or further away from the body, depending on the kinetic energy which affected it.

In this concrete case, in addition to the observation and conclusion I have just made, there is another fact to be observed, that this man was hit in the head, which is clearly visible on the photograph, and that is additional proof that the cap could not have stayed on his head.

Regardless of the type of injuries, never, not in a single case, would such cap, a cap of this type, and the other kinds of caps which are have not been firmly attached to the head, are not retained on the head when a man is killed and when he falls to the ground. This is a specific type of round cap which doesn’t get pulled deeply towards the ears; rather, it sits on top of the head … most often pushed to the back a bit, yet more reason it would have fallen off. That has been my experience. That has been the experience of my colleagues, and I have had occasion to discuss things like that, why the cap can or cannot fall off the head. So this is something that is absolutely established if you look at the features of that particular type of skullcap.

Clintoniada

Milošević: I assume you remember the statement American President Clinton had made prior to the start of aggression against Yugoslavia, when he said that old men, women and children had been rounded up and killed, forced to kneel in the gutter and showered with bullets. Can you please tell us, could that claim have grounds in any of the facts you are familiar with?

Dobričanin: Among the casualties we found in Račak, there were 39 men and one woman. So, there was no more than one woman. Secondly, on these bodies there wasn’t a single trace of a use of any other force, except for the effects of projectiles fired from the weapons. Therefore, what was said in that press conference, or wherever, was not true.

Milošević: …You have just brought up a new fact — new in respect to your testimony. Here [in the Hague indictment against President Milošević] in the paragraph 66 it says that “group of 25 [Račak] men tried to hide. The FRY and Serbian forces had found them, they beat them and then took them to the nearby hill, where they were killed by the firearms”. Professor, did you just say none of the 40 examined bodies had traces of being beaten?

Dobričanin: Not on a single body which we autopsied, and there was a total of 40 bodies, did we find any traces of physical force in terms of mechanical tools of any type except for the traces that I keep referring to time and again, the traces of the projectiles fired from firearms.

Milošević: Can it therefore be established that it was conclusively determined through your expertise, that not a single casualty had any injuries due to some form of beating? They talk here about the 25 men who were beaten, and then executed. Would there have to be traces of any kind of blows they had sustained before they had been executed?

Dobričanin: There were no traces of injuries sustained prior to death, except the traces of injuries caused by the firearms. There were traces of scratches on the skin as the body fell, or during that short-termed agony, and also there were postmortem wounds due to rodents that had gnawed at the bodies, as I already mentioned.

So, What About Being “Forced to Kneel in the Gutter” and Being Killed Execution Style, as Clinton Told the World?

Milošević: Professor, since you explained that the multiple wounds came from different directions, in the case of these persons with multiple wounds among the Račak casualties, what was the situation in regard to the bullet path directions that were established during the autopsies? How does that fit with the assertion that these persons had been executed, shot and killed?

Dobričanin: This fits into a whole other assertion, namely that these persons were killed in a war conflict. Because when there is execution, we do not have wounds coming from different directions. Perhaps horizontally, but not from the above and the above-down and up. That would simply be impossible even to try to reconstruct.

He Who Shoots From the Trenches Dies in the Trenches

Milošević: Bearing in mind everything the report contains, in all cases or almost all cases death resulted from wounds to the upper torso, to the head or to the chest; is that right? Can you comment on that fact, that all these casualties were hit in the upper torso, the head and the chest?

Dobričanin: Bearing in mind the fact I toured the territory of Račak where we were informed this clash had taken place, the position of the bodies in the trenches corresponds very well to the findings of the wounds during the autopsy, because in that case the lower parts of the body — including the abdomen and especially the legs — were protected, because they were in trenches. This isn’t a medical conclusion, it is my personal conviction.

Manipulation with Images

Milošević: …Professor, you noticed that on one of the pictures from the [Račak] mosque, made while the bodies were still there, women can be seen wearing black clothes, mourning the deceased. You had been in Kosovo a long time, you know the customs and habits of the population there. Is there anything that seems strange to you in that photograph?

Dobričanin: Yes. I saw that photograph before as I was surfing the Internet and I found it strange for two reasons. First of all, women, Muslim women do not enter mosques. Secondly, the black color of their clothing is not the color of mourning among the Muslims. That surprised me a bit. I have no explanation for that.

Cartoon by Nikola Otaš (Serbia)