SIXTH REPORT
OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA ON WAR CRIMES
COMMITTED IN THE TERRITORY OF THE FORMER SFRY
Case No.
I Deliberate killing of civilians 223-262
II Deliberate killing of detainees and prisoners of war 088-107
III Inhuman treatment of civilians 083-100
IV Inhuman treatment of detainees and prisoners of war 171-226
V Wilful killing and inhuman treatment of wounded and
sick prisoners 056-065
VI Hostage taking and detention camps 050-054
VII Wanton devastation and destruction of property 051-056
VIII Devastation of places of worship, cementeries,
cultural and historical monuments 036-038
IX Ethnic cleansing 116-135
Annex I
Decapitation as a means of genocide over the Serbs
in the former Bosnia and Herzegovina
Annex II
List of detention camps for Serbs
Annex III
Genocide of the Serbs in Mostar
Belgrade, December 1995
================================
I
Pursuant to the Security Council resolution No. 780 dated October 5, 1992,
item 1, the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia hereby submits a
new - sixth report on the cases of violation of the international war and
humanitarian law in the territory of the former SFRY.
This is the fourth report prepared by the Committee Compiling Data on
Crimes Committed Against Humanity and International Law, whose task is to
establish all relevant facts concerning armed conflicts and acts of violence,
particularly those representing grave violations of the international war and
humanitarian law.
The Report contains 178 cases of grave violations of the international
war and humanitarian law committed in the period since the outbreak of the war
in parts of the territory of the former SFRY. It contains new or especially
amended data pertaining to the previous reports.
The information contained in the Sixth report have been collected in the
field and processed by the Committee Compiling Data on Crimes Committed
Against Humanity and International Law in cooperation with the judicial and
law enforcement bodies, as well as forensic experts and other experts
specializing in various fields. Information collected by non-governmental
organizations and associations have been partially used as well.
The information contained in this report represent only extracts from a
much larger batch of documents filed with the Committee. The intention of
presenting them in this form is to inform the public in the country and
worldwide of the data considered to be established in the process preceding
the judicial fact-finding proceedings.
II
On the basis of the previously adopted criteria, the crimes contained in
the Sixth report have been classified as follows:
Out of 178 cases presented in this Report 40 cases relate to Deliberate
killing of civilians; 20 cases to Deleiberate killing of detainees and
prisoners of war; 18 cases to Inhuman treatment of civilians; 56 cases to
Inhuman treatment of detainees and prisoners of war; 10 cases to Deliberate
killing and inhuman treatment of the wounded and the sick; 5 cases to Hostage
taking and detention camps; 6 cases to Devastation of civilian facilities,
unwarranted from the military point of view; 3 cases to Devastation of places
of worship, cemeteries, cultural and historical monuments; and 20 cases to the
so-called Ethnic cleansing.
III
A smaller number of (29) cases presented in this Report are concerned
with the grave violations of international war and humanitarian law arising as
a consequence of the aggressions launched (in May and August 1995) by military
and police forces of the Republic of Croatia throughout Western Slavonia
(United Nations Protected Areas), as well as other parts of the territory of
the Republic of Srpska Krajina (Dalmatia, Lika, Bania and Kordun).
On May 1, 1995, the Croatian Army launched a planned offensive throughout
Western Slavonia, with the knowledge of the UN peace-keeping forces (Nepalese
and Jordanian battalion) which moved away from their observation and
monitoring posts. The Croatian forces consisting of at least 15,000 troops
focused their attack against 4,000 Serb defenders who were not in possession
of heavy weapon systems which had been stationed and put under the UNPROFOR
control in accordance with the existing agreement (testimonies of the heard
witnesses). Heavy artillery weapons, tanks and Air Force were engaged in the
course of offensive. During the military operation, even civilian targets were
deliberately hit.
The Croatian Army forces waited for the refugee columns of civilians who
were fleeing aboard tractors, trucks and motor-cars from their attacked
villages and heading toward Bosanska Gradiska and the Sava river, planning to
cross over the bridge into the territory of the Republic of Srpska. Civilians,
who were mainly comprised of elderly, women and children, were massively
killed.
According to the testimonies of witnesses, on May 1 and 2, 1995, massive
killing of civilians (over 400) was registered in the village of Novi Varos,
on the road from Okucani to Bosanska Gradiska. By opening fire from heavy
artillery and small arms, as well as from aircraft, members of the Croatian
armed forces attacked the refugee column which was heading toward the Sava
river trying to avoid the encirclement by the Croatian Army. Civilians who
were walking on foot or moving on tractors, motor-cars, trucks and other
vehicles were being mercilessly killed. Croatian authorities burned Serb
corpses in situ by using some unknown chemical agents which enabled
carbonization of their dead bodies. Some corpses were taken to unknown
locations and some to the sites known to the Committee. Traces of blood were
washed down. It was only after the traces of crime had been removed that
international organizations and media were allowed access to that part of
Slavonia.
This report contains only extracts of a much larger batch of documents
concerning capturing of civilians throughout the attacked area and their
detention in the camps located in Varazdin, Bjelovar, Slavonska Pozega and
Kutina, as well as in other places in Croatia, where they were subjected to
torture and inhuman treatment.
The cases presented in this report indicate that concrete regular units
of the Croatian Army, their commands and individuals, as well as camp
personnel bear the responsibility for the killing of civilians and commiting
of other criminal acts.
In August 1995, Croatian Army launched another major offensive throughout
The Republic of Srpska Krajina committing new crimes - killing of fleeing
civilians, conducting artillery attacks upon civilian property, massive exodus
of civilian population, attacks focused on refugee columns, as well as other
criminal acts. After taking control of Krajina, the Croatian Army started
systematic looting, mining and burning of houses and other facilities
belonging to the Serb population which had fled, as well as systematic killing
of remaining Serb civilians - mainly the elderly and disabled citizens. Daily
reports of the representatives of international humanitarian and other
organizations, as well as of foreign press,bear witness to these crimes.
In addition to the above-described crimes, this report also includes new
information on crimes committed by the Croatian side (deliberate killing of
civilians, deliberate killing of detainees and prisoners of war, inhuman
treatment of civilians, etc., and especially cases of ethnic cleansing carried
out at the very beginning of the civil war). Those crimes were committed in
the following places as well: Bjelovar, Bibinje (Zadar), Virovitica, Vinkovci,
Vrana, Grubisino Polje, Donji Miholjac, Islam Grcki, Nova Gradiska, Osijek,
Rijeka, Split, Slavonski Brod, Crikvenica and Zagreb.
This report contains new information on ethnic cleansing which took place
on May 2, 1991, in the Zadar area. Following the withdrawal of the police from
the streets, at least 168 shops owned by Serbs were ransacked and demolished
and a number of homes and apartments were set ablaze, as registered by the
police and by the Public Prosecutor in Zadar. That action was organized by a
number of the HDZ activists and the highest-ranking officials in Zadar, in the
presence of Vladimir Seks, deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament and Petar
Sale - both of them among the highest-ranking HDZ officials at the time. That,
apart from other measures introduced by Croatian authorities (statements on
loyalty, dismissal from jobs, threatening telephone calls, unlawful detention
and arrests, etc.), led to a massive exodus of Serbs from the Zadar area.
Similar data are also given for the cases concerning ethnic cleansing carried
out in the areas of Osijek, Virovitica, Crikvenica, Grubisino Polje and
Vinkovci.
The information gathered so far show that the Republic of Croatia carried
out ethnic cleansing of Serbs not only throughout the territories inhabited
predominantly by the Serb population but also throughout those territories
where Serbs constituted the minority population. This indicates that the
highest authorities of the Republic of Croatia consistently implemented the
ethnic cleansing campaign throughout the area with the aim of carrying out
genocide over the Serb population.
IV
The situation in the so-called Bosnia and Herzegovina is exemplified by a
larger number of cases in this report.
The following places and municipalities are included in the so-called
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bihac, Bugojno, Brcko, Breza, Visoko, Derventa,
Zenica, Kalinovik, Kotor Varos, Konjic, Ljubuski, Mostar, Sarajevo, Sokolac,
Travnik, Trnovo, Tuzla, Ugljevik and Han Pijesak (examples of deliberate
killing of civilians); Brcko, Brod (Bosanski), Visoko, Gradacac, Jablanica,
Lopare, Orasje, Sarajevo, Teocak, Trnovo i Hadzici (examples of deliberate
killing of detainees and prisoners of war); Zenica, Jajce, Livno, Mostar,
Sarajevo, Tuzla and Ugljevik (examples of inhuman treatment of civilians);
Brcko, Brod (Bosanski), Busovaca, Breza, Visoko, Vitez, Gorazde, Grude, Gornji
Vakuf, Derventa, Zenica, Jajce, Konjic, Ljubuski, Odzak, Orasje, Sarajevo,
Tuzla and Capljina (Dretelj) (examples of inhuman treatment of detainees and
prisoners of war); Brcko, Derventa, Zenica, Jablanica, Lopare, Konjic and
Trnovo (examples of deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of the wounded
and the sick); Visoko, Gorazde, Travnik and Trnovo (examples of hostage taking
and detention camps); Mostar, Ugljevik and Teocak (examples of devastation of
civilian facilities, unwarranted from the military point of view); Zenica
(Mutnica), and Capljina (Zitomislic) (examples of devastation of places of
worship, cemeteries, cultural and historical monuments); Banovici, Visoko,
Gorazde, Zenica, Konjic, Sarajevo and Travnik (examples of ethnic cleansing).
This report contains a larger number of crimes committed in the areas of
Brcko, Brod, Orasje, Trnovo and Derventa, including examples of deliberate
killing of civilians, examples of inhuman treatment of civilians, examples of
inhuman treatment of detainees and prisoners of war and examples of hostage
taking and detention camps, as well as examples of other criminal acts.
The cases contained in the previous reports of the Committee, coupled
with other documents (Memorandum) submitted by the FRY Government to the
United Nations, indicate that the Croatian Defence Council forces, members of
the Croatian Army and Moslem forces have committed numerous crimes in the
areas of Brcko, Orasje, Odzak and other places throughout Bosanska Posavina
since the beginning of 1992. Since those crimes have been committed in the
described manner and with the intention, they qualify as genocide which is a
punishable international crime according to The 1948 Convention of the United
Nations on Preventing and Punishing the Crime of Genocide. The Sixth report
includes mainly examples dealing with new data on detention of Serbs in the
above-mentioned areas, methods of killing and serious bodily and mental abuse,
as well as other forms of inhuman treatment. This report also contains a
number of direct perpetrators of those crimes. In the Bosanska Posavina area,
it is most evident that the highest authorities of the Republic of Croatia and
the so-called B&H, as inspirers and the ones that issued orders, bear direct
responsibility for the crimes committed in this territory.
The international public is less informed of the pogrom of Serbs
(killings-liquidations and deportations of civilians - women and children - to
the camps in Trnovo, Tarcin and Pazaric) carried out by Moslems and Croats in
the territory of the municipality of Trnovo* from the beginning of June to the
end of November 1992.
In early June 1992, Moslem-Croat military formations began encirclement
of both Serb villages and villages with mixed population, attacking Serb
houses and capturing Serb civilians. During, and especially after that
operation, they killed a large number of civilians, including the elderly and
women.
This report also contains basic information concerning 83 cases of
killing of the Serb civilians in the villages of Trebecaj, Ledici, Lisovici,
Gornja and Donja Prosjenica, Tosici, Sirokari, Kiselice, Vrbovnik, etc.,
including Trnovo itself. Most of the civilians hiding from military actions in
basements or forests were captured and liquidated in various ways. Some were
shot dead, some were slaughtered and some were killed by hanging or by
strangling, etc.
This report includes similar latest information concerning crimes
committed in the above-mentioned places in the so-called B&H.
I. DELIBERATE KILLING OF CIVILIANS
I - 223
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Novi Varos, section Okucani - Gradiska, 1 - 2 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The majority of Western Slavonian population was
withdrawing from Okucani and heading toward Stara Gradiska and the Sava River
planning to cross over the bridge near Gradiska into the territory of the
Republic of Srpska and to reach Bosanska Gradiska.
The Croatian Army launched a strong attack near Nova Varos in order to cut off
this trunk road along which several thousand people were moving.
Witness 628/95-11 stated:
"... I took my tractor and trailer at Okucani, collected the most
essential personal effects and together with my neighbour joined the refugee
convoy which was moving from Okucani toward Bosanska Gradiska.
The convoy set out to break through at around 5.00 hrs in the morning.
The Croatian Army, deployed near Nova Varos in the Prasak Forest, which
is some 50 m away from the road, opened fire fiercely from small arms and
heavy weapons at the civilian convoy. There were heavy civilian casualties.
Vehicles went up in flames. The breakthrough lasted for a total of 8 hours
along an around 4- meter-long stretch of road near the Strug canal.
The convoy often had to stop, and when the attackers were pushed back, it
would resume its journey. I sighted a very large number of civilian corpses
along the road; the vehicles which continued their breakthrough sometimes had
to pass over them.
As a rough rule of thumb, we left behind between 400 and 450 dead
civilians on that road.
I recognized among the dead only the following:
1. Zoran Vukadinovic and
2. Milan Cicvara.
When we crossed the Strug canal en route to the Sava River, we repeatedly
came under Croatian Army shelling ..."
Witness 628/95-1 stated the following:
".. When at around 20.00 hrs. on 1 May 1995 the Croatian Army cut off the
road from Okucani to Nova Gradiska near Nova Varos, the line used by Serb
refugees who were coming from the direction of Okucani, I sighted at the place
called Pustara a yellow Merzedes with Okucani number plates coming from the
direction of Okucani and heading toward Nova Gradiska.There were 5 passengers
in it.
I saw two Croatian soldiers intercept the car and order the driver to
pull over. I clearly overheard them talk and one of them shouted: "Come here,
you have five Serbs here, slaughter them'. He was probably calling one of his
friends who were standing by the road. Soon after that five Croat soldiers
rushed onto the road, stopped near the car and started shooting at the
passengers with automatic rifles until they used up all of their ammunition.
Having killed all passengers in that car, they pushed the car off the
road and into the canal on the right. The shot down passengers had remained in
the car..."
Witness 654/95-5 stated:
"... The aggression by the Croatian armed forces on Western Slavonia was
launched on 1 May 1995. On that day the evacuation of civilians from Okucani
to Gradiska was organized. I was engaged in the discharge of this task as
well. I transported women and children by my bus and completed four rounds on
that day. Bus drivers L.N., R.M., and M.C. were also engaged in the execution
of this task.
I completed the last round at around 21.30 hrs.
Although the Okucani-Gradiska section was persistently being shelled and
bombed by Croatian military aircraft during our previous rounds, we
nevertheless managed to break through without apparent damage.
A column of motor-cars, tractors and trucks was also moving along this
road from Okucani toward Gradiska.
At around 21.30 hrs I set out to Gradiska with a busload of women and
children. My bus was followed by another one driven by M.C. They shelled our
buses on this occasion as well. For the first time on that day, however, my
bus came under small arms fire opened by persons in houses and in yards along
the road, as well as from the nearby Prasnik forest, when we reached the
approximately 500 ms long section of the road stretching from the middle of
the village Nova Varos to the bridge over the Strug. In response to this, I
speeded up and managed to reach the other side of the Strug canal without any
damage.
Passing through the mentioned part of the village Novi Varos, I saw them
shoot at a "Zastava 101" car which swerved to the right and crashed against a
gate as well as a "Zastava 750" which was also shot at from small arms. It
swerved to the right and crashed against a house by the road. I could not make
out what was happening with the passengers in those two cars because it was
dark and I dared not reduce speed. I saw in front of me a tractor with an old
man at the wheel and pulling a trailer with several civilians on it. I saw
them shoot the old man down with a rifle from a yard on the left-hand side of
the road. When the old man fell to the right of the steering wheel, the
tractor swerved to the right, hit against a pole and then turned over. As far
as I could see, the civilians remained on the road but I did not see what
happened to them after that..."
Witness 654/95-2 stated:
"... At around 5.15 hrs. in the morning on 2 May I left Okucani by truck
in the direction of the Sava River. I went via the village Novi Varos even
though shooting could be heard coming from that direction overnight and in the
morning. When I was about to enter the village Nova Varos, I heard the
distinctive sound of Singapore rifles from both sides of the road. I heard
bullets whizzing above the truck. At the entrance to the village I saw a
tractor with things scattered around (bedlinen, dishes and other) and a
motionless man over the wheel. When I got into the village I saw a large
number of tractors and passenger cars and dead bodies around them.
As those in the houses on the left side of the road in the direction of
the Sava kept increasingly firing at my truck, I speeded up. To avoid having
to drive over dead bodies, I had to leave the road and drive along the
pavement and the foot path on the right instead. This is how I managed to pass
through the village without stopping and how I got out of the village Novi
Varos without being hit.
In view of the situation that I was in, I could not give any estimate as
to the number of Serbs killed along the road through Nova Varos. I saw the
following among the killed:
3. Ignjatije Odlovic from Benkovac,
4. A soldier whose nickname was "Suber" from Okucani
5. "Migel", a private retailer from Bodegraj.
On my way from Okucani to Gradiska I passed by the UNPROFORcheck-points
at the place known as Pustara, near the exit from Nova Varos, as well as by
thecheck-point at the very exit from Nova Varos in the direction of Gradiska.
I did not see any Blue Helmets in those places. Thecheck-points were
completely vacated..."
Witness 654/95-4 who was in the vicinity of Benkovac on 1 May also stated
the following:
"Around noon I sighted a plane, probably a "MIG". It was coming in from
the south and heading toward Pakrac and when it was between Radjenovac and
Bijela Stena, over a place known as Tromedja,I saw it drop bombs which
exploded immediately and I heard a strong detonation. I later heard that at
the place called Tromedja near Bijela Stena there was a convoy of 400
civilians who were bombed by that plane and that great many were killed as a
result.
I set out from Okucani to the Sava River at around 21.00 hrs. I was
riding a bicycle. Throughout my ride shells were falling in the immediate
vicinity of the road along which the convoy was moving. Most of the vehicles
were moving with their headlights on.
At the entrance to the village of Novi Varos I sighted a small tractor
make "Fergusson" which had hit a pole by the road and the bodies of an elderly
man and a woman nearby. Not very far from there I saw a tractor make "Ursuz"
turned over in a ditch with the bodies of a man and a woman near it; a dark
blue passenger car make "Jugo 45", with 3 dead bodies inside; a white
"Merzedes 300" which had hit a pole by the road with two dead men inside. Not
very far from there was a motor-car make "Regata" and I did not see anyone
inside. These motorcars and bodies were scattered over a 50-meter-long stretch
of road, and ahead of them, some 100 meters away, I found other means of
transport which had stopped and been turned over on the road. There were a
number of civilian bodies around as well. I had to pass round those bodies on
my bicycle and sought to get away as quickly as possible.
