The Autopsy

Two days later, on July 12^th, 1997, Simo Drljaca’s body was brought to Banja Luka, by a special SFOR vehicle, for an autopsy. According to the Official Notes of Judge Zoran Kalaba, the Investigative Judge of the Municipal Court in Banja Luka, the autopsy was performed in the presence of a forensic specialist representing The Hague Tribunal, a SFOR representative for the press, and a SFOR operative worker.

Simo Drljaca’s body, without any clothing, was delivered in an aluminum container. His body was in a separate sack surrounded by bags of ice.

What did the autopsy performed on the body of Simo Drljaca reveal? Picture 1 shows Drljaca’s chest. Simo Drljaca’s body was pierced with four bullet wounds (Picture 2) inflicted by firearms. The gunshot wounds could be considered fatal since death was caused due to hemorrhaging of Drljaca’s vital organs whose heart, lungs and liver were injured by the bullets which entered his body through his upper back and the right lateral side of his chest and exited through the front side of his body (Picture 3). This means that Drljaca had his back and part of his right lateral side turned towards his assailants.

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Fig.2

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Fig.3

Three of the four wounds caused by bullets entering Drljaca’s body proved that he had been shot at from a distance of more than 1.5 metres. The fourth wound (Picture 4), however, shows that the bullet was fired at close range, at a distance of only a few centimetres. This is proved by the sooty skin surrounding the wound and by the particles of gunpowder found in a diameter of 60mm x 40mm.

   Fig.4

Picture 5 shows where a bullet had entered and exited the upper left arm. It can be concluded that one of the bullets which had exited through the front left side of the chest (seen in Picture 3), proceeded to enter, then exit the upper left arm.

    Fig.5

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Pictures 6, 7 and 8 show the injuries that the bullets caused to the longs, heart and liver.

The autopsy further revealed a large injury on the top of the head. This wound, shown in Picture 9, is evidently quite large, and the doctor who performed the autopsy noted that its length was 6cm. Special attention should be given to the following fact: according to the Autopsy Report, the doctor, having previously consulted the forensic specialist from The Hague, made a decision not to open the skull and examine the brain, stating that this was "unnecessary". However, considering the location of this particular wound, which could not be the result of a fall (nobody falls on the top of their head), it can be concluded that this wound was the result of a fierce blow to the head with a mechanical instrument. It cannot be ruled out that this resulted in a brain contusion which may have contributed to the death of Simo Drljaca. However, one question is unavoidable – What kind of "experts" for forensic medicine work for The Hague Tribunal when they are satisfied with an only partially completed autopsy, and based on such can determine the cause of death?

   Fig.9

The autopsy did not reveal any other type of injuries which excludes the possibility that Simo Drljaca had made any body contact with his assailants such as pushing, shoving or anything similar.

And so what conclusion can be made at this point? It can be concluded that Simo Drljaca’s body was pierced with four bullets. On the other hand, according to the Investigation Report, four bullet shells were found at the sight, three 9mm shells and one 5.56mm shell, but, only two 9mm bullets were found, even though the Investigative Judge stated that all material traces at the sight had been preserved.

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