An East Ridge man’s trial next month for alleged war crimes will likely be complex for reasons ranging from language barriers to time passed to international witnesses, according to court statements made by the defense.
“I’m not going to spend six weeks trying this thing because you all can’t get to the point,” United States District Judge Charles E. Atchley said Thursday.
Sead Miljković is charged with three counts of torture and three counts of passport fraud in connection with the Bosnian War.
Miljković was allegedly a prison guard from 1994 to 1995 for the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, a self-proclaimed government group of Bosnian Muslims opposed to the nation’s central government. Then, he allegedly used the name Sead Dukic to exploit a refugee program for vulnerable Bosnian civilians and gain citizenship in the United States.
Cases similar to Miljković’s involving war crimes have been prosecuted seven or eight times in the United States, Miljković’s attorney, Bryan Hoss, said Thursday at Chattanooga’s federal court.
Miljković’s defense filed several motions, mostly about case evidence, ahead of the April 29 trial.
The war broke out in Bosnia after the country declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and it involved certain Bosnian Muslims, who opposed the new government and established their own state.
There is a fair amount of evidence that accuses Miljković of aiding and abetting torture that doesn’t name the other involved parties, Hoss said.
For example, one of the victims alleges an unnamed person pushed them down on a bayonet, but Miljković aided and abetted that act, Hoss said.
There are also allegedly inconsistent statements made by alleged victims, and none of the victims identified Miljković through a photographic lineup.
(READ MORE: East Ridge man to face torture charges April 29 in Chattanooga)
Miljković’s defense claims it would be prejudicial to then allow the victims to identify him in court.
Prosecutors said Thursday they turned over all the evidence the government has, and Miljković’s defense isn’t entitled to the theory of the case.
Atchley said he took prosecutors at their word, but he had yet to make rulings on the motions as of Friday afternoon.
“They can’t turn over what they don’t have,” Atchley said.
The federal government is flying in witnesses for the two-week trial, and Miljković is expected to use an interpreter. The defense has less than five witnesses it expects to call to the stand, Hoss said.
Miljković still has a few weeks to reach a plea deal, but there were no discussions in court about nearing an agreement.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.