As far as I remember, I saw at least 25 killed civilian bodies. I was
able to sight all this, as I mentioned previously, because most of the
vehicles were not moving.
When I reached Gradiska, I saw my own car make "Lada Caravan" in a street
there; it was parked with its headlights on and with its doors open. This
surprised me because I knew that I had left my car behind at Benkovac.I soon
learnt that the car had been driven from Benkovac to Gradiska by two women
R.M. and K.M. who had been wounded in Benkovac; the one that was less
seriously wounded drove in it some wounded children to Gradiska.Upon their
arrival in this town they went to hospital..."
Witness 654/95-6 stated:
"... In the morning of 2 May I saw that many Serbs had moved out of
Okucani in a convoy heading for Gradiska-upon-Sava from which town we received
news that Croats kept attacking convoys in the village of Novi Varos. I heard
that there had been many casualties during the previous night's attack on the
convoy.
At around 17.50 hrs on 2 May I set out for Gradiska.
At the entrance to the village of Nova Varos I saw a host of smashed- up
passenger cars, tractors and trucks. A large number of killed civilians and
our soldiers lay scattered on the road. At the same time, our column was being
attacked by Croats who were on the left side of the road in the Prasnik forest
in the direction of which we were heading. This is why we were making slow
progress and quite often the column had to stop and fight in order to advance.
Our progress through Nova Varos lasted until the following day 3 May so that
we only reached Gradiska-upon-Sava at around 19.00 hrs. Throughout that time
we often had to stop over and at certaincheck-points we were held up for as
long as several hours.
I would not be able to give a precise estimate now as to the number of
killed civilians and soldiers at Nova Varos, but I am sure that there were
many more civilians than soldiers. Among the killed, I also saw several months
old children lying dead near the bodies of their dead mothers. I counted three
dead infants near their mothers and there were certainly many more, but I
could not bear to look at that sight and sought to avoid paying more attention
to them.
While I was thus unable to inspect the victims more closely, I
nevertheless recognized among the dead the following persons from the village
Rajic:
6. Branko Bosanac,
7. Simo Kosovac,
8. Ilija Djurasinovic,
9. Stevo Pravica,
10. Milan Bajic and
11. Milan Milasinovic,
and from Bjelovar,
12. Vukasin Tesanovic from Banja Luka and
13. a refugee whom I knew by his nickname "Rumeni".
I learnt from N.S. that on 3 May he saw the Croats clearing up the road
through Nova Varos, removing damaged vehicles and burning down dead bodies,
and then washing the road..."
Witness 628/95-2 stated:
"...At around 18.00 hrs on 1 May 1995 I decided to get on my tractor and
force my way into Gradiska. At Okucani I collected my most essential
belongings and gave a ride to my mother, uncle, aunt and my neighbour. When we
reached the paytoll on the highway I sighted a shell-hit woman lying on the
road. A tractor was parked near a pole on the Dubovac flyover and there were a
dead man near it and a wounded woman. Near the UNPROFORcheck-point, previously
manned by the Nepalese battalion, I saw two smashed-up cars and two or three
civilian bodies nearby.
I continued to force my way while the road and the nearby area were being
showered with shells. Meanwhile, a column had been formed of tractors, trucks
and other vehicles which were moving in the same direction as I was. I saw
some of those vehicles being hit by shells and even some resulting casualties.
At the entrance to the village of Novi Varos the Croats intensified their
shelling from the direction of the Prasnik Forest. On my way along that road I
came across a large number of smashed-up cars and other vehicles as well as
across dead bodies.
Near the cafe "Slozna braca" I sighted several casualties, including
Ignjatije Lukic. The same situation was in evidence all over the village of
Novi Varos up to the exit, the demolished bridge over the Strug canal.
I was not in a situation to assess the number of victims I saw by the
road. The following day, when we crossed over the Sava River, the Croats
killed the following persons who were about to enter Nova Varos:
14. Milka Kesic,
who, having decided to return to Okucani, left Gradiska by car. On the
same occasion they also wounded severely T.S...."
Witness 628/95-3 stated:
"... At around 4.00 hrs in the morning on 2 May we left for Gradiska
taking the road via the village of Nova Varos. Civilians were moving on
tractors, trucks, cars, military vehicles, and I and other defenders went on
foot. When I arrived at Nova Varos, I saw a number of dead civilians along the
road, smashed-up tractors and cars, i.e. the result of the Croat attack on the
civilian convoy which sought to break through on 1 and 2 May. While I was
moving along this road in a column of civilians and soldiers, Croatian armed
forces fired at us from small arms and artillery weapons from the nearby
Prasnik forest as well as from some houses by the road.
I did not recognize anyone from among the killed ones, but I did see in
person five bodies whom I had not known before. As far as I could make out,
the largest number of civilians had been killed at the place known as Pustara
and near the bridge across the Strug..."
Witness 628/95-1 stated:
"... We managed to break through the village of Novi Varos, and were
followed by a column of civilians. During our breakthrough of the village of
Nova Varos, I saw a large number of killed civilians who had sought to break
through afer 20.00 hrs on 1 May. There were some children among them as well.
A large number of trucks and tractors carrying a considerable number of
killed civilians stood on the road. I saw an arm of a child hanging from one
of the wheels of a burning truck.
After the breakthrough we reached the Strug canal; we were followed by a
civilian column which had also come under the Croat attack. There were heavy
casualties in this column as well..."
Witness 628/95-10 stated the following on his Nova Varos breakthrough:
"... During our passage through Nova Varos in the early morning hours of
2 May were came under most fierce fire from Croatian armed forces. I saw
turned over cars, trucks and tractors. As far as I remember, at around 9.00
hrs I reached the last few houses in the village of Novi Varos en route to
Gradiska-upon-Sava. Due to the the enemy's fire we were forced to stop and
look for a safer shelter. I saw there several of our soldiers who had been
shot dead, one of which was
15. a lieutenant colonel from Rajic,
whose name I do not know. Not far away from that spot I sighted Rade
Petkovic who was running toward the Sava River. I have not seen him since and
do not know whether he is alive. Then I was captured, and I had to go on foot
in the direction of Okucani. I saw a large number of turned over vehicles
along that road, I saw things covered in blood, women's hair fallout, etc. but
did not see any corpses along that road. I only saw in a ditch the body of our
soldier
16. Milan Cicvara from Smrtici,
whom I had known previously. I also met Croatian soldiers on the way..."
In his statement witness 618/95-4 said:
"... I set out on a tractor driven by my nephew together with my wife and
my mother and his wife and two little children. At Nova Varos the Croats, who
had taken positions in a nearby forest, opened small arms cross-fire at us.
This happened, if I remember correctly, after 17.00 hrs. I saw that many
people who had been sitting on tractor trailers were shot and fell on the
asphalt road, while the younger ones jumped out, took cover near the road and
fled in the direction of the Sava River. In this total commotion I saw Jela
Vukovic from Gredjani, born in 1913, who had been wounded and fell from one of
the tractors, as she was screaming for help: "Don't leave me here."
We passed fast through the village on our tractor and managed to get away
unhurt. During our ride, I could only see a little in the total disarray and
turmoil, but I did spot at least 15 dead civilians on the asphalt road and a
considerable number of casualties staggering by the road and pleading for
help..."
Witness 618/95-5 told the investigating judge:
"It was decided that my unit should move as the advance ahead of the
civilian column after we had learnt that the night before an attack had been
launched on a civilian column heading in the same direction as ours, i.e.
toward the village of Novi Varos. I was on one of the two tanks which were at
the head of the column. The tanks were followed by a group of our infantrymen
with civilians bringing up the rear.
As soon as we entered the village of Novi Varos, I saw a large number of
civilians killed the night before when they attempted to force their way in
the direction of Bosanska Gradiska. The corpses were lying on and by the
asphalt road all along its section through the village of Novi Varos up to the
Strug canal. According to my estimate, there could have been over 100 corpses
along that section of women, old men and even of children, I think. While we
were moving along this section on tanks, these tanks were sporadically shelled
by the Croats. When our infantry unit and the civilian column came close
enough, Croats opened most fierce fire from their small arms and other weapons
from the abandoned village houses and the forest nearby. I was not in a
situation to see what was happening behind me in the civilian column, and I
later heard that many people had been shot down there. These two tanks that
were forcing their way toward the Sava River were shelled by Croatian planes.
I also saw them shell civilian argets in Stara Gradiska.
I found out later on that they shot down in the civilian column
17. Nikola Stanic and
18. Zeljko Lauros from Okucani,
and that B.R. and M.Lj. were wounded. I do not know how many civilians
from he column behind the tanks were killed..."
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of the Helicopter Air-raid Unit of the Croatian Army
2. A part of the 2nd Croatian ArmyGuard Brigade "Gromovi"
3. A part of the Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Kune"
4. A part of the 5th Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Orlovi"
5. Parts of the 125th Domobran Regiment (Kutina) and others.
EVIDENCE: The records of the Committee 654/95, 628/95 and 618/95.
I - 224
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Zirovac, on the road between Glina and Dvor na Uni, 8
August 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When the attack commenced on the territory of the
Republic of Srpska Krajina, the woman witness who had been living at Slunj,
joined on 4 August 1995, together with her child, the refugee column heading
toward Vojnic.
When this column reached the Glina area in the night of 6/7 August, it
was shelled by the Croatian Army.
While on 7 August they were approaching Dvor na Uni, the column was
shelled at around 14.00 hrs from the direction of Dvor na Uni and broke up as
a result. The shelling lasted until 8 August when at around 14.00 hrs the
witness sighted, in front of her vehicle, three Muslim soldiers in camouflage
fatigues and with green head- bands hitting an elderly man and a youngster
with their riflebutts. She then saw the elderly man, who was covered in blood,
fall to the ground and die.
She started running and soldiers fired at her as well as at other Serbs
from the column. She heard moaning and screams coming from all sides. She
managed to hide behind a nearby bush and later noticed the bodies of 4 or 5
dead civilians from the column there.
She set out on foot toward Dvor na Uni and sighted a large number of dead
bodies and many heavily damaged vehicles from that column. She was moving in a
group of 11 persons. Meanwhile, she had lost her child.
She came across a man with a two-month-old baby from whom she learnt that
his wife had just been killed.
The part of the column which the witness was in was 3 kilometers apart
from the rest and, according to the witness's estimate, only these 11 people
and the man with the baby have survived.
They reached Dvor na Uni on foot and were bombed there by Croatian Army
airplanes so that they had to look for shelters by the road.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of the Fifth Corps of the so-called B/H Army, under the
command of Atif Dudakovic,
2. Croatian Air Force Commander Imre Agotic, 3. Members of the Croatian
Army Bjelovar Corps area under the command of General Luka Dzanko
4. Ivan Basarac, member of the Croatian Army Bjelovar Corps area
5. Marjan Marekovic, member of the Croatian Army Bjelovar Corps area.
EVIDENCE: 695/95.
I - 225
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
TIME AND PLACE: Village Medari near Okucani, from 1 - 2 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: At 5.00 hrs. on 1 May 1995 Croatian armed forces
launched an attack on Western Slavonia.
On 1 May Croatian forces stormed the village Medare which is situated at
the very border between the Serb territory and the Republic of Croatia and
killed all the civilians who had not managed to flee the village. According to
the witness, the following lost their lives there:
1. Ilija Burojevic, age around 75 years,
2. Mile Burevic, born in 1935,
3. Leposava Burevic, Mile's step-mother, age around 85 years,
4. Milutin Vukovic, born on 11 June 1945,
5-6. Cvijeta Vukovic, born on 15 March 1950, of father Mladen, Milutin's
wife and their son as well as their daughter:
7. Dragana Vukovic, born on 13 February 1988,
8. Radmila Vukovic, born on 15 July 1978,
9. Ranko Vukovic, born in 1955, of father Stanoje, killed near his gate
and his mother:
10. Andjelka Vukovic,
11. Andjelija Vukovic, Ranko's wife, born in 1958, of father Jovan and
their two children:
12. Goran Vukovic, born in 1985 and
13. Gordana Vukovic, born in 1988,
14. Kata Vlaisavljevic, born in 1930,
15. Jovan Grmusa, born in 1933, killed in his yard between the well and
the garage,
16. Ruza Grmusa-Dicko, Jovan's wife, age around 60 years, killed on the
same spot as her husband,
17. Zeljko Dicko, age around 30 years, killed in front of his house,
18. Draga Djumic, age around 88 years, killed in her home in the bed
where she had lain immobile for a long time,
19. Ana Mirkovic, age around 85 years,
20. Ninkovic, an old woman age 80 years,
21. Nikola Popovic, born in 1927,
22. Nada Popovic, Nikola's wife, born in 1930,
23. Zora Tomic, age around 70 years,
24. Anka Treskanica, age around 80 years,
25. Rade Canak, age around 88 years, killed at the threshold of his house
and
26. Draga Canak, Rade's sister, age around 85 years.
The witnesses know for sure that most of the above mentioned persons have
been killed, whereas the others are nowhere to be found and it is assumed that
they have met with the same fate.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of the Croatian Army Gradiska Brigade,
2. Members of the 5th Guard Brigade "Orlovi" from Vinkovci,
3. Members of the 123rd Domobran Regiment from Slavonska Pozega.
EVIDENCE: 628/95-3, 715/95-29 and 715/95-30.
I - 226
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Okucani, 1 - 2 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When around midnight on 1/2 May 1995 the witness
arrived at the local first-aid station at Okucani, he saw there around 15
corpses of dead civilians and soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Srpska
Krajina.
The witness recognized the following among them:
1. Milan Radujkovic from the village Dubovac,
2. Branko Miscevic from the village Donji Bogicevci
3. Svraka.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. A part of the 2nd Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Gromovi",
3. A part of the Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Kune"
4. A part of the 5th Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Orlovi",
5. Parts of the 125th Domobran Regiment (Kutina) and others.
EVIDENCE: 628/95-1.
I - 227
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Lipovac near Brcko, May 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: At this village Croats were in the majority and one
third of villagers were Serbs.
All Serbs in the Lipovac area were expelled and four of them were killed,
namely:
1. Dusan Djokic, born on 23 August 1940,
2. Jovo Djokic, born in 1960,
3. Mirko Djokic, born in 1965,
4. Zoran Stojanovic, born in 1964.
All Serb property was looted by Croats and by Muslims and Serb homes were
set on fire thereafter.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Galib Hadzic, "Gale", of father Himza, born on 21 November 1947 at
Brcko, an investigator at the Brcko Secretariat of the Interior prior to the
war.
EVIDENCE: 617/95-36.
I - 228
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Bukovcani near Pakrac, 2 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Passing through this village, the witness sighted in a
house yard two corpses of a man and a woman age around 60 years, probably
husband and wife, and does not know their names.
They had, clearly, been hit by a bullet in the forehead, probably fired
at close range.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Nikola Ivkanec, Commander of the Police Station in Pakrac.
EVIDENCE: 628/95-4.
I - 229
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Vrbovljani near Okucani, in early May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 11 May 1995 the woman witness sighted certain
workers whom she suspects were Croats from Nova Gradiska and who were filling
in graves at the local cemetery near Okucani.
She asked them whether they were interring innocent people and one of
them replied that they were not innocent people but Chetnik animals.
The witness managed to count 39 individual graves, and she also saw that
they had dug up a larger grave and interred a considerable number of civilians
in it.
As far as she could make out, the graves were dug up and filled in by
dredgers, and the mentioned workers determined where individual graves would
be.
The witness suspects that they buried there the civilians who were killed
on 1 and 2 May 1995 during an attempted escape across the Sava River.
The witness learnt that the Croats had also transported some corpses of
the killed Serbs to Okucani and buried them at the town cemetery.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of the Croatian Army Helicopter Air-Raid Unit,
2. A part of the 2nd Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Gromovi",
3. A part of the Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Kune"
4. A part of the 5th Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Orlovi",
5. Parts of the 125th Domobran Regiment (Kutina) and others.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-6.
I - 230
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Vrbovljani near Okucani on 1 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: During the entry of Croatian armed forces into the
village Vrbovljani on 1 May 1995, the following was killed:
1. Drago Samardzija, age 67 years.
His body was seen in a ditch near Mirka Dragicevic's house.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of parts of the 5th Croatian Army Guard Brigade and
2. Members of the 123rd Croatian Army Domobran Regiment (Kutina).
EVIDENCE: 618/95-16.
I - 231
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Benkovac near Okucani, 1 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A group of Serb civilians from the village Skenderovac
sought to reach Gradiska via Okucani by their truck make "Zastava" with Rade
Cvijanovic at the wheel. There were around 10 civilians on that truck
including children aged from 8 to 10 years.
Members of the Croatian Army opened cross-fire from their small arms on
this truck when it reached Benkovac.
Miroslava Radjenovic, which was sitting on the hood, and her daughter
Ljubica were wounded. After they had been extended first aid, they managed to
cross over the Sava River and reached Bosanska Gradiska.
However, the following were reported missing:
1. Zora Dmitrovic, of father Stevan,
2. Rade Cvijanovic and
3. Jelena Cvijanovic from Skenderovac.
Despite the fact that their relatives made enquiries through the Red
Cross, they could not learn anything about their fate.
Meanwhile, the car make "Golf" driven by Nada Komnenic came under fire at
Benkovac. There were also three children ages 8 months to 10 years in that
car. In the course of this incident Nada Komnenic and one of her three
children received injuries.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of a part of the 3rd Croatian Army Guard brigade "Kune"
(Osijek) and
2. Members of the 125th Croatian Army Domobran Regiment (Kutina).
EVIDENCE: 618/95-1.
I - 232
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Benkovac near Okucani, 2 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Near the entrance to the village of Benkovac from the
north and on a meadow around 200 ms away from the first houses in that village
1. Dobra Markovic from the village of Benkovac, age around 60 years, was
killed while she was guarding sheep in that meadow. Her throat was slit by
some members of a Croatian Army patrol who had come out of the forest,
according to eye-witness 618/95-2.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Croatian Army.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-2.
I - 233
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Pakrac, 1 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The attack on Pakrac which began at around 6.00 hrs on
1 May 1995 with the shelling of Pakrac and its broader area lasted until
around 15.00 hrs.
The civilian population took shelter in cellars and elsewhere. When the
shelling ended, a certain number of civilians from Pakrac, Gavrinci and other
places formed a convoy and set out toward the villages Seovica and Kraguj.
