Rasim Delic signed documents promoting and decorating Mujahedin commanders and citations for special merit for the El Mujahed unit. The BH Defense Ministry paid out 16,000 German Marks to each of its members, as compensation for their contribution to the war effort. All this indicates, the prosecution contends, that the foreign fighters “really were members of the BH Army”, and as such, subordinated to the Commander of the Main Staff, on trial now

In order to prove that the foreign fighters “really were members of the BH Army”, the prosecution will show BH Defense Ministry payrolls, said Daryl Mundis as he continued with the opening statement today. The payrolls shows that in December 1995, the Mujahedin received remuneration to the amount of 16,000 German Marks. The prosecution will also tender into evidence documents originating from the BH Army Main Staff, bearing the signature of the accused Rasim Delic, giving promotions and decorations to the El Mujahed commanders, and citations for the foreign fighters’ unit itself.

Noting that the accused is on trial for failure to act – to prevent and punish the crimes committed by the Mujahedin – the prosecutor concluded his opening statement with an instance in which Delic did act: he was present at the farewell ceremony for the El Mujahed, after the unit was disbanded in December 1995, as required by the Dayton Peace Accords.

The first prosecution witness to take the stand was Andrew Hogg, British reporter who interviewed Abu Abdel Aziz, the commander of the first Mujahedin group to arrive in BH. The interview took place in August 1992, in Mehurici near Travnik. The half-hour audio recording of the interview was played in court today. Aziz explains to Hogg that he and his fellow fighters came to Bosnia out of a sense of duty, to help the Muslims who were “killed just because they were Muslims”.

Aziz’s statement that as early as in August 1992 the Mujahedin were “under the leadership and control of the Muslim forces” and that they received weapons from them is potentially significant for the prosecution case. In the cross-examination, Rasim Delic’s defense asked for the audio recording to be replayed, noting that Aziz was talking about the “Muslim forces” and not about the BH Army.

The witness agreed with the defense counsel that the term “Muslim forces” is used, but he pointed to the fact that Aziz had agreed to do the interview only if the BH Army command in Travnik approved it. Hogg managed to get their approval. The defense tried to paint the approval as “a general document allowing foreign journalists to get into the war zone”, but Hogg disagreed, saying it was “an essential document”: without it he would not have been able to interview the first leader of the Mujahedin in BH.