Members of the Croatian army shelled this convoy and as a result two
little girls were killed, namely:
1. Jovanka Bosanac, m. Jela, age around 14 years and
2. Radovan Krajinovic's daughter, age 5-6 years.
At the same time two more women were killed:
3. Petkovic (first name unknown) from Kraguj and
4. Torbica (first name unknown).
Some 10 civilians received injuries.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Milan Koncar, Croatian Army commander.
EVIDENCE: 654/95-1.
I - 234
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Seovica near Pakrac, 3 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 3 May some 2,000 persons - civilians and members of
the Army of the Republic of Srpska Krajina gathered at Seovica. The
negotiations between the representatives of the Serb military and civilian
authorities and the Croat representatives were conducted in the afternoon of 3
May and in the morning on 4 May and also attended by UNPROFOR which was
represented by an Argentinian general. Yasushi Akashi was due to sign that
agreement on behalf of UNPROFOR, and the handing over of the agreement was due
to take place at 14.00 hrs on 4 May 1995 in the presence of UNPROFOR.
However, the UNPROFOR representatives did not arrive at the appointed
time and the Croatian Army staged a Serb attack on Pakrac; the alleged firing
of two shells was taken as a pretext under which those members of the Croatian
Army proceeded to strongly shell Seovica where a large number of civilians and
soldiers were staying.
During the above shelling two young girls were killed one of which was a
daughter of a Milosevic from Seovica.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of the Croatian Army 16th Artillery Brigade (Bjelovar),
2. Members of the 3rd Croatian Army Guard Brigade,
3. Members of the 126th Croatian Army Domobran Regiment (Kutina).
EVIDENCE: 654/95-8.
I - 235
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Kosovac, south of Okucani, in early May
1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness stated that he had seen 4 or 5 bodies in
passing through the village of Kosovac to the south of Okucani.
One of those bodies wore a uniform and the rest were civilians.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of the 5th Croatian Army Guard Brigade "Orlovi" (Vinkovci) and
2. Members of the 123rd Croatian Army Domobran Regiment (Slavonska
Pozega)
EVIDENCE: 618/95-2.
I-236
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Cerik, the municipality of Brcko, June and
August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Soldiers of Muslim-Croat formations of 108th Brcko
brigade of HVO (Croatian Defense Council) of Bosanska Posavina ordered the
Crisis Center in Bijela to attack the village of Cerik. The attack took place
on June 17 and August 28, 1992. During the attack, the Serb civilian
population took to flight in the surrounding Serb villages, and the following
sixteen civilians who did not manage to escape because they were too old or
ill were killed:
1. Sima Simic, of father Petar, born on January 28, 1924, in Srnice,
2. Jovo Markovic, of father Ilija, born on December 30, 1964, in Cerik,
3. Spasoje Andric, of father Mihajlo, born in 1932, in Cerik,
4. Petar Dzombic, of father Vojislav, born in November 20, 1942, in
Cerik,
5. Zarko Zaric, of father Mika, born in 1919, in Cerik,
6. Laza Ilic, of father Jovo, born in June 20, 1933, in Cerik,
7. Milutin Dragicevic, born in 1925, from Porebrica,
8. Rista Jovicic, of father Mitar, born on October 27, 1926, in Duzekara,
9. Mitra Brkovic, of father Pero, born September 22, 1937, in Pirkovci,
10. Milena Brkovic, of father Radovan, born on November 5, 1975, in
Brcko,
11. Perica, aged about 18, from Spionica,
12. Paja, aged about 24, from Spionica,
13. Aca Milicevic, of father Mika, born in 1958, in Srnica,
14. Jovo, aged about 45, from Srnica,
15. Milivoje Sekulic, of father Savo, born on July 4, 1940, in Bijela,
16. Nedeljko Stevanovic, m. Stanica, aged about 49, from Bijela.
During the attacks, the following persons were captured, taken hostages
and then killed:
17. Radovan Brkovic, aged about 58, from Cerik,
18. Danko Mijatovic, born in 1939, from Cerik, multiple skull bone
fractures (on the head and face) were established on the corpse,
19. Ostoja Micanovic, born in 1939, from Cerik, multiple skull bone
fractures (on the head and face) were established on the corpse,
20. Ostoja Bolic, born in 1939, from Bijela, rib fractures and left
underarm fractures were established on the corpse,
21. Bojic Jovan, aged about 50, from Bijela,
22. Savo Savic, aged about 42, from Bijela,
23. Cvijetin Milicevic, born in 1940, from Bijela, only parts of his
skeleton were found.
The remains of the captured and killed civilians were delivered on June
26, 1994 in Gradacac, and were identified in the morgue in Brcko.
In addition to the murders, during the attacks, the Orthodox church and
the mill owned by Ljubo Zaric were burnt down, as well as 105 houses with
auxiliary buildings. All valuable movable property had been previously looted.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mustafa Ramic, of father Jusuf, born on February 6, 1942, in Brcko,
2. Ibrahim Ramic, of father Jusuf, born on November 2, 1944, in Brcko,
3. Andrija Carcarevic, of father Blazo, born on February 17, 1925 in
Bijela,
4. Nika Bozic, of father Ivo, born on June 22, 1940, in Bijela,
5. Iva Juric, of father Jura, aged 48, from Cerik,
6. Luka Juric, of father Ivo, aged 21, from Cerik,
7. Zlatko Hrgovcic, of father Ivo, born on November 20, 1961, in Dubrave,
8. Drazan Petrovic, of father Petar, born on August 18, 1961, in Brcko,
9. Pavo Marojevic, of father Ilija, born on January 17, 1948, in Dubrave,
10. Misa Tomic, of father Luka, born on August 21, 1962, in Dubrave,
11. Zvonimir Djordjic, of father Jura, born on June 15, 1947, in Bijela,
12. Grga Cancarevic, of father Marjan, born on July 29, 1957, in Bijela,
13. Matija Mandes, of father Franjo, born on June 25, 1961, in Bijela,
14. Filip Gluharovic, of father Bartol, born on March 27, 1967, in
Bijela.
EVIDENCE: The Committee Documents under Nos. 144/95-3, 636/95-5 and
636/95-6.
I-237
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Gradice, on the Brcko-Bjeljina road,
August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Soldiers of Croat armed formations, who were on the
left bank of the Sava river in the territory of the Republic of Croatia,
opened fire from anti-aircraft machine gun at the truck driven by Ljuboje
Zaric, who was on his way from Brcko to Bijeljina along the right river bank,
and killed the civilians in the truck:
1. Ljuboje Zaric, of father Savo, born on March 27, 1932, in Cerik,
2. Dimitrije Peric, born on August 27, 1950, in Bosanska Bijela,
whereas Djukic Petar, of father Jovo, born in 1942 in Cerik, sustained
serious bodily injuries.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR: Soldiers of Croatian armed
formations.
EVIDENCE: Evidence in the documents 144/95-7.
I-238
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Bukvik Gornji, the municipality of Brcko, September 14,
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Soldiers of Muslim-Croat armed formations of 108th
Brcko brigade of HVO (Croatian Defense Council) of Bosanska Posavina ordered
the Crisis Center in Bijela to attack the village of Bukvik Gornji. The attack
took place on September 14, about 14.00 hrs., from the villages of Gornje
Skakave, Seonjak and Prijedor.
During the attack, the Serb civilian population took to flight towards
the surrounding forests, streams and fields, and twelve civilians, mostly
elderly, ill and immobile, did not manage to escape.
The persons killed were:
1. Mitar Vujic, of father Mitar, born on April 1, 1945 in Gornja Skakava.
He was wounded in the legs on the village road and killed in the yard of Ljubo
Micic in Bukvik, where he was buried;
2. Marko Pejic, of father Petar, born on March 28, 1931 in Donja Skakava,
was shot dead in the cellar of his house and buried in the garden of Milan
Ristic in Donja Skakava;
3. Cveta Pejic, of father Nikola, born on April 17, 1938, in Srnica, was
shot dead in the cellar of her house in Donja Skakava and buried in the garden
of Milan Ristic,
4. Cvijetin Pejic, of father Tanasije, born in 1957, was killed on the
regional R-458 road near the railroad crossing in Bukvik;
5. Mirko Ristic, of father Zarija, born on August 4, 1957 in Bukvik, was
killed on the regional R-458 road near the railroad crossing in Bukvik;
6. Vasa Vujic, aged about 68, from Gornji Bukvik, who had had a stroke
and was immobile, was killed in the yard of Savka Lazic in Mali Bukvik, where
he was also buried;
7. Jovan Tanackovic, of father Todor, born on May 8, 1912 in Gornji
Bukvik, who was ill and immobile, was killed in Mali Bukvik, where he was also
buried;
8. Sava Tanackovic, of father Lazar, born on January 14, 1912 in Gornji
Bukvik, was killed in Mali Bukvik, where he was also buried;
9. Spasoje Sekulic, of father Bogoljub, born on June 28, 1954 in Gornji
Bukvik, who had had a stroke and was immobile, used a wheelchair and crutches
to move, was killed on R-458 regional road,
10. Blagoje Pejic, of father Kosta, born on March 8, 1912 in Gornja
Skakava, was shot dead on the road to the house of Gojan Ristic from Donja
Skakava;
11. Ilija Pejic, of father Miljan, aged about 18, from Bukovac, was shot
dead on the village road and buried in the yard of Ljubo Micic in Donja
Skakava, and
12. Mila Djuric, aged about 78, from Gornji Bukvik, was shot dead in the
yard of the Cooperative House in Gornji Bukvik, where she was also buried.
After the murders, the Muslim-Croat troops demilished the primary school
and the Cooperative House in Gornji Bukvik and looted and burnt down some 130
houses together with the same number of auxiliary buildings.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ramiz Pljakic, of father Hamdija, born in the village of Ugao, the
municipality of Sjenica, on July 17, 1958, graduated from the Military
Academy, employed in the "Veljko Lukic-Kurjak" army post in Brcko as commander
of 3rd battery of HD-122 milimeters before the war. Commander of 108th HVO
brigade.
2. Ibrahim Ramic, of father Jusuf, born on February 11, 1944 in Brcko,
graduated at the Faculty of Medicine, staff member of 108th HVO brigade;
3. Andrija Cancarevic, of father Blazo, born on December 17, 1925 in the
village of Bijela, president of the Crisis Center in Bijela;
4. Zvonimir Djordjic, of father Jura, born on June 15, 1947, in Bijela,
company commander in Bijela, and
5. Andjelko Jurkovic, of father Ignjacije, born on July 21, 1963 in
Tuzla, policeman before the war.
EVIDENCE: Testimonies by 11 witnesses in documents 144/95-8, 617/95-2,
617/95-3, 617/95-6 and 617/95-31.
I-239
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The villages of Vitanovic, Bukvik Donji and Bukvik
Gornji, the municipality of Brcko, September, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Soldiers of Muslim-Croat armed formations of 108th
Brcko brigade of HVO (Croatian Defense Council) of Bosanska Posavina ordered
the Crisis Center in Bijela to attack the unprotected Serb villages of
Vitanovic, Bukvik Donji and Bukvik Gornji. The attacks took place on September
14, about 14.00 hrs., for which reason the Serb population took to flight
towards the forests, streams and fields. Twelve civilians, mostly elderly, ill
and immobile, who did not manage to escape, were killed:
1. Ilija Kaurinovic, of father Bosko, born on April 7, 1918, in Donji
Bukvik, who was disabled, was killed in the house of Rozalija Ciric in
Vitanovic,
2. Trivo Kaurinovic, of father Savo, born on April 21, 1963 in Brcko, was
shot dead in the yard of Pero Arsenic in Vitanovic;
3. Danilo Jovic, of father Pero, born on May 11, 1966 in G. Spionica, was
shot dead in the yard of Rozalija Ciric in Vitanovic;
4. Djordje Vidovic, of father Milos, born on August 10, 1922 in Donji
Bukvik, who had had a stroke and was immobile, was killed in the field near
his house;
5. Djordje Kerezovic, of father Nikola, born on August 29, 1932 in Donji
Bukvik, was shot dead in the garden of his house;
6. Cvijeta Kerezovic, of father Simo, born on February 11, 1930 in
Vujicici, was shot dead together with her husband in the garden of their
house;
7. Cvijetin Basic, of father Nikola, born on July 9, 1954 in Donji
Bukvik, who was mentally retarded and blind, was slaughtered on the road in
front of his house;
8. Gligor Basic, from Banovici, aged about 62, was killed with a bullet
in his forehead near the church in Donji Bukvik;
9. Radojka Brestovacki, of father Blagoje, born on July 28, 1933 in
Vucilovac, was shot dead near her house in Donji Bukvik;
10. Milka Brestovacki, of father Nikola, born on February 15, 1943 in
Donji Bukvik, was shot dead near her house;
11. Nikola Pipercevic, of father Ranko, born on June 16, 1942 in Donji
Bukvik, was shot dead in the field of Smilja Vidovic in Donji Bukvik;
12. Janko Maricic, of father Savo, born on April 8, 1930, in Donji
Bukvik, was shot dead on the doorstep of his house;
13. Damjan Kerezic, of father Jovan, born on December 14, 1936 in Donji
Bukvik, was killed in the house of Ilija Pantelic in Donji Bukvik;
14. Radojka Bajic, of father Kosta, born on July 5, 1948 in Bukovac, was
killed in the yard of Savo Eric's house in Donji Bukvik;
15. Pero Velimirovic, of father Ilija, born on November 14, 1974 in
Brcko, was shot dead in the yard of Savo Eric's house in Donji Bukvik;
16. Mladjen Bozic, of father Jovan, born in 1976 in Bukvik, was shot dead
on the road near his house.
In addition to the killings, Muslim-Croat troops tore down the church in
Donji Bukvik and plundered and burnt down some 190 houses together with the
same number of auxiliary buildings in the village.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mustafa Ramic, of father Jusuf, born on February 6, 1942 in Brcko,
graduated at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering;
2. Ibrahim Ramic, of father Jusuf, born on February 11, 1944 in Brcko,
graduated at the Faculty of Medicine,
3. Luka Jakic, of father Anto, born on April 29, 1955 in Donja Skakava,
4. Nika Martinovic, of father Mate, born on June 12, 1956 in Donja
Skakava,
5. Mensur Djakic, of father Salko, born on August 25, 1949 in Brcko, and
6. Damir Suljic, of father Smail, born on December 1, 1967 in Brcko.
EVIDENCE: Testimonies in documents 144/95-6 and 617/95-39.
I-240
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The villages of Vujicici, Gajevo and Lukavac, the
municipality of Brcko, September, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Soldiers of Muslim-Croat armed formations of 108th
Brcko brigade of HVO (Croatian Defense Council) of Bosanska Posavina ordered
the Crisis Center in Gornji Rahic to attack the villages of Vujicici, Gajevo
and Lukavaca. The attack took place on September 14, 1992, about 14.00 hrs.,
from the directions of Brka, Coset and Rasljana.
During the attack, the Serb civilian population took to flight towards
the village of Bukvik, but the following eleven civilians, mostly elderly and
ill did not manage to escape and were killed:
1. Nedeljko Lukic, of father Nedeljko, born on July 1, 1940 in Bujicici,
was killed on the village road, in front of his house, after which he was
decapitated and, with the use of a dredging machine, covered with ground in
the canal by the road in front his house, by the Muslims;
2. Vaso Djuric, of father Nikola, born on April 29, 1940 in Gornja
Skakava, was killed together with his son;
3. Sladjan Djuric, of father Vasa, born on January 3, 1975 in Gornja
Skakava, was killed together with his father in the garden of Zivan Tanic,
and, with the use of a dredging machine, both were covered with ground;
4. Jovo Mijatovic, of father Mitar, born on January 17, 1953 in Lukavac,
was killed on the village road and buried in the canal by the road;
5. Mitar Blagojevic, of father Stevo, born of February 19, 1942, in
Gajevi, was killed in the yard of his house;
6. Stevan Blagojevic, of father Risto, born on July 2, 1921, in Gajevi,
was killed in the yeard of his house;
7. Ruza Blagojevic, of father Jovan, born on April 20, 1941, in Bijela;
8. Ana Tripic, of father Jovan, born on May 21, 1945, in Rasljani;
9. Milana Cvijanovic, of father Simo, born in 1968 in Vujicici;
10. Marko Todorovic, of father Blagoje, born in 1937, from Vujicic, was
killed in the garden of his house and covered with ground with a dredging
machine by the Muslims, and
11. Gavro Tanic, aged about 70, from Vujicici, who had been previously
wounded, was killed in the garden of his house and covered with ground in the
canal by the road in front of his house.
In addition to the killings, about 330 houses and the auxiliary buildings
were looted and then burnt down.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ramiz Pljakic, of father Hamdija, born in the village of Ugao, the
municipality of Sjenica, on July 17, 1958, graduated from the Military
Academy, employed in the "Veljko Lukic-Kurjak" army post in Brcko as commander
of 3rd battery of HD-122 milimeters before the war. Commander of 108th HVO
brigade.
2. Ibrahim Ramic, of father Jusuf, born on February 11, 1944 in Brcko,
graduated at the Faculty of Medicine,
3. Enver Pamukcic, of father Avdo, born on April 15, 1952 in Brka,
graduated at the Faculty of Economy, battery chief, member of the Crisis
Staff;
4. Faruk Pamukcic, of father Elmahir, born on March 15, 1950 in Brka,
policeman before the war, member of the Crisis Center, and
5. Jasminka Osmanagic, of father Rahim, born on August 26, 1956 in Brcko,
employed at the Public Security Service in Brcko before the war.
EVIDENCE: Documents 144/95-10, 617/95-14 and 617/95-20.
I-241
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Brcko and a part of the Brcko-Obudovac corridor, from
July to September 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Ramiz Pljakic, commander of 108th motorized brigade
and Matuzovic, commander of the 4th operational area of Bosanska Posavina,
issued an order to Muslim-Croat armed formations in the regions of Boderiste,
Brka, Ulovici and Vucilovac, the municipality of Brcko, and Vidovic and Matic,
the municipality of Orasje, to open artillery fire and shell Brcko and part of
the corridor in the Brcko-Obukovac direction, outside the war operations zone,
which they did on several occasions, with a large number of shells.
I. In the night between July 25 and 26, 1944, the total of 98 shells were
fired, inflicting injuries on civilians. The following persons sustained
serious bodily injuries:
1. Bosa Pejic, born on June 5, 1913, who died on the way to the hospital.
2. Mitar Ostojic, born in 1948,
3. Nedeljka Kovandjic, born in 1962,
4. Ranko Nesic, born in 1964,
5. Petar Petrovic, born in 1941,
6. Vladimir Maric, born in 1940,
7. Sasa Ignjatovic, born in 1975,
and the following persoins sustained light bodily injuries:
1. Borislav Mijic, born in 1952,
2. Milan Maksimovic, born in 1953,
3. Steva Mihajlovic, born in 1967,
4. Steva Djuric,
5. Jovica Bijelic, born in 1949,
6. Ratko Ilijic, born in 1942,
7. Petar Zimonjic, born in 1949,
8. Milorad Nikolic, born in 1959,
9. Rada Puric, born in 1950,
10. Stojan Simikic, born in 1957,
11. Dragisa Rogic, born in 1970,
12. Radovan Camber, born in 1969,
13. Dusan Rusac, born in 1954.
The material damage on civilian and economic facilities has been
estimated to Dinars 11,000.000,00.
II. On August 4, 1994, around 5.30 hrs., a mortar shell caused material
damage on the house of Bozo Dobrovin in Brcko, 28 Zmaj Jovina Street,
amounting to Dinars 10,000.00.
III. On August 6, 1994, at 10.10 hrs., 6 shells were fired, and at around
16.00 hrs. another three shell were fired against the town, wounding the
civilians.
Serious bodily injuries were inflicted on:
1. Danolo Varcakovic, born in 1982,
2. Sinisa Pajic, born in 1965.
Light bodily injuries were inflicted on:
1. Hidajeta Dervisevic, born in 1944,
2. Sofija Selimovic, born in 1919,
3. Gavro Blagojevic, born in 1961,
4. Aleksandar Tajkov, born in 1929.
The material damage has been estimated at Dinars 34,000,00.
IV. On September 13, 1994, on three occasions, at around 10.25 hrs.,
21.10 hrs. and 21.40 hrs., the total of 46 shells were fired, inflicting
serious bodily injuries on the following civilians:
1. Silvio Nikolic, born in 1977,
2. Jovan Babic, born in 1938,
3. Joka Vujcic, born in 1912,
while the following persons sustained light bodily injuries:
1. Bosko Lukic, born in 1935,
2. Raisa Radusic, born in 1942,
3. Aleksandar Ristic, born in 1944,
4. Vesna Djukic, born in 1976,
5. Milka Radusic, born in 1939,
6. Sava Rosic, born in 1924,
7. Sabina Demirovic, born in 1980,
8. Mladen Lakic, born in 1982,
9. Goran Mitrovic, born in 1972,
10. Djuradj Malcic, born in 1961.
The material damage has been estimated at Dinars 6,000,000,00.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ramiz Pljakic, of father Hamdija, born on May 17, 1958, in the village
of Ugao, the municipality of Sjenica, the Republic of Serbia, graduated from
the Military Academy, commander of 3rd battery of HD-122 milimeters in the
"Veljko Lukic-Kurjak" army post in Brcko before the war. Commander of 108th
motorized brigade, and
2. Djuro Matuzovic, aged about 45, from Ostra Luka, commander of 4th
operational area of Bosanska Posavina.
EVIDENCE: In the Committee document No. 144/95-11.
I-242
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Brcko, May 1944.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Ramiz Pljakic, commander of 108th motorized brigade,
issued an order to Muslim-Croat armed formations in the regions of Brka and on
the Vranovaca hill to open artillery fire, outside the war operations area,
and shell Brcko, which was done with a number of shells on May 10, 1944, from
19.35 hrs. to 19.45 hrs. The shells killed the following civilians:
1. Svjetlana Isailovic, born in 1967, who had been 8 months pregnant,
2. Bozana Isailovic, Svjetlana's daughter, born in 1991,
3. Bozo Isailovic, born in 1933.
Serious bodily injuries were inflicted on the following civilians:
1. Mara Zeljic, born in 1953,
2. Mile Lukic, born in 1953.
Light bodily injuries were inflicted on:
1. Milorad Micic, born in 1955,
2. Djordje Lakic, born in 1952,
3. Luka Aleksic, born in 1973,
4. Cvija Zivkovic, born in 1949,
5. Jelena Simic, born in 1968,
6. Nedja Tosic, born in 1959,
7. Petar Djurdjic, born in 1950,
8. Miladinka Markovic, born in 1973,
9. Milovan Pantic, born in 1933.
The material damage caused in the town has been estimated at Dinars
1,000,000,00.
The following day, May 11 1944, about 19.30 hrs. the units on the
Vranovaca hill, shelled the "Brckok 2-dizdarusa" transformer station with five
tank grenades, causing material damage amounting to Dinars 2,618,000,00.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ramiz Pljakic, of father Hamdija, born on May 17, 1958, in the village
of Ugao, the municipality of Sjenica, graduated from the Military Academy,
commander of 3rd battery of HD-122 milimeters in the "Veljko Lukic-Kurjak"
army post in Brcko before the war. Commander of 108th motorized brigade.
EVIDENCE: Reports on artillery shelling, report on persons killed and
wounded, report on the damage of the transformer station and testimony by the
witness in documents 144/95-14.
I-243
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Brcko, May and June, 1944.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Matuzovic, commander of 4th operational area of
Posavina in Orasje, issued an order to Muslim-Croat armed formations in the
occupied Serb village of Vucilovac to open artillery fire and shell the
corridor and the town of Brcko, which they did on two occasions, on May 28,
1944, around 11.00 hrs., and on June 12, 1944, around 12.00 hrs.
The following civilians were killed:
1. Milan Kovacevic, born in 1939, from K. Dubica,
2. Ivica Simic, born in 1962, from Banja Luka.
Serious bodily injuries were inflicted on:
1. Natasa Gajic, of father Jovan, born in 1989,
2. Uzeir Ogurinac, born in 1955 in K. Dubica,
3. Rade Momcilovic, born in 1971, from Vojnic.
Light bodily injuries were inflicted on:
1. Slobodan Bobar, born in 1966, from Patkovaca,
2. Mihajlo Jovic, of father Vasilije, born on November 11, 1969 in
Zenica,
3. Ivan Todorovic, born in 1939, from Brcko.
In addition, the material damage in the town itself, on buildings,
passenger and freight vehicles and an ambulance car, has been estimated at the
total of Dinars 800,000,00.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Djuro Matuzovic, called "Tusin", aged about 45, commander of 4th
operational area of Posavina in Orasje.
EVIDENCE: Documents 144/95-16.
I-244
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Brcko, July 1944.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Pljakic, commander of 108th motorized brigade, issued
an order to Muslim-Croat armed formations in the regions of the village of
Brka and on the Vrakovaca hill to open artillery fire against Brcko, outside
the war operations area, which they did during the night on July 6-7, 1994,
from 19.30 hrs. to 0.30 hrs.
The following civilians sustained bodily injuries:
1. Stevo Mihajlovic, born in 1967 in Donji Cadjevac, who sustained
serious bodily injuries, and
2. Nada Lukic, born in 1965 in Brcko,
3. Neda Jokanovic, born in 1981 in Brcko,
4. Laza Pajic, born in 1971 in Brcko, who sustained light bodily
injuries.
The material damage on civilian and economic buildings has been estimated
at Dinars 1,000,000,00.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ramiz Pljakic, of father Hamdija, born on May 17, 1958, in the village
of Ugao, the municipality of Sjenica, graduated from the Military Academy,
commander of 3rd battery of HD-122 milimeters in the "Veljko Lukic-Kurjak"
army post in Brcko before the war. Commander of 108th motorized brigade.
EVIDENCE: Committee document No. 144/95-18.
I-245
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Bijela, the municipality of Brcko, April,
1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On April 10, 1993, in the house of Momir Lukic in
Bijela, soldier of Muslim-Croat armed formations Marjan Mijatovic shot dead
1. Jevdokija Micic, aged 70.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Marjan Mijatovic, of father Petar, born on July 6, 1972, in the
village of Bijela.
EVIDENCE: Testimonies in documents 144/95-15.
I-246
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Travnik, May-September, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When the JNA withdrew from Travnik on May 19, 1992,
the witness and three other Serbs were detained in the laundry room of a
building at No. 14 Slavka Rodica St. in Travnik. He was kept there for 11
days, subjected to hunger and thirst. The four of them were given a half of a
quarter of a kilo of bread, which was thrown to them through the window. They
collected water in a plastic cup placed under a pipe where a few drops fell
now and then.
They were beaten every day, most frequently with baseball clubs.
Eleven days later, they were transfered to the "Bratstvo" factory in
Travnik, where they were kept in a annealing furnace area bordered with a wire
fence. 17 Serbs were kept there.
They were beaten every day. When Sinisa Pavic from Visoko, aged 23,
returned a blow one day to a guard called "Hase", the guard threw him on the
floor with a rifle butt, tore through his thorax with the second rifle butt
hit, after which Pavic died.
A Serb whose second name was Tegetlija was also killed. He had been
captured near Jajce.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. "Hasa", a Muslim, guard, about 185 cm tall,
2. Abdulah, an Iraqi citizen, who had been on specialization in the
"Bratstvo" factory in Travnik and joined the Muslims when the war broke out.
He was known for his brutality in beating up detained Serbs.
3. Selim Hadziomerspahic, aged 35-40, who had been a doorman in the
"Bratstvo" factory and was in charge of factory security after the war broke
out,
4. Mirko Lasic, HVO commander,
5. Mario Kordic.
EVIDENCE: Records on witness hearing filed with the Committee under No.
155/95.
I-247
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Potkozlovaca, the municipality of Han
Pijesak, December 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On December 11, Muslim armed formations from Kladanj
attacked the Serb village of Potkozlovaca. When they occupied the village,
they started killing civilians.
The following persons were killed:
1. Radovan Bastah, slaughtered.
2. Leposava Maric, wife of Milos Maric, shot in the head when trying to
escape,
3. Vojislav Sokanovic, burnt alive in his house,
4. Branko Narandzic,
5. Milutin Grozdanovic, was inflicted wounds and died a day later,
and Marko Bastah and Gojko Trifunovic were wounded.
In addition, the Muslim soldiers plundered all houses in Potkozlovaca and
took some 100 heads of livestock.
After that, they burnt 21 houses with auxiliary buildings. The houses of
owned by the following persons were burnt: Gojko Trifunovic, Dragutin
Gvozdenovic, Momir Dupljanin, Draga Sokanovic, Marko Bastah, Vojislav
Sokanovic, Radovan Bastah, Nenad Bastah, Nedja Golijan, Radomir Paunic, Rada
Samardjic and Marko and Mladjen Samardjic.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Zijad Vrabac, of father Asim and m. Fatima - maiden name Zakic, born
on August 9, 1965 in the village of Nevacka, the municipality of Han Pijesak,
with permanent residence in the village of Nevacka, employed in the Municipal
Assembly of Han Pijesak as geometer before the war, soldier of the Muslim
detachment of Kladanj,
2. Dzemail Muskic, of father Ragib, m. Mejra, born on July 2, 1964 in
Cerska, the municipality of Vlasenica, soldier of the Muslim detachment of
Cer,
3. Rahim Kurtic, of father Alija, born on August 25, 1973, in Rovasi, the
municipality of Vlasenica,
4. Sejfudin Dervisevic, of father Djamil, m. Sahe, born on January 15,
1971 in Skrugric, the municipality of Vlasenica,
5. Ibrahim Rizvanovic, of father Saban, born on July 15, 1973 in Rovasi,
he municipality of Vlasenica,
6. Suljo Dervisevic, of father Sabrija, m. Bejda, born on October 4, 1960
in Cerska, the municipality of Vlasenica, soldier of the Muslim detachment of
Cer,
7. Sejfudin Suljic, of father Becir, m. Hasnija, born on September 4,
1963 in Drum, the municipality of Vlasenica,
8. Dzemal Bajric, of father Omer, born on May 15, 1971 in Cerska, the
municipality of Vlasenica, soldier of the Muslim detachment of Cer,
9. Lutvo Salimovic, of father Smail, born on May 15, 1973, in Rovasi, the
municipality of Vlasenica,
10. Zaim Mehmedovic, of father Salko, born on March, 15, 1972 in Skrugic,
the municipality of Vlasenica,
11. Azem Alic, of father Suljo, m. Rahima, born on August 17, 1970 in
Maceha, the municipality of Vlasenica,
12. Amir Suljakovic, of father Avdo, born on January 2, 1972 in Gobelji,
the municipality of Vlasenica, soldier of the Muslim detachment of Cer,
13. Mijo Sejmenovic, of father Nusret, m. Camka, born on September 4,
1958 in Rovaci, the municipality of Vlasenica,
14. Beriz Muskic, born in the area of the municipality of Vlasenica, no
further data known,
15. Munib Turkovic, from the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
no further data known,
16. Amir Ikanovic, from the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
no further data known,
17. Dzemal Nukic, from the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica, no
further data known,
18. Fahrudin Alic, from the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
no further data known,
19. Elvis Hasanovic, from the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
no further data known,
20. Avdo Perhatovic, from the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
no further data known,
21. Salim Mustafovic, from the territory of the municipality of
Vlasenica, but there are two persons with the same name: Salim Mustafovic, of
father Salko, born on January 2, 1961 in Cerska, soldier of the Cer
detachment, and Salim Mustafovic, of father Salik, born on January 3, 1967 in
the village of Skrugric, the municipality of Vlasenica,
22. Alija Mustafic. In the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
there are three persons with the same name: Alija Mustafic, of father Salik,
born on November 1, 1962 in Skrugric; Alija Mustafic, of father Besir and M.
Zajma, born on January 3, 1972 in Rasevi and Alija Mustafic, of father Suljo
and m. Ajsa, born on February 2, 1970 in Raseva,
23. Mustafa Becirovic. In the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
there are two persons with the same name: Mustafa Becirovic, of father Nezir,
born on April 17, 1974 in Nedeljiste, and Mustafa Becirovic, of father Hajro,
born on April 25, 1959 in Pomol,
24. Mirsad Hardarevic. In the territory of the municipality of Vlasenica,
there are two persons with the same name: Mirsad Hajdarevic, of father
Mehmedalija, born on March 15, 1974 in Nedeljiste, and Mirsad Hajdarevic, of
father Husein, born on January 1, 1972 in Cerska,
25. Rasid Baltic, of father Hasim, born on January 6, 1974, in Cerska,
soldier of the Muslim detachment of Cer,
26. Adnan Matus, no other data.
EVIDENCE: The medical findings and investigaiton on the spot with the
photo-documentation, list of soldiers of Muslim armed formations with names of
soldiers charged with automatic weapons found in situ, official report with
testimonies by the witnesses filed with the Committee under No. 136/95-1.
I-248
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Zeravice and the village of Recice, the
municipality of Han Pijesak, August 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On August 2, 1993, soldiers of Muslim armed formations
attacked the Serb villages of Recice and Zeravice.
In Recice, there were no victims in the civilian population because the
villagers had fled before the soldiers' arrival. The soldiers looted and then
burnt seven houses with auxiliary buildings. The burnt houses were owned by
Dusan and Milovan Golijan, Tomo and Vasa Golijan, Stevan Golijan and his
brothers, Rajko Vaskovic, Svetozar Golijan and Milorad Golijan.
Muslim soldiers attacked Zeravice the same day and killed:
1. Dobrivoje Golijan, born on April 6, 1926, resident of Zeravice,
2. Rajka Todorovic, born in 1958, who had been mentally ill,
3. Aleksa Golijan, born in 1923,
4. Danica Sokanovic, born in 1926,
5. Milovan Golijan, born in 1967,
6. Marko Mirovic, born in 1923,
7. Jovan Sokanovic, born in 1931,
8. Zora Sokanovic, born in 1936, wife of Jovan Sokanovic.
During the attack, Dana Sokanovic, a primary school pupil, sustained a
wound in the arm, after which she was captured and taken by Muslim soldiers to
Kladanj, together with Golijan Velimir, born in 1946 and Milojka Mirovic, born
in 1926.
When they occupied the village, the Muslim soldiers plundered and burnt
down more than 70 Serb-owned houses and their auxiliary buildings and took
away some 200 heads of cattle.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Brajko Huseinovic, of father Hamid, m. Ajsa - maiden name Doljancic,
born on October 7, 1959 in Rubnici, the municipality of Han Pijesak, tradesman
by profession, employed in TP "Napredak" before the war, permanent residence
in Rubinici, the municipality of Han Pijesak,
2. Rifet Vrabac, called "Bekan", of father Djulbeg, m. Sema - maiden name
Bubic, born on December 1, 1961, in Nevacka, the municipality of Han Pijesak,
timber dispatcher by profession, employed in SIP "Planinsko", Han Pijesak,
before the war, permanent residence in Nevacka, the municipality of Han
Pijesak,
3. Rizvo Vrabac, of father Sahbaz, born on November 10, 1953, in Nevacka,
the municipality of Han Pijesak, driver by profession, employed in SIP
"Planinsko", Han Pijesak, permanent residence in Nevacka,
4. Becir Makanic, of father Jakub, m. Cura, born on April 15, 1957,
machine technician by profession, permanent residence in Vlasenica, commander
of 1st Muslim detachment of Cer,
5. Ismet Vrabac, called "Redzo", of father Djulbeg, m. Sema - maiden name
Bubic, born on September 1, 1963 in Nevacka, the municipality of Han Pijesak,
worker by profession, employed in SIP "Planinsko", Han Pijesak, before the
war, permanent residence in Nevacka,
6. Muhamed Vrabac, of father Mujo, born on February 10, 1939, in Nevacka,
the municipality of Han Pijesak, employed in PTT, Han Pijesak, before the war,
permanent residence in Nevacka,
7. Resid Imanovic, of father Bajra, born on July 13, 1955 in Nevacka, the
municipality of Han Pijesak, locksmith by profession, employed in SIP
"Planinsko", Han Pijesak, before the war, permanent residence in Nevacka,
reserve JNA officer before the war,
8. Zaim Avdagic, of father Himzo, born on May 28, 1946, in Turalici, the
municipality of Vlasenica, carpenter by profession, employed in SIP
"Planinsko", Han Pijesak, before the war, permanent residence in Nevacka, the
municipality of Han Pijesak,
9. Zijad Avdagic, of father Himzo, born in 1962 in Turalici, the
municipality of Vlasenica, worker by profession, employed in DP "Stupcanica",
Olovo, permanent residence in Nevacka, the municipality of Han Pijesak,
10. Galib Durakovic, of father Osman, m. Mevla - maiden name Sanderovic,
born on August 12, 1945 in Sasevci, the municipality of Olovo, coachman by
profession, employed in SIP "Planinsko", Han Pijesak, before the war,
permanent residence in Nevacka, the municipality of Han Pijesak,
11. Hajrudin Glasic, of father Began, born on January 5, 1953 in
Rubinici, the municipality of Han Pijesak, worker by profession, employed in
SIP "Planinsko", Han Pijesak, before the war, permanent residence in Rubinici,
12. Semso Harderbasic, of father Hamid, born on January 24, 1939 in
Nevacka, worker by profession, employed in DP "Stupcanica", Olovo, before the
war, permanent residence in Nevacka, the municipality of Han Pijesak,
13. Ramiz Camdzic, born in 1938 in Podglavica, the municipality of
Kladanj, butcher by profession, permanent residence in Podglavica, the
municipality of Kladanj,
14. Alija Mutapcic, born in 1957, in Vlasenica, worker by profession,
permanent residence in Vlasenica, the "Bacino Brdo" settlement.
EVIDENCE: Records on investigation on the spot, with photo-
documentation, medical findings, testimonies by witnesses filed with the
Committee under No. 136/95-2.
I-249
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Vratilo, on the Kalinovik-Miljevina road,
the municipality of Foca, Spetember 20, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On September 20, a freight vehicle with 39 civilians
of Serb nationality was moving on the Kalinovik-Miljevina road.
The Muslim armed unit led by Sead Prazina ambushed the freight vehicle in
Vratilo, the municipality of Foca, opened fire from infantry weapons at the
civilians in the vehicle and killed them all. The following persons, all of
Serbian nationality, which the attackers knew, were identified among the
killed:
1. Lesko Vujadin, of father Spasoje, aged 44, from Miljevina,
2. Radomir Bozalo, of father Milorad, aged 35, from Miljevina,
3. Velimir Ognjenovic, of father Simo, aged 32, from Miljevina,
4. Milovan Saric, of father Marko, aged 55, from Miljevina,
5. Rade Andric, of father Gojko, aged 53, from Miljevina,
6. Veselin Nego, of father Rajko, aged 24, from Miljevina,
7. Rajko Andric, of father Milos, aged 30, from Miljevina,
8. Slobodan Mastilo, of father Lazar, aged 16, from Miljevina,
9. Dusko Mastilo, of father Lazar, aged 20, from Miljevina,
10. Milosav Vasovic, of father Nedjo, aged 37, from Miljevina,
11. Slavko Skobo, of father Jole, aged 41, from Miljevina,
12. Gordon Miletic, of father Radovan, aged 30, from Miljevina
13. Miso Miletic, of father Marko, aged 65, from Miljevina,
14. Milorad Vukovic, of father Vlada, aged 29, from Miljevina,
15. Milenko Vukovic, of father Marko, aged 45, from Miljevina,
16. Risto Trifkovic, of father Milan, aged 48, from Miljevina,
17. Velibor Vlaski, of father Jova, aged 19, from Trnovo,
18. Danilo Cicovic, of father Branislav, aged 22, from Miljevina,
19. Milan Nogo, of father Veljko, aged 34, from Miljevina,
20. Velja Stankovic, of father Nikola, aged 41, from Miljevina,
21. Milorad Stanic, of father Zivko, aged 33, from Miljevina,
22. Rajko Klepic, of father Ceda, aged 30, from Trnovac,
23. Petko Mijatovic, of father Janko, aged 30, from Miljevina,
24. Mladjen Stankovic, aged 30, of father Jovo,
25. Radomir Popovic, of father Nikola, aged 25, from Trnovo,
26. Mladen Popovic, aged about 30, from Trnovo,
27. Ratomir Golijanin, of father Drago, aged 51, from Trnovo,
28. Slavka Golijanin, of father Branko, aged 52, from Trnovo,
29. Novak Golijanin, from Trnovo,
30. Slavko Obucina, of father Draga, aged 36, from Trnovo,
31. Cvija Obucina, of father Branko, aged 62, from Trnovo,
32. Milica Saric, aged about 25, from Kalinovik,
33. Mato Elez, aged about 50, from Kalinovik.
The investigating Commission was not able to identify six other civilians
- three men and three women.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Sead Prazina from the village of Jelaca, the municipality of Foca, a
Muslim, commander of the Muslim unit that attacked the said vehicle.
EVIDENCE: Records on the investigation and identification of the persons
killed dated September 21, 1992, photo-documentation and testimonies by the
captured Muslim soldier and documentation under No. 128/95, and document of
the District Court in Foca Kri- 78/92.
NOTE: Addition to application I-131.
I-250
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Bugojno, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: About 9,000 Serbs lived in the territory of the
municipality of Bugojno. Croats and Muslims, in coalition, pressurized Serbs,
threatened them, cursed their Serb mother and called them snipers and
chetniks. Serbs were suspended from senior posts in the municipality. The
director and the witness heard was replaced and given secondary assignments.
Arrests of prominent Serbs started.
The following persons were killed in this period:
1. Luka Levovic,
2. Milenko Babic from the village of Vilesi,
3. Mara Lugonja, who had been a welfare beneficiary,
4. An elderly women, second name Zelen, was killed by a Croat soldier who
explained that she had a radio-station in her stocking and that she used it,
5. Jovo Egic, was killed after he brought a lamb to the Croats at their
request,
6-7. Gligoric husband and wife from Slavka Rodica Street.
8. Sekula Nikic, whose ears and nose were cut off first.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Semin Rustenpasic, who had his own army unit,
2. Pero Zulj, from the village of Lug,
3. Kajic called "Garov" from the village of Vucipolje near Bugojno,
4. Vrba Mehric.
EVIDENCE: Testimony by the witness 234/95-19.
I-251
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Potocani, end of May and beginning of
June, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: At the end of May, 1992, most probably on 25 or 26
May, in the village of Potocani, Muslim soldiers in "Green Beret" uniforms,
under command of Semin Rustanpasic, killed the following Serbs:
1. Draga Cavic, of father Nedeljko, born in 1933,
2. Milenko Lukic.
At the beginning of June, the following persons were also killed in this
village:
3. Ljubo Cavic, of father Ljubo, born in 1911, and his wife,
4. Bosa Cavic, of father Aleksa, born in 1924 - slaughtered in front of
their house. A big cross was cut into Ljuba's chest. Bosa's throat was cut,
both her breasts were cut off, her eyes were gouged out and her ears cut off.
Both her arms were cut to the elbows.
5. Jelena Jovic, of father Milan, born in 1928. Her nose, ears and arms
were cut off and her eyes were gouged.
6. Mara, from Kupres by birth, was slaughtered.
7. Radojka Prgomelja, of father Stanoje, born in 1944. Her right leg and
nose were cut off, her eyes were gouged out and she was cut all over the body.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Semin Rustanpasic, commander of the "Green Berets" unit,
2. Senad Bajric,
3-6. Eric, Corina, Rizvan and Durakovic, "Green Berets" soldiers.
EVIDENCE: Testimony by the witness 234/95-13.
I-252
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Hlapcevici near Visoko, June 20, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In this village, populated by the Muslims, there were
only three Serb houses. At 6.00 hrs., on June 20, in addition to the witness,
Muslim soldiers arrested five other Serbs from this village, whom they shot
later:
1. Slavko Damjanovic, of father Jeremije, born in 1935, and his wife,
2. Danica Damjanovic, of father Obren, born in 1940,
3. Dusanka Ristic, of father Milos, born in 1945 and her son,
4. Zeljko Ristic, of father Nedjo, born in 1966,
5. Sreta Masala, of father Milos, aged about 45.
The arrested were immediately tied with a rope, with their arms on the
back. They were told that they were all going to be shot dead, their "Serbian
and chetnik mother" was cursed. They were ordered to move in the direction of
the village center, and on the way, the soldiers hit them with fists, boots
and rifle butts. All soldiers wore "Green Beret" uniforms.
When they reached the village center, Nusret Ramic ordered them to stand
in front of the wall of Suad Kapa's house. He then called Zeljko Ristic to
step out of the group and asked him where the mine fields were. Before Zeljko
could answer at all, Ramic fired a burst into his chest. Immediately after
that, he turned the automatic rifle barrel towards the others and shot at them
from the distance of 3-4 meters. They all fell down, including the witness. As
they were lying on the ground, he fired another burst at them.
Then the soldiers moved away.
The witness was hit with four bullets.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Nusret Ramic from the village of Seoca near Visoko,
2. Muhamed Uznalic, of father Himzo, born in 1966, in the village of
Okolisce and other "Green Beret" soldiers.
EVIDENCE: Testimony by the witness 234/95-8 and 292/95-13.
I-253
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Perin Han near Zenica, October 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When Muslim troops entered Perin Han, they killed two
brothers:
1. Simo Stankovic, and
2. Stevo Stankovic.
They were killed in their house with blows with solid objects on their
heads and buried in a collective grave in the village of Mutnica.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Soldiers of the Army of the so called Bosnia-Herzegovina.
EVIDENCE: Testomony by the witness 234/95-23.
I-254
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Ljubuski, detention camp in the former prison building,
night June 10-11, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: 64 Serbs from Kupres were kept in this prison,
including:
1. Djordje Vukovic and
2. Andjelko Serbez from Bugojno.
Croat soldiers demanded from these two persons to admit that they had
slaughtered Croat children, promising to release them after they have
confessed to that effect.
When they admitted, under duress, the Croat soldiers started beating them
brutally. When Djordje Vukovic died of wounds, prisoners R.K. and M.K. were
ordered to take his body out. Then he was, before the eyes of other prisoners
in the yards, spilled over with petrol and burnt.
Andjelko Serbez died 15 minutes later. His corpse was also taken out,
spilled over with petrol and burnt.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Sinisa Tomic, lawyer from Ljubusko, Ljubusko detention camp warden,
2. Kreso Paradzic called "cupo",
3. Nedjo Macic.
EVIDENCE: Testimony by the witness 234/95-6.
I-255
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Homolje near Konjic, April 20, 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On the second day of the Serbian Easter holidays,
April 20, 1993, Muslims, with Mujaheddins among them, entered the village of
Donje Selo, near Konjic, where the witness lived. They took both Serbs and
Croats out of their houses, since Muslims and Croats were in conflict at the
time. They did not take women and children. They took 15 Serbs and about 85
Croats to a field near the village of Homolje, about one and half kilometers
away from Donje Selo. There, they separated Croats and Serbs to two different
sides.
This was done by "Juka's" troops, which included Mujaheddins, mostly
Turks. There was also a Somalian among them, who spoke some Serbian.
When they separated the men in two groups, they ordered them to lie down,
face turned to the ground, and started to beat them.
From the Serb group, they chose:
1. Obren Ristic, of father Djordje, born 1957,
2. Zoran Kuljanin, born 1955,
3. Nedjo Golubovic, truck operator,
and executed them by a firing squad.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Jusuf Prazina "Juka" and soldiers of his unit.
EVIDENCE: Testimony by the witness No. 243/95-6.
I-256
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Sarajevo, Rave Jankovica Str., March 11, 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: From the Pere Kosorica square, the "Loris" buildings
in the part of Sarajevo held by Muslim armed formations, a sniper shot at the
girls who were playing "jump the elastic band", in front of the building No.
59:
1. Milica Lalovic, of father Ranko, born in 1984, from Novo Sarajevo, and
2. Natasa Ucur, of father Nedeljko, born in 1986.
Milica Lalovic was brought dead to the Kasindo hospital, with a
bullet-pierced wound in the head, and Natasa Ucur died 15 minutes after she
had been admitted to the same hospital with a bullet-pierced wound in the
head.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Senad Piskic, born 1956 in Gracnica, waiter in the "Galeb" restaurant
at Grbavica before the war, soldier of the so called army of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, who boasted in public that he shot the two girls dead in
addition to 20 other Serbs.
EVIDENCE: 410/95.
I-257
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Serdari, the municipality of Kotor Varos,
September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In the village of Serdari, there were only 10 Serb
families, who were prevented by Muslims and Croats from Serdari and the
neighboring villages from leaving the village in the middle of 1992. When they
tried to leave on September 5, 1992, Muslim "Green beret" soldiers killed:
1. Borivoje Serdar, of father Branko, born in 1972, and
2. Radenko Serdar, of father Jovo, born in 1972.
On September 17, 1992, at about 06.30 hrs., Muslim "Green beret"
soldiers, led by Besim Cehic, invaded the village, burnt the houses and killed
its unarmed civilian population who did not manage to take to flight.
Before entering R.'s house, they threw a bomb. Breaking through the front
door, they rushed inside and found R. who had been in the fifth month of
pregnancy, and shot her in the breast. She barely survived, with serious
consequences.
On that occasion, they killed:
1. Bosiljka Serdar, of father Jefto, born in 1938,
2. Jelenko Serdar, born in 1961,
3. Ljubica Tepic, of father Djordje, born in 1953, and her two teenage
daughters:
4. Slobodanka Tepic, aged 11, and
5. Snezana Tepic, aged 5,
6. Slavko Bencuz, of father Jefta, born in 1937,
7. Slavojka Bencuz, born in 1971,
8. Drago Serdar, born in 1938 and his son:
9. Slavisa Serdar, born in 1970, and his wife:
10. Spomenka Serdar, born in 1972,
11. Branko Serdar, born in 1936,
12. Radmila Serdar, born in 1970,
13. Slavko Serdar, born in 1934,
14. Mirko Serdar, born in 1962,
15. Danka Serdar, born in 1934.
After the killings, they burnt Serb-owned houses in the village of
Serdar.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Besim Cehic, of father Safet, born in 1965 in the village of Hanifici,
a taxi-driver before the war,
2. Fikret Planincic, of father Abaz, born in 1958,
3. Mirsad Smajic, born in 1964,
4. Nijaz Smajic, born in 1961.
EVIDENCE: 234/95-14, 234/95-16, 234/95-17 and 234/95-18.
I-258
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Vrana, the municipality of Biograd na
moru, September-October 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On September 30, 1991, in the afternoon, four Croat
soldiers searched Serb houses in the village of Vrana. They took three Serbs:
1. Nikola Volarevic,
2. Savo Drca, and
3. Nenad Bogunovic, of father Nikola,
to their Crisis Center in the village and then on the Vransko lake, where they
were kept in a fishermen's house.
Since that time, there is no more trace of Nenad Bogunovic. According to
what the Croat soldiers said, he was soaked with petrol and burnt.
The witness requested information about his disapperance from UNPROFOR,
but was not given any.
Other Serbs were held in isolation and not allowed to move.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Boris Prebeg, commander of Croat unit in Vrana, from the surroundings
of Varazdin by birth,
2. Mladjen Golem, born in Vrana, returned emmigrant, Croatian Army
soldier,
3. Tomislav Jajcanin, born in Vrana, Croatian Army soldier,
4. Damir Klaric, bron in Vrana, Croatian Army soldier,
EVIDENCE: Wintess No. 236/95-13.
I-259
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Zadar, in the middle of April, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Vaso Lezaja, born in Karin, had lived in his house in
Zadar since 1968 and was employed at the City Transport enterprise. On April
17, 1992, he was taken away from his house. His corpse, with the head cut off,
was found three days later. The witness found out that on April 17, 1992, at
about 02.00 hrs., four uniformed Croats came to Vaso Lezaj's house, forced him
to get out of bed and took him to the place called Bokanjac in Zadar, shot him
from a submachine gun and then cut off his head.
His body, with the head cut off was seen by a Croat who knew the Lezaj
family and informed his father about it.
A Croat, policeman, moved into the late Lezaj's house in Zadar.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Names unknown, persons dressed in Croatian soldier uniforms.
EVIDENCE: Testimony by the witness No. 236/95-14.
I-260
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The surroundings of Islam Grcki near Benkovac, September
13, 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Branko Stegnjajic and his wife Anka, who lived in
their family house in Islam Grcki and worked in the "Nacionalni list"
("National Paper") in Zadar, were on their way back from work on September 13,
1991, by the Zadar-Posedarje bus, as usual. That day, the bus did not stop at
the bus-stop where they used to get out, but two kilometers before, near the
"Nova Bistrica" agricultural estate. They got out and started for their home,
three kilometers away, in Islam Grcki, accross the field. In that field, they
were killed, some 500 meters from the highway. Their remains were found on
November 10, 1991.
According to the records made by the investigating team, Branko
Stagnjajic was killed by decapitation with a knife or other blade (the head
was not found), and his wife by lethal blows with a blunt object. Their
belongings were found on the spot.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Names unknown, member of HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union)
EVIDENCE: Testimony filed with the Committee under No. 236/95-8.
I-261
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Polje near Derventa, May 9, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When Croat-Muslim armed formations invaded the village
of Polje, they found only the elderly, ill and wounded inhabitants. They
immeditely killed them all:
1. Djordje Banovic, of father Gligor, born on May 5, 1938,
2. Danica Banovic, of father Obrad Ceric, born in 1945,
3. Milenko Milosevic, of father Nedeljko, born on October 31, 1945,
4. Zoran Milojevic, m. Anica, born on July 21, 1947,
5. Vida Vasic, of father Ignja, born in 1920,
6. Rajka Jovicic, of father Krsto, born in 1946,
7. Dusan Banovic, of father Vid, born in 1931,
8. Pero Micic, of father Risto,
9. Mirko Curcic, of father Obrad, born on August 7, 1952,
10. Boro Zivkovic, of father Dusan, born on November 25, 1956, and
11. Gospava Milic, of father Pavle, born in 1916.
After the killings, the corpses were buried in Polje. The exhumation was
carried out at the order of the Investigating Judge of the Regional Court in
Derventa. Impressed skull fractures, which caused brain destruction and death,
were established with eight persons.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Soldiers of 109th Muslim-Croat brigade.
EVIDENCE: Committee document No. 249/95 with findings and the opinion of
forensic experts prof. Dunjic and doc. Aleksandric, and testimony by the
witness.
I-262
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Mostar, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: 1. Milan Jovanovic, of father Trifko, born in 1925,
retired economist, lived with his wife in a socially-owned apartment in Mostar
when the war broke out and when the search of Serb apartments started on a
massive scale, when Serbs were being taken to prisoner camps. The movement of
the Serbs was restricted at the time.
After May 15, 1991, when his apartment was first searched "for propaganda
materials and weapons", it was searched seven more times by uniformed Muslims
(Territorial Defense soldiers) and Croats (Croatian Defense Council (HVO) and
Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) soldiers).
During the searches, nothing was found that could have possibly
discredited him or his family.
On May 30, 1992, a "Zolja" ("Wasp") rocket was launched at the witness's
apartment, causing considerable damage. This rocket, as well as other rockets
that hit the apartments of other Serbs, were launched deliberately and from a
close distance.
During the search on July 8, 1992, uniformed Muslim soldiers forced
Milan's wife to make bows like Muslims do when they pray and beat her on the
head and she did it.
HVO soldiers arrested Milan Jovanovic twice and, in the course of July
1992, took him to the West camp for the "informative interview".
On August 2, 1992, at 23.45 hrs., knocking was heard at the Jovanovic's
door. When Milan Jovanovic opened, an unknown uniformed soldier asked him if
he was Milan Jovanovic and when he answered "yes", the soldier fired two
machine-gun bursts at him. When Milan fell down, the soldier fired another
burst in his head.
The wife found out later that the soldiers were from Jusuf Prazina's
sabotage group that stayed in Mostar at the time, in former judge Slavko
Santic's apartment, while the other group stayed in "Pile's" apartment in
Avenija Str.
After that, Jovanovic's wife was issued a receipt by HVO agent for Bijeli
Brijeg local community in Mostar, stating that her husband "had been a
civilian victim of war", even though she requested that the truth be stated -
that he had been killed.
At the same time in Mostar, the following persons were killed in a
similar way:
2. Milan Cvoro, in the Rudnik community, and
3. Ranko Skocajic, in his house in Blagaj.
The municipal HVO leader took from Milan Jovanovic the "Jugo" car -
"until there is a need for the said vehicle", as the receipt said, which was
never returned to Milan's wife. At the end of 1993, the witness managed to be
exchanged through the Red Cross and is now living as a refugee.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Soldiers of Jusuf Prazina's sabotage group,
2. Sabina Elezovic, leader of the group for liquidation of Serbs,
3. Ranko Antic, policeman of MUP, Mostar.
4. Sergej Belovic,
5. Josip Marcinko, employed in SUP, Mostar, before the war, member of HVO
Military Police in the West camp at the time of the above events.
6. Ibro Kljucanin, Muslim staff commander in Avenija Str. in Mostar.
EVIDENCE: Committee documents 507/95.
II DELIBERATE KILLING OF DETAINEES AND PRISONERS OF WAR
II - 088
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Varazdin, in early May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The captured soldier of the Army of the Republic of
Srpska Krajina Goran Lukic from Dubovac who had been subjected to vicious
torture in the Varazdin prison died en route from Varazdin to Bjelovar as a
result of the wounds he had received.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
The commander and the guards at the camp in Varazdin.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-3.
II - 089
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), town stadium, October 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Confined in the camp at the stadium was:
Desanka Blagojevic, a nurse from Tesanj, presumably born in 1946.
She was the victim of rape and on one occasion, after she had come back
from interrogation, she was burned by being forced to sit on a red-hot plate.
The hot-plate was also pressed against other parts of her body - wrists,
knees, elbows and buttocks.
The hot-plate was brought to the room where other women were and pressed
it against Desanka because a few pieces of paper with telephone numbers had
been found sawn in inside her lapel. She was also tortured by being pulled by
the hair.
During the trip from Bosanski Brod to Slavonski Brod, Desanka Blagojevic
was hardly able to walk on account of being battered and injured from the
burns so that the interrogated witness had to help her.
At one moment, Mlivic shot at Desanka and killed her.
This took place during the liberation of Brod, en route between Bosanski
Brod and Slavonski Brod.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Kadrija Mlivic, born in Sijekovac, member of the 101st Bosnian-Brod
HVO Brigade.
2. Jurkovic, called "Mangas", member of the 101st Bosnian-Brod HVO
Brigade.
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under Nos. 584/94-14 and 584/94-32.
II - 090
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Nova Gradiska, camp in army barracks, October 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Among the Serbs detained in the barracks was:
Jovo Radic, aged 67, from the village of Pozeski Cecevac near Nova
Gradiska. He died as the result of beating and his body was taken away only
after four days.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of ZNG.
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under No. 423/94.
II - 091
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Skipov Gaj, the Commune of Trnovo, July - November 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On July 30, 1992 the Moslem-Croatian armed forces
attacked the Serb defense positions in Skipov Gaj, about 3 kilometres from
Trnovo. Members of the Moslem-Croatian forces first captured and then killed
the following members of the Army of the Republic of Srpska:
1. Darko Parezanin, father's name Nedjo, born on March 10, 1963 in
Sarajevo,
2. Spasoje Popovic, father's name Svetozar, born 1930 in the village of
Tosici, the Commune of Trnovo,
3. Radovan Trgovcevic, father's name Jovo, born on June 9, 1955 in the
village of Tosici, the Commune of Trnovo.
After the capture, these soldiers were first tortured and then killed.
The investigation on the spot revealed the following: the remains of the above
mentioned soldiers were found unburied on the ground. The skull of Darko
Parezanin was severed from the rest of his skeleton. The front teeth in both
upper and lower jaws were knocked out by force and on the left side of the
vertex, along the joint between the vertex and occiput bones, there was a
bullet wound 2.5 x 1.5 cm in size. This indicates that the victim was shot at
while lying or sitting. The skull of Spasoje Popovic was not found. The
remains of Radovan Trgovcevic were discovered in a ditch about 60 cm deep. His
skeleton was in a slanting position, head buried into the ground and legs
upwards.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Moslem-Croatian military forces.
EVIDENCE: Statement of the witness No. 32, investigation reports Nos.
2632-4 and 2632-42, photographic documents A-31, 32 and 33 and Kz. No. 29,
filed with the Committee under No. 228/94.
II - 092
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: The camp at Godinjske bare, between Trnovo and Gorazde,
June - August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On June 10, 1992 the Public Security Department of
Godinjske bare, headed by Ethem Godinjak and Medaris Saric, established a camp
for Serbs.
The camp was situated in a private shed of solid build, 2.5 m x 3.5 m,
with concrete floor and one small riveted window. The prison was guarded by
the following members of the former Trnovo Security Department: Ramiz Ramic,
Enes Karacic, Fahro Dedovic, Emir Nisic, Samir Bibovic, Muzafer Keco and
others.
On that day, the following Serbs were brought to the camp: Mladjen
Ivanovic, Nenad Klepic, Radenko Vlaski, Jovo Elez, Savka Elez and Nedjo
Popovic, a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Other Serbs were brought during the ensuing days so that more than 16
persons were put into the above mentioned small room of about 8.5 sq. metres.
The room had no other opening except for a small hole in the wall, about
12 cm in diameter, which served as a vent so that the prisoners took turns in
breathing through the hole. For their needs, they used a privy in the corner
of the room. People often fainted because of discomfort and stuffiness.
The guards used to beat the prisoners every day with various wooden
objects, butts, hands and feet.
The prisoners were forced to burn the Serbian flag and sing Moslem songs
"We love you Alija" and "Don't give up Bosnia" which was recorded with
video-cameras. Dino Savcic, Nijaz Torlak, Edin Hamzic, Safet Samic and Izet
Cibra were particularly zealous in the beating.
The following persons died as the result of beatings:
1. Milorad Dzilic, father's name Vlado, born 1940 in the village of Crna
Rijeka, the Commune of Trnovo, member of the Republic of Srpska Army. Died on
August 4, 1992. His body was left for two days in the small room among the
prisoners because the guards would not let it be taken away. Only after two
days the prisoners were allowed to take it out and bury it in the nearby grove
called Runjavica. The exhumation and investigation on the spot on July 29,
1993 revealed the fractures of arms, legs and the skull.
2. Dusan Badnjar, father's name Mitar, born 1953 in the village of
Jelasnica, the Commune of Kalinovik, member of the Republic of Srpska Army,
captured in Rogaj. His remains were found buried in the nearby grove called
Runjavica.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ethem Godinjak, called "Edo", father's name Ibrahim, born on November
20, 1951 in Sarajevo, Moslem, head of the Trnovo Public Security Department
before the war,
2. Medaris Saric, born in Herzegovina, used to be in active Yugoslav
People's Army service before the war (lieutenant or second lieutenant), aged
about 35, married to Nermina Mahmutovic from Trnovo. At the beginning of war
he was commander of the Trnovo-Hadzic battalion and later commissioned as
chief of the so-called "Trnovo Armed Forces Headquarters",
3. Ramiz Ramic,
4. Enes Karacic, father's name Hasan, born on January 22, 1962 in the
village of Golubici, the Commune of Kalinovik, a policeman before the war,
5. Fahro Dedovic,
6. Emir Nisic,
7. Samir Bibovic,
8. Muzafer Keco,
9. Dino Sacic, father's name Sulejman, mother's name Izeta, born in
Sarajevo,
10. Nijaz Torlak,
12. Edin Hamzic, father's name Ismet, born on August 27, 1970 in the
village of Hamzici, the Commune of Trnovo, a policeman before the war,
13. Izet Cibra, father's name Began, born on January 18, 1967 in the
village of Delijas, the Commune of Trnovo, used to be a postman before the
war,
14. Merim Bratic, member of HOS.
EVIDENCE: Statements of the witnesses and investigation reports No.
2632-8
filed with the Committee under No. 228/94.
II - 093
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Camp in the village of Dejcici near Trnovo, housed in the
Elementary School building, June - August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Over 150 Serbs were detained in the camp, mostly
women, children and elderly people. Men were locked in one room, whereas women
and children were kept separately in other rooms. The residents of
neighbouring villages were guarding the prison, i.e. the members of Dedic,
Durmo, Orucevic and Mulaosmanovic families. Safet Durmo was the camp
commander.
With the permission of guards, extremists came to the camp every day.
Amongst them the following were recognized by the witnesses: Ismeta Kolar,
Suno Dedic, Dino Sacic, Izet Cibra, Samir Drnjakovic, Avdo Cosic, Zejnil
Lehic, Aziz Dedic, Avdija Dedic, Suljo Dedic, Muhamed Zoltan and Hamid
Orucevic.
Every day they would take pleasure in torturing the helpless Serbs by
beating them with metal bars, rubber truncheons, hands and other objects. The
beating made the prisoners bleed all over and faint.
The following persons died as the result of beatings:
1. Milenko Miovcic, born 1923. On several occasions he was beaten with
various objects on his head, stomach, arms and legs. At he beginning of August
1992, he was beaten on the head with a bottle full of water. After that he
fell into a coma and died two days later. The Serb prisoners buried him near
the village of Dejcici, at the site called Pozega. The exhumation and
investigation on the spot on August 7, 1993 revealed a skull fracture in the
area of right-hand side temple.
2. Nikola Sehovac from Gornja Presjenica, died as the result of beating
two days after he had been exchanged.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Safet Durmo, camp commander,
2. Ismeta Kolar, called "Nevenka", daughter of Bajro, born on March 5,
1962 in the village of Jablanica, the Commune of Trnovo,
3. Suno Dedic, father's name Bajro, born on January 19, 1965 in the
village of Dejcici,
4. Dino Sacic, father's name Sulejman, born in Sarajevo,
5. Izet Cibra, father's name Began, born on January 18, 1967 in the
village of Delijam, the Commune of Trnovo, a postman,
6. Samir Drnjakovic,
7. Avdo Cosic, father's name Alija, aged about 26, from Kijevo,
8. Zejnil Lehic, father's name Salih, born on January 2, 1958 in the
village of Bogatici, the Commune of Trnovo,
9. Aziz Dedic, father's name Huso, born on January 1, 1964 in the village
of Dejcici, the Commune of Trnovo,
10. Avdija Dedic, called Avdo, father's name Agan, born on March 3, 1973
in the village of Dejcici, the Commune of Trnovo,
11. Suljo Dedic, father's name Agan, from the village of Dejcici,
12. Muhamed Zoltan, father's name Suljo, born on July 31, 1960 in the
village of Batici, the Commune of Trnovo,
13. Hamid Orucevic, called "Henda", from Dejcici.
EVIDENCE: Statements of the witnesses, investigation report No. 29 and
photographic documents No. 128, filed with the Committee under No. 228-94.
II - 094
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Jablanica Region, the Commune of Lopare, January 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On January 23, 1994, members of the Moslem-Croatian
armed forces attacked the defense positions of the Republic of Srpska in
Jablanica Region. They captured and then tortured and killed the following 6
combatants:
1. Branko Antic, father's name Cedomir, born 1944,
2. Mihajlo Peric, father's name Cvijo, born 1945 in D. Crnaljevo,
3. Stevan Stevanovic, father's name Ilija, born 1941 in D. Crnaljevo,
4. Mladjen Pupic, father's name Pero, born 1941 in D. Crnaljevo,
5. Milorad Tesic, father's name Vasilije, born 1950, and
6. Svetozar Mihajlovic, father's name Milorad, born 1953 in Dvorovi.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of Special Reconnaissance Unit of the 2nd Special Reconnaissance
Corps of the 5th Operative Group called "The Panthers" and a commando group
led by Goran, called "Ustashi".
EVIDENCE: Evidence contained in the documents under No. 171/95-1.
II - 095
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Teocak, the Commune of Ugljevik, September
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On September 10, 1992 the Moslem-Croatian armed forces
from Teocak attacked the village of Priboj, the Commune of Lopare, which
caused the Serb civilian population to flee.
During the flight, a civilian was captured in the hamlet of Djokici:
Mico Gajic, father's name Zivan, born on November 10, 1921 in Priboj. He
was taken to the prison in Teocak where he was being beaten and maltreated for
days and eventually died there.
After the exchange performed on September 23, 1992, several serious
injuries were discovered on his body, namely on the head, the sexual organs
(removed testicles) and other parts.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Moslem-Croatian forces from Teocak.
EVIDENCE: Statements of the witnesses and photographic evidence contained
in the documents No. 171/95-2.
II - 096
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Hadzici, end of May 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The following four soldiers of the Republic of Srpska
Army were captured on May 26, 1993 and immediately executed:
1. Milorad Micic, born 1956 in Misevici, the Commune of Hadzici,
2. Sreten Zimonja, father's name Sreta, born on February 12, 1968 in
Lokve, the Commune of Hadzici, from Hadzici,
3. Radenko Marilovic, father's name Veljko, born on June 12, 1954 in
Usivak, the Commune of Hadzici, from Usivak, the Commune of Hadzici, and
4. Goran Sekerovic, father's name Marko, born 1961 in Zenica, from
Hadzici.
Through mediation of UNPROFOR, the bodies of these four Serbian soldiers
were handed over on June 28, 1993 to the authorities of the Republic of Srpska
at the cemetery in Vlakovo.
Upon examination of Micic's body, the doctor found out that he had a
punctured top of the head and broken jaws and that his left foot was missing.
Zimonja had fractures of both jaws, the nasal bone and the temple and his left
forearm was broken. Half of Marilovic's head was smashed on the right-hand
side, his left ear was cut off, his left hand torn off and both his arms were
broken. Sekerovic had his throat slit and skull bones crushed.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the so-called B&H Army.
EVIDENCE: Filed with the Committee under No. 122/95-4.
II - 097
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: The villages of Bodeliste and Lipovac, the Commune of
Brcko, March - April 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On March 8 and April 27, 1993, by order of the
Headquarters of the 108th HVO Brigade of Bosanska Posavina, members of the
Moslem-Croatian armed forces launched attacks from Gornji Rihac on the
villages of Bodaliste and Lipovac respectively. They captured, tortured and
then killed 15 members of the Republic of Srpska Army and handed over their
corpses on March 11 and May 7, 1993.
Mr. Zoran Stankovic, M.D., a forensic medicine specialist of the Military
Medical Academy of Belgrade and Mr. Dragan Ninkovic, a physician from Brcko,
recorded the following findings after the autopsy performed at the health
centre in Brcko:
1. Mirko Pekic, father's name Cvijetin, born 1938 in Ulice, had both his
eyes gouged out, his upper and lower jaw bones broken and was shot to death at
close range;
2. Miroslav Pudic, father's name Nikola, born on March 3, 1959 in Brcko,
had his upper and lower jaw bones broken, his nose was injured with a sharp
instrument and he had wounds on the right-hand side of the face. He was killed
by several shots fired at close range;
3. Sinisa Pudic, father's name Jovan, born 1974 in Brcko, had his left
ear cut off and died from shots fired at his head and chest at close range;
4. Stojan Tomic, father's name Ratko, born on March 28, 1972 in Grbavica,
had injuries on the forehead and was shot at close range;
5. Petar Tadic, father's name Lazar, born on July 16, 1943 in Potocari,
had his eyes gouged, his eyeballs injured and upper jaw broken. He was killed
with a shot fired in the chest at close range;
6. Nikola Tomic, father's name Sima, born on December 16, 1943 in
Grbavica, had a broken left collar bone and a wound in the back of his head
made with an axe. He died of several shots fired in the chest at close range;
7. Dragan Tomic, father's name Ratko, born on July 14, 1944 in Brcko, had
blood suffusions all over the body. He was killed with several shots fired at
close range;
8. Ranko Jovicic, father's name Pero, born on December 10, 1945 in
Mrtvica, shot dead in the head at close range;
9. Ilija Bajic, father's name Mitar, born on April 26, 1956 in Bukovac,
shot dead in the body and head at close range;
10. Radan Pudic, father's name Krsta, born on August 11, 1974 in Brcko,
shot dead in the body and head at close range;
11. Gojko Vujcic, born on May 15, 1959 in Prkovic, shot dead in the body
and head at close range;
12. Stojan Pudic, father's name Djoko, born on September 4, 1953 in Brcko
was decapitated;
13. Perica Jovicic, father's name Ranko, born on March 8, 1972 in Brcko,
was decapitated;
14. Zeljko Padezanin, born 1973 in Bobota, had his head crushed and was
shot dead at close range, and
15. Radovan Marjanovic, father's name Milan, born on May 31, 1958 in B.
Gradiska, had his head crushed and was shot dead at close range.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ramiz Pljakic, father's name Hamdija, born on May 17, 1958 in the
village of Ugao, the Commune of Sjenica, the Republic of Serbia, graduated
from the Military Academy and was employed before the war in the "Veljko
Lukic-Kurjak" barracks in Brcko as commander of the 3rd HD-120 mm battery,
presently the commander of the 108th HVO brigade,
2. Semso Sakovic, father's name Mehmed, born on July 12, 1957 in
Potkamen, member of the Emergency Centre staff,
3. Rasid Guso, father's name Alija, born on November 2, 1961 in Brcko,
commander of the 3rd battalion.
EVIDENCE: Contained in the documents filed under No. 144/95-9.
II - 098
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Orasje, 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: At the beginning of May 1992, members of the
Moslem-Croatian armed forces started arresting the Serb civilian population in
Orasje, Bukova Greda, Kopanice and other places in the Commune of Orasje.
The arrested civilians were put at detention camps situated in the
high-school gymnasium in Orasje and in the elementary school in Donja Mahala.
Apart from killings, the members of the Military Police tortured and
inhumanely treated the arrested civilians in the above mentioned camps,
imposed forced labour, starved them, raped women and confiscated or destroyed
their belongings.
The following civilians were killed:
1. Pera Gavric, aged about 40, from Bukova Greda was hanged on May 10,
1992 in the school toilet in Orasje;
2. Mihajlo Maksimovic, aged about 38, from Borovo Selo, died in Donja
Mahala as a result of beating;
3. Milan Klipanovic, aged about 38, from Borovo Selo, died in Donja
Mahala as the result of beating;
4. Makso Gajic, aged about 30, from Loncari, slaughtered with a dagger by
Dragan Kalinic in a shed near the collective farm in Donja Mahala;
5. Zarko Ristanic, born 1955 in Gajevi, died on February 4, 1993;
6. Andrej Gavric, aged about 45, from Bukova Greda, strangled in the camp
by Damir Kljajic by the end of 1992;
7. Ranko Stojnic, aged about 30, from Prijedor, beaten up till he lost
consciousness and then shot dead in the head;
8. Acim Cvijanovic, born 1937, from Bukova Greda, beaten up with a chain
by Damir Kljajic, Ivica Kljajic and a person called Emir on July 14, 1992.
This caused his eye to fall out. Later on he died;
9. Savo Saric, born 1940, from Bukova Greda, died on June 6, 1992 as the
result of injuries;
10. Aleksandar Petrovic, born 1953, from Bukova Greda, died on June 14,
1992 as the result of torture by Ante Zivkovic in the Donja Mahala camp;
11. Manojlo Malinkic, born 1944, from Kozarska Dubica, was beaten every
day which induced him to suicide in January 1993 by banging his head on the
tiles where he slept;
12. Ignjat Arsenic, father's name Vlajko, aged about 40, from Vucilovac,
killed in the Donja Mahala camp;
13. Gruja Dzajic, aged about 30, from Celnice, castrated on January 29,
1993 by Elvira Hadziomerovic which resulted in his death the next day;
14. Radojka Bozic, born 1932, from Bukova Greda, died on June 24, 1992 in
the hospital in Vinkovici as the result of beating;
15. Pero Cvijanovic, born 1928, from Bukova Greda, used to be taken to a
separate room because he suffered from tuberculosis and was most probably
executed between August 10 and 15, 1992 in the Donja Mahala camp;
16. Brano Cvijanovic, father's name Pero, born 1969, from Bukova Greda,
lost his life on August 22, 1992 while digging trenches;
17. Drago Cvijanovic, born 1963, from Bukova Greda, killed on May 9, 1992
in Bukova Greda;
18. Marko Maksimovic, born 1937, from Bukova Greda, was killed with a
knife on May 9, 1992 and then set on fire in the village;
19. Cedo Cvijanovic, born 1943, from Bukova Greda, was shot on May 11,
1992 in Bukova Greda. Before that, they cut off three fingers from his right
hand with a knife;
20. Zarko Maksimovic, born 1952, from Bukova Greda, was killed on May 9,
1992 in a field in Bukova Greda;
21. Zoran Maksimovic, born 1968, from Bukova Greda, was killed on May 9,
1992 in a field in Bukova Greda;
22. Milan Gavric, born 1974, from Bukova Greda, was killed on May 9, 1992
in a field in Bukova Greda;
23. Lazar Vasiljevic, born 1961, from Bukova Greda, was killed on May 9,
1992 in a field in Bukova Greda;
24. Mitar Gavric, born 1939, from Bukova Greda, was killed on May 9, 1992
in Bukova Greda;
25. Ljuba Stojkov, born 1963, from Orasje;
26. Angelina Pavlovic, born 1934, from Donji Zabar;
27. Bogdan Blagojevic, born 1933, from Letnica;
28. Marko Goranovic, aged about 35, from Dubica;
29. Branko Goranovic, aged about 46, from Dubica;
30. Saphaz Sabanovic, aged about 38, from Sibosnica, member of JNA before
the war;
31. Marko Nikolic, born 1910, from Vucilovac;
32. Petra Ostojic, born 1910, from Vucilovac;
33. Milan Maksimovic, born 1952, from Bukova Greda, killed on August 17,
1992 in Ostra Luka while digging trenches, and
34. Mirko Vidovic, aged about 30, from Borovo, whose tongue was first
stabbed with a knife by Damir Kljajic.
In addition, four soldiers of Serbian nationality who had been captured
in December 1992 during the attack on Vucilovac were killed in detention camp
in Donja Mahala in the first half of January 1993. Three civilian prisoners of
Serbian nationality, who were suffering from tuberculosis were taken away in
October 1992, allegedly to see the doctor, but they never returned to the
detention camp.
Apart from the above mentioned civilians, another 40 unidentified Serbs
from the Communes of Derventa, Odzak and Brod were killed in the detention
camp in Donja Mahala.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Djuro Matuzovic, called "Tusa", aged about 45, from Ostra Luka, the
Commune of Orasje, commander of the 106th HVO brigade, IV zone of operations
for Bosanska Posavina in Orasje;
2. Pero Vicentic, called "Konj" and "Viktor Petar", from Donja Mahala,
the Commune of Orasje, aged about 30, Chief of Military Police in the Donja
Mahala detention camp;
3. Marko Knezevic, called "Lana", father's name Tunjo, from Ugljari, the
Commune of Orasje, aged about 30, Deputy Chief of Military Police in the Donja
Mahala detention camp;
4. Damir Kljajic, from Donja Mahala, the Commune of Orasje, born 1972,
military police member;
5. Ivica Kljajic, father's name Ivo, from Ugljari, born 1968, military
police member;
6. Mirko Juric, called "Kemi", aged about 20, from Donja Mahala, the
Commune of Orasje, military police member;
7. Pejo Filipovic, called "Babo" and "Vuk sa Save" (Wolf of Sava), from
Donja Mahala, the Commune of Orasje, aged about 65, member of military police;
8. Miroslav Markovic, called "Sikan", from Ugljari, the Commune of
Orasje, aged about 35, military police member;
9. Ivica Filipovic, called "corak", from Donja Mahala, the Commune of
Orasje, aged about 32, military police member;
10. Niko Filipovic, called "Nikso", from Donja Mahala, the Commune of
Orasje, aged about 35, military police member;
11. Anto Zivkovic, called "Zika", from Donja Mahala, the Commune of
Orasje, aged about 23, military police member;
12. Stjepan Djuric, called "Stile", from Donja Mahala, the Commune of
Orasje, aged about 25, military police member;
13. Mate Baotic, called "Cikan", from Donja Mahala, the Commune of
Orasje, aged about 27, military police member;
14. Ahmed Kabaklic, called "Grga", from Orasje, aged about 37, military
police member, used to be a physical education teacher;
15. Smajil Hrustovic, called "Smajo", from Orasje, aged about 28,
military police member;
16. Elvira Hadziomerovic, daughter of Alija, aged about 35, shop
assistant, records keeper in the Donja Mahala detention camp;
17. Nina Terzic, aged about 23, from Odzak, records keeper in the Donja
Mahala detention camp;
18. Bakir Pamukcic, father's name Muceta, from Orasje, aged about 30,
cafe proprietor from Orasje, military police member;
19. Zijad Agancetovic, called "Zijo" and "Beca", father's name Mehmed,
aged about 27, from Orasje, formerly employed with DP "Polirond" Orasje as a
doorman, presently a military police member;
20. Dragan Kalinic, from Slavonska Pozega, aged about 27.
EVIDENCE: 144/95-12 and 144/95-13.
II - 099
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Donja Mahala, the Commune of Orasje, May - July, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Members of Military Police of the Moslem-Croatian
armed forces stationed in the detention camp of Donja Mahala, following the
order by Command HQ of the 106th HVO Brigade of Bosanska Posavina, tortured,
intimidated and applied inhuman treatment of the arrested civilians and
prisoners of war detained in the detention camp between May 18 and July 18,
1992. The consequences of such treatment caused death of the civilian:
Luka Pekic, father's name Janko, born on August 29, 1963 in Bukovac, died
on June 6, 1992, whereas
Cvijetin Maksimovic, father's name Cvijetin, born on November 3, 1970 in
Lukavac and Slobodan Panic, father's name Cvijetin, born on October 18, 1970
in Brcko, suffered severe injuries.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Pero Vicentic, called "Konj",
2. Petar Viktor, aged about 30, from Donja Mahala, Chief of Military
Police in the detention camp;
3. Damir Kljajic, called "Dama", aged about 22, from Donja Mahala,
military police member;
4. Ivica Kljajic, aged about 25, from Donja Mahala, military police
member;
5. Mirko Juric, called "Kemi", aged about 20, from Donja Mahala, military
police member;
6. Pejo Filipovic, called "Babo" and "Vuk sa Save", aged about 65, from
Donja Mahala, military police member;
7. Miroslav Markovic, called "Sikan", aged about 35, from Ugljari,
military police member;
8. Ivica Filipovic, called "corak", aged about 32, from Donja Mahala,
military police member;
9. Niko Filipovic, aged about 35, from Donja Mahala, military police
member;
10. Anto Zivkovic, called "Zika", aged about 23, from Donja Mahala,
military police member;
11. Stjepan Djuric, called "Stile", aged about 25, from Donja Mahala,
military police member;
12. Marto Baotic, called "Cikan", aged about 27, from Donja Mahala,
military police member;
13. Ahmed Karalic, called "Graga", aged about 37, from Orasje, military
police member, formerly a physical education teacher;
14. Smail Hrustovic, called "Smajo", aged about 28, from Orasje, military
police member;
15. Elvira Hadziomerovic, daughter of Alija, aged about 35, records
keeper in the detention camp;
16. Nina Terzic, aged about 23, from Odzak, records keeper in the
detention camp;
17. Bakir Pamukcic, father's name Mucet, aged about 30, military police
member, and
18. Zijad Agancetovic, father's name Mehmed, aged about 27, from Orasje,
military police member.
EVIDENCE: Documents filed with the Committee under No. 144/95-13.
II - 100
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Sarajevo, the detention camp situated in the former
"Viktor Bubanj" barracks, July 1992 - February 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: While detained in the detention camp, like other Serb
prisoners, the witness was exposed to frequent beatings and harassment.
During the stated period, according to witness's knowledge, the following
Serb prisoners were either killed or died as the result of beating or
starvation, or disappeared without a trace so that it could be reasonably
assumed that they were killed, too:
1. Uros Rakanovic, beaten to death,
2. Zoran Odzakovic, starved and beaten to death,
3. Petar Kuzmanovic, starved and beaten to death,
4. Ostoja Soja, killed,
5. Pero Pjevac, killed and buried at the "Lav" cemetery near hospital,
6. Mato Djeranic, disappeared,
7. Radoje Marinkovic, disappeared,
8. Slobodan Matovic, disappeared,
9. Slavka Damnjanovic, disappeared,
10. Mihajlo Radojcic, disappeared,
11. Nedeljko Zivkovic, disappeared,
12. Stevo Rakovic, disappeared,
13. Pero Pikulic, disappeared,
14. Vojko Radovic, disappeared,
15. Vojin Vukadin, disappeared,
16. Slavko Turanjanin, disappeared,
17. Cajevic, disappeared.
The Serbs imprisoned in the barracks were starving because they received
two meals a day consisting of watery soup and a slice of bread. Since some
chemical substance was added to the food, many of them suffered from diarrhea
and eventually died of exhaustion. The witness himself fell into a coma
several times.
The witness and another 12 persons were kept in the room 2 m x 3 m in
size. They had to lie on the concrete floor because there were no beds. There
was no heating either. Hygienic conditions were very bad. Sometimes they could
not wash for more than 15 days.
On January 27, 1993, the St. Sava Day, which is one of the greatest
Serbian holidays, the warden took all the Serb prisoners out to the yard and
ordered them to take off their shirts. They stood half naked for about half an
hour in the temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius. The warden said that it
would do them good to catch some fresh air.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Kemo Dautovic, Military Police commander.
2. Himzo Dolan, former JNA sergeant major, the warden of "Viktor Bubanj"
barracks.
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under No. 675/94-2.
II - 101
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Grubisino Polje, August 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Spasoje Milosevic, father's name Rado, born in 1957,
lost his job in June 1991 as a policeman when, being a Serb, he refused to
wear the Croatian insignia - a checkered emblem on his chest. This incident
took place at the police premises in Grubisino Polje where he worked.
His wife was dismissed from work at about the same time.
After that, Mr. and Mrs. Milosevic started receiving telephone threats.
Late hours shootings began in the direction of their house which was marked by
night, just like the houses of other Serbs in Grubisino Polje.
On August 15, 1991 he went out to buy some beer and was arrested by
members of the National Guard Corps who locked him in the rooms they occupied
in the hotel in Grubisino Polje.
When his wife learned about this, she went to the hotel. The doormat in
front of the hotel was made of the Serbian flag. There they refused to give
her any information. After that she went to the Department of Interior of
Grubisino Polje where she was told by Sandor Tot, the head of the Department,
that they had nothing to do with the arrest of her husband, that it was
outside their jurisdiction and that the members of the National Guard Corps
were arresting the Serbs according to a special list. He also said that he
would not have anything to do with Chetniks.
A few days later, one ZNG member told Mrs. Milosevic in confidence that
Spasoje had been killed.
Not until September 25, 1991 did she find out that his body was buried in
a field near Grubisino Polje. The Department of Interior in Grubisino Polje
advised her that it was true and that her husband's body was buried with a
dredging machine belonging to the utility company. When she protested for not
having been informed about the death of her husband, she was told that such
bodies were not buried in the presence of next of kin.
Only after six months did she manage to get a permit for the exhumation
of her husband's body which was carried out on April 15, 1992. The body was
wrapped up in a tent canvas. She could only recognize his sneakers because
they did not allow the canvas to be unwrapped or an autopsy to be made. Thus,
the body was buried without her having seen him.
During the funeral, the Milosevics' house was broken into and searched.
After that, the wife was compelled to sell the house and leave Grubisino
Polje together with her children.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Stojan Gustin, ZNG commander in Grubisino Polje.
EVIDENCE: Witness No. 235/95-2.
NOTE: Supplement to the report No. II-029.
II - 102
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Breza, a detention camp situated in the "Breza" mine
warehouse, first half of June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: About 30 arrested Serbs were detained in two rooms in
the detention camp. The prisoners were lying on bare concrete and received no
food during the first week, except a bottle of water.
Moslem soldiers used to enter the room several times a day and beat the
Serb prisoners with their feet, fists, truncheons, rifle butts, etc. After
each beating, the prisoners remained bruised and bleeding on the floor. The
Moslem soldiers who beat them demanded that they wipe the blood off the floor.
The following persons died in the detention camp as the result of
beating:
1. Momcilo Subotic from Gornja Breza and
2. Zdravko Subotic, called "Baja" from Breza.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ante Markovic, a police inspector before the war,
2. Arif Sirotanovic,
3. Mustafa Mlivic,
4. Ago Silajdzic, bodyguard of Alija Izetbegovic,
5. Mithad Haldzic,
6. Dedic and other members of "Green Berets".
EVIDENCE: Witnesses 292/95-1, 292/95-2 and 292/95-4.
II - 103
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: The prison in Bihac, end of 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On October 26, 1994, together with other Serb
civilians, the following person was also taken to the prison in Bihac:
1. Boja Kenjalo, aged about 106, from the village of Racici near Bihac,
where she was killed.
Also killed in the prison were the following retired persons:
2. Mihajlo Kenjalo, born 1912 in the village of Racici near Bihac,
3. Marko Gogic, born 1923 in Celije.
The bodies of Mihajlo Kenjalo and Marko Gogic were exchanged on December
1, 1994. It was found out that the right leg of Mijalo Kenjalo was cut off and
that Marko Gogic was stabbed in the heart.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
The warden and staff of the prison in Bihac.
EVIDENCE: 413/95 and 520/95.
II - 104
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Village of Brnjik, the Commune of Lopare, June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In the afternoon of June 5th, members of the
Moslem-Croatian armed forces from Brnjik attacked the Serb part of the village
called "Cvetkovici". About 5 - 6 members of the Republic of Srpska Army set
off from Lukavica in order to help and protect the villagers and bring to
safety the remaining civilians.
Goran Djuric, father's name Nedjo, born on October 10, 1936 in Lukavica,
was wounded in the chest with fire arms on the road to the village. After that
he was captured.
The captured wounded soldier was taken to the village of Brnjik and
killed. A concave fracture 10 cm x 15 cm was discovered on his skull, made by
a blow delivered with a blunt hard object on the top of the head.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Moslem-Croatian units from Brnjik.
EVIDENCE: Statements and photographic documents filed under No. 171/95-3.
II - 105
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Jablanica, November - December 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Members of the Republic of Srpska Army:
1. Risto Colovic, father's name Stojan, born 1955,
2. Miljan Radulovic, father's name Branko, born 1974,
3. Mirko Simic, father's name Djordje, born 1959 and
4. Slobodan Pudar, father's name Mladen, born 1970,
were captured on November 13, 1994 by members of the Moslem armed forces and
locked in the basement of the Museum of Revolution in Jablanica. For some time
they were kept there tied with barbed wire and tortured in various ways.
By mid-December 1994, the four prisoners were killed by Adnan Salcin and
a Moslem major named Nihad. They used a pickax and a sword as murder weapons.
Colovic and Radulovic were killed first and Simic and Pudar after that.
Upon the exchange of their bodies in Podvelezje, the autopsy report
stated the following:
Colovic had a concave fracture of skull bones, fractures of skull base,
skull top and facial bones, bullet wounds on both lower legs, fractured bones
of both lower legs and four broken ribs.
Radulovic had two stab wounds in the chest - one inflicted from below
upwards and the other from right to left, as well as a concave fracture of
facial bones.
Simic's body was handed over without the head which had been severed by a
mechanical tool.
Pudar had a bullet wound on the left side of his neck, a concave fracture
of facial bones, cuts on the neck and a fracture of the left elbow bone
inflicted earlier.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Dzino Seno, warden of the detention camp established in the Museum of
the Revolution in Jablanica,
2. Nihad, deputy warden,
3. Adnan Salcin and other members of the Moslem armed forces.
EVIDENCE: 392/95 and 371/95.
II - 106
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Visoko, the detention camp established in the former JNA
barracks, August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Sacir Burko and Almir Ahmic, the detention camp guards
in Visoko, took the Serb:
1. Rajko Paradzin
out of the prisoners' room and beat him up. Due to the injuries, he died in
the prisoners' room.
The two guards also beat up:
2. Rajko Dundzic and his wife Mara,
who had been arrested during the attempted escape from Visoko and then brought
to the detention camp. As the result of injuries, Dundzic died in the
prisoners' room after a day or two.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Sacir Burko, born 1956, from Stuparici, the Commune of Visoko, member
of the Visoko Territorial Defense,
2. Almir Ahmic, aged about 23, from Goduse, the Commune of Visoko, member
of the Visoko Territorial Defense.
EVIDENCE: 112/95-15.
II - 107
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing of detainees - POW's
PLACE AND TIME: Visoko, the health centre, end of July 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Vojin Rakovic, who had been detained in the detention
camp in the barracks in Visoko together with other Serbs from Visoko, was
brought to the health centre in Visoko for medical examination of injuries.
In the corridor of the health centre, Mustafa Dedic blocked his way and
started to beat him with his pistol butt until he fell on the floor. Rakovic
received such injuries that he had to be carried back to the detention camp
unconscious. He died the same day.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mustafa Dedic, aged about 50, a driver for the health centre, residing
in the suburb Luke C-3, Visoko.
EVIDENCE: 112/95-12.
III INHUMAN TREATMENT OF CIVILIANS
III - 083
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Okucani, May - June 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After his release from the detention camp in Zagreb
where he had been incarcerated following his capture, the witness stayed for a
while at Okucani.
Members of the Croatian Police would bring him in every day and would
ill-treat him in a number of different ways. Like the other Serbs who had
remained at Okucani, he, too, was forced to do hard labour for them.
As his freedom of movement was restricted, the witness was forced to
spend the rest of the time at home.
For that reason, the witness left Slavonia and is currently living as a
refugee.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Unidentified members of the Croatian police force.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-2.
III-084
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Kruscica, near Jajce, April- September
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The hamlet of Brdari near Kruscica, 11 km from Jajce
on the way to Travnik was populated with 15 Serb families.
At the beginning of 1992 Croats and Moslems who were in the majority in
this village formed the Headquarters of the Croat-Moslem armed forces.
Members of the HQ strictly controlled the movement of Serbs who were
ordered to report to the HQ (seated in the elementary school) four times a
day. Croat-Moslem armed forces patrols visited the hamlet of Brdari every day
and searched houses. They barged into the Serb houses under the pretext that
they were looking for arms and then they confiscated money, gold and other
valuables. All that frightened Serbs who started evacuating women and children
to safer places.
In late August uniformed and armed members of the Moslem armed forces
from the surroundings of Prijedor and Kozarac came to the village. They
confiscated all automobiles owned by Serbs.
The witness saw when a Serb woman who went to see her cows in the stable
was taken into a house by 5 or 6 soldiers where they kept here for over an
hour. When she left the house she was bruised and the witness believes that
she was raped.
When the witness returned to his house on September 12 a Moslem girl
dressed in uniform visited him and asked him where his wife was. When he said
that she was visiting their relatives, the girl said that she came to make
love with him. Then she unbuttoned her blouse and insisted on making love to
him. When he refused, she ordered him to sit on a couch. Then about 10 armed
Moslems came in. She told them that the witness refused to make love to her,
the leader of the group said " Since your refused to make love to a young
woman, I will either circumcise or castrate you like a horse".
Then he ordered the witness to strip naked, and then he pierced his arm
with a bayonet and tired to engrave on his left shoulder a crescent with a
star. Then he sliced his neck twice and pierced his legs and back. The witness
was covered with blood. Then he caught him by his penis and threatened that he
would cut it off and made two cuts on it.
That was when an armed Moslem neighbor came in and ordered him to leave
the witness alone.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Sekib Matic, Commander of the Moslem-Croat armed forces in the village
of Kruscica,
2. Ahmet Smajic.
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness and medical
documentation (J-2) filed with Committee under No. 561/94-7.
III-085
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Jajce, May-October 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The killing of seven Serbs, reserve soldiers of the
former JNA in a bus near Jajce, frightened Serbs in Jajce so much that many
started leaving the town. Moslem-Croat forces blocked the town in late May
1992 and prevented Serbs to leave it.
Serb houses, flats and garages were systematically searched.
In the second half of June 1992, HVO members took the witness to a prison
located in the police building. There were other 12 of 13 Serbs detained in
the same prison. On that occasion the witness' identity card was confiscated
but he was not interrogated. He was detained there for 24 hours and then they
let him go.
A few days later, however, his flat was searched over again. Allegedly
they were looking for arms. He was taken a number of times to the HVO Command
building for the so-called "information talks".
In early August, when 3 or 4 HVO members were killed in armed conflicts
with the Serb army, including the brother of Ilija Gavric, he, Ilija Gavic
arrested the witness and his father and took them to his home. There they were
not interrogated. Instead they were beaten for over 3-4 hours continuously.
The skin on the witnesses back was all torn up from the beatings and it took a
number of months for the wounds to heal.
Gavric put a knife under the witness-s throat and threatened to slice it.
The witness was very frightened since Gavric was drunk.
After beating them, they let the witness and his father go. However, they
phoned him every half hour for three days checking if they were still in their
house. They ordered them not to leave their house under any circumstances.
They checked on them for twenty days.
In the first half of September of 1992, all Serbs were collected in
trucks and taken to the front line. Soldiers mistreated, beat and insulted
them and made them dig trenches while Serb forces opened fire.
HVO members confiscated the witness-s car "Zastava 101".
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ilija Perak, a restaurant owner, before the war,
2. Ilija Gavric, HVO member from Jajce.
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under No. 561/94-12.
III-086
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Jajce, May-October 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In May 1992 a Moslem gave the witness a list of Serbs
from Jajce which included his name and explained that the people on the list
would be slaughtered. The witnesses name was third on the list. He went to the
police and told them of this list but they did nothing about it.
Although many Serbs had left Jajce the witness and his wife stayed
believing that the situation would normalize and that there would be no war.
HVO members searched his flat a number of times. In the streets Moslems
and Croats provoked him and insulted him. Some even threatened him with guns
and called him a "chetnik spy".
On June 4 a Moslem patrol pointed guns at him and ordered him to lie face
down on the ground and stretch out his legs. One of them cursed his mother and
beat him with his feet while others kept their automatic rifles pointed at
him.
The witness, a well known teacher from Jajce, said that that was the most
difficult moment in his life.
A friend of his, a Croat saved him. He witnessed this scene from his
balcony and shouted at the soldiers to stop it. Then one of the soldiers shot
in the direction of this man's balcony.
In August the witness was taken to dig trenches at the first front line
in the village of Gornja Vrbica.
He showed to his HVO officer medical documentation proving that he was
suffering from a serious heart condition and asked that he be exempt from hard
labour. Zjajo, the officer said that his medical certificate was not valid
since it was issued by a Serb doctor.
The witness was taken a number of times to the first front lines only 150
meters from the Serb lines where he could have been killed at any time. He was
wounded in his chest.
In order to reach their positions they had to cross a mine-field.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Sabahudin Zjajo, aka "Budo", previously employed in "Elektrobosna" in
Jajce
EVIDENCE: Testimony given by the witness filed with the Committee under
No. 561/94-13/1.
III-087
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Jajce, May-August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On May 28, 1992, Moslems and Croats introduced a
strict regime in Jajce. They blocked the town so that Serbs could neither
leave nor enter Jajce. Owing to this, 900 or 1000 Serbs were stranded in the
town.
Most of the time the Serbs stayed in their flats and houses. Two HVO
soldiers took the witness to the police station, located in the building of
the former Employment centre. They told him not to leave his flat and ordered
him to report to the police station twice a day, in the morning and in the
evening. They searched his flat looking for arms and radio stations.
During his stays in the police station he was most often interrogated by
Perak who insulted him and kept saying that as a Serb he had no business in
Jajce, that Serbs were savages and that they should move across the river
Drina.
In the police station Croat soldiers and policemen provoked and insulted
him, and often beat and kicked him with their boots.
The local radio and TV stations in Jajce were used for propaganda
purposes and to insult Serbs. Reporters of Radio Jajce brought children from
the first grade of the elementary school to take part in the shows. They would
ask them "Arn't Chetniks savages and barbarians?" and then they would say
"Your teacher was a chetnik, and he will never teach you again".
They showed pictures of wounded Serbs on TV.
The witness left Jajce on August 23. He was exchanged as a civilian.
Before that they searched his body and his baggage.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ilija Perak, a Croat from Barevo near Jajce, former restaurant owner.
2. Mladen Bilic, a Croat, physical education teacher in a Secondary
technical school at Jajce.
3. Zjajo Hidajet, reporter of Radio Jajce.
4. Meri Hebovic, reporter of Radio Jajce.
EVIDENCE: Evidence filed with the Committee under No. 561/94-11.
III-088
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians.
PLACE AND TIME: Jajce, May - October 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When Moslem-Croat forces blocked Jajce in early May
1992 the witness was in his house.
Serbs who remained in Jajce were not allowed to go out from their houses
and were constantly controlled by the Moslem-Croat police and army.
In late September a person called Zgonic saw the witness on a street, put
an automatic gun against his neck and threatened to kill him.
Later on, when the witness on 4 October, went to fetch water from a
spring he was shot in his head and lost an eye.
In early July HVO members threw the witness out of his home and told him
that they would kill him if he ever came back.
After plundering his house, they set it on fire three times, on 13 and 17
August and finally on 2 September when the witness saw Branko Stupar setting
the house on fire.
Houses of other Serbs, Petar Jokic, Mirko Topic, Novak Terzija, Stojanka
Saric and Jovica Milicic were also set on fire.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Muradif Zgonic, who wounded the witness from a sniper.
2. Bruno Kajic, math teacher from Jajce, Chief-of-Staff, HVO,
3. Tihomir Rihner, teacher, elementary school in Jajce,
4. Alojz Jauser, driver from Jajce,
5. Slavko Jelica called "Svabo", from Jajce, employed at "Elektrobosna",
6. Galib Zuzic, called "Gaso" from Jajce, who provoked and threatened the
witness,
7. Branko Stupar, called "Patak", who plundered Serb houses and took part
in setting them on fire.
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under No. 561/94-8
III-089
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Virovitica, 1991 - 1992
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness, a pensioner lived with his family in
Virovitica.
The harassment of Serbs began in 1991.
The witness's daughter, a grade VIII student was harassed by children in
school. Other children used to write the word "chetnik" on her books. Also,
children from her neighborhood yelled at her "Here comes the chetnik".
"Now is the time to slaughter the Serbs", "Now is the time to kill the
chetnik" were the slogans to which the witness was constantly exposed.
In restaurants, people would tell the witness: "Go away, you, Serb", or "
Come and suck my c...".
He was severely beaten twice by some Croats. The first time a man called
Knezevic hit him suddenly on his back from behind while the witness was
waiting for the traffic lights to change. He fainted.
Another time, when the witness was leaving a restaurant two young men
forced him back inside and then a group of them, including Knezevic and a man
called "Mravac" started beating him. He fainted and when he woke up he was
bruised and covered with blood.
The witness stated the names of other beaten Serbs. He also said that
Serbs Mico Petrovic and Zeljko Vujaskovic are missing.
In late 1992, when he heard a man talking about how he was tired of
burying Serbs with bulldozers who had been killed in the villages of
Loncarice, Dapcevica and Grubisino Polje, the witness decided to leave
Croatia. He is living in Serbia
as a refugee.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Srecko Knezevic, from Virovitica
2. "Mravac"
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under No. 698/94.
III-090
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Tuzla, 1992-1994
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness said:
"... Immediately after the war started Serbs got fired from work.
There is no life for Serbs in Tuzla. You cannot let your children out
alone. There is always somebody who will kick, slap them and call your child a
"chetnik".
Moslem refugees, and there were many in the town, pressured us Serbs to
move out. The problem was that we could not leave the town.
Serb men were collectively arrested, dressed in uniforms and taken
against their will to battlefields...".
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Selim Beslagic, Mayor of Tuzla,
2. Mehmed Mesa Bajic, Chief of Police station
3. Enver Delibegovic, Commander of the Territorial Defense and
4. Faruk Prcic, Leader of the Patriotic League of Tuzla.
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness before an investigative
judge of the Municipal Court in Odzaci filed with the Committee under No.
540/94
III-091
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Livno, 1992-1993
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The heard witness, born in Livno, was arrested in
April 1992 and spent three months in a detention camp located in the garage of
the Police station, and then in "Ivan Goran Kovacic" elementary school.
Then until June 1993 he was a member of a "labour unit" composed of
Serbs. This "labour unit" performed the most difficult jobs like digging of
trenches and canals in the village of Rujane and Caprazlije located on the
first front line.
They were under constant control of Croatian and Moslem guards.
In March 1993, Jasarevic, a Military Police commander made him run with a
Serbian flag in his hands through Livno. Then 30 members of the Military
Police beat him, hitting him at least 10 times each.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Amir Jasarevic, captain, Commander of the Military Police in Livno
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-10
III-092
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Drivusa, Commune of Zenica, June 27, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was in her house with her in-laws and her
two small children. Her husband was detained in the Correction house in
Zenica.
Kapetanovic, Kahriman and Jugic barged into her house. The witness woke
up and saw them standing in the hall. All three were uniformed. One of them
put a knife on her neck and asked her why did she refuse to answer the door.
When she said that she did not hear the bell they started cursing her chetnik
mother and beating her. They asked for money and gold and threatened to
slaughter her.
Then they locked her in-laws in a room and ordered the witness to go with
them to the bathroom. Kapetanovic followed her, locked the bathroom door and
ordered her to take off her night dress and threatened that he would slit her
throat. Then he unbuttoned his trousers and told her to perform fellatio. She
told him that she had never done that, not even with her husband, he said:
"You must have seen in the movies how it is done ". Then he hit her across her
face and forced her down on him. After that he made her lie down and asked her
if she wanted him to make her a small chetnik, or if she preferred that he
came in her mouth. He raped her and made her wipe his penis.
When Kapetanovic left the bathroom, Kahriman came in and made her perform
fellatio again, then he forced her to anal sex. The witness was in terrible
pain and she started screaming which was why he pulled her by her hair and hit
her head against the wall.
Then they took their TV set, a video tape recorder, three rings that the
witness had on her fingers, her earrings, and left her flat. While they were
in the flat, Sefik Jugic was in front of it guarding the door.
In the morning the witness's father-in-law went to the military police in
Zenica. Policemen visited them in their flat and then asked her to come for a
hearing to the Military court in Zenica where she was exposed to different
forms of mistreatment.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Senad Kapetanovic, aka "Senca", from Zenica,
2. Beco Kahriman, from Gornja Zenica,
3. Ssefik Jugic, all members of the Moslem armed forces.
EVIDENCE: Documentation filed with the Committee under Nos. 112/95- 2 and
173/95-1
III-093
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Mezgraja, Commune Ugljevik, September 1994
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 13 September, at about 5:30 a.m. Moslem-Croat armed
formations lead by Avdicevic and Masic shelled the village of Mezgraja and the
hamlet of Gajici from Teocak. Then they entered the village and killed the
following persons:
1. Nedja Gajic, of father Jovan, born in 1926
2. Desanka Gajic, of father Cvijetin, born in 1931
3. Cvijetin Aleksic, of father Jovan, born in 1934
Ruzica Stevanovic, of father Cvetko, born in 1950 was severely wounded.
During the shelling Milica Neskovic, born in 1932 was also wounded.
Her house and Gajic's outbuildings were burned down while the houses of
Cvijetin Aleksic and Predrag Gajic were damaged with explosives.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Dzevad Avdicevic, aka "Babak", of father Dzemil, born on January 6,
1964 in Teocak-Snijeznica, Commander of the "Hajrudin Mesic" brigade in
Teocak.
2. Bahir Masic, son of Meho, born on September 2, 1964, in Srednja
Trnova, Deputy Commander of the "Hajrudin Mesic" brigade in Teocak.
EVIDENCE: Minutes of the interview with Steva Gajic, Milena Gajic,
Vasilija Aleksic and Milica Neskovic. Autopsy reports submitted by Dr. Zoran
Despotovic and hospital discharge report of Milica Neskovic,
photo-documentation, all filed under 174/95-4.
III-094
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Trnava, Commune Nova Gradiska, July 1991
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In mid-July 1991 members of Croatian police attacked
the Serb village of Trnava. Then they captured the interviewed witness and
took him to the centre of the village to their Command. They ordered him to
dig his own grave just across the house in which their Command was based.
While he was digging his grave the policemen who were standing nearby him made
him dig it as deep as possible, telling him that the smell of his dead body
would not be felt if it was buried deep enough. When he nearly finished the
digging, a commanding officer of the Croatian Army came by and ordered him to
come out of that hole.
Shots fired from pistols and guns in the direction of his ear caused
damage to the witness-s left ear hearing.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Members of the Croatian police.
EVIDENCE: Filed under 715/95-3
III-095
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Bjelovar, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness had a flat of 67 m2 in Bjelovar in
Lisinski Street. She was the only Serb living in the building. Once a week
different Croats visited her and insisted that she present papers and prove
that the flat belonged to her. Then others came and asked for the same papers.
Finally, after running into many difficulties the witness got her
citizenship certificate.
When she applied for a passport in 1992, The Ministry of the Interior at
Bjelovar rejected her application and told her that all Serbs had to undergo
interrogation before their passports were issued. Since she knew that they
would mistreat her and that many Serbs had to return their citizenship
certificates she left Bjelovar in September 1992 and illegally crossed the
Croatian border.
She is now a refugee in Serbia.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Highest authorities of Bjelovar
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under No. 430/94
III-096
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Mostar, July - August 1992
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness, 53 years old woman, worked in a factory.
She lived alone in her apartment.
After the outbreak of the war, members of Paraga's military units
searched her flat every day.
All the Serbs in her neighborhood were constantly controlled by the
members of the "black shirt" units. The witness was forbidden contacts with
Serbs, Moslems and Croats alike.
In July 1992, a 4 member patrol came to her place. They started beating
her and cursing her "chetnik" mother. They asked about the whereabouts of one
of her relatives.
Then they pushed her on a bed. Three men held her by her arms and legs,
and then the fourth stripped her clothes off and raped her. Then another men
raped her as well and ordered her to take all her valuables and money and come
with them.
They took her to a detention camp located in a former military surgery.
First, the commander of the detention camp, called Zelenika interrogated
her and confiscated her only piece of jewelry, a ring and 20.000 DM. She
received no receipt at all. Then she was placed in a solitary where she was
mistreated by different persons during the day while at night Zelenika visited
her and raped her.
She stayed in the detention camp for 29 days where she was raped by a
number of soldiers, including a person called Mrmo.
At night she could hear screams coming from other cells where other women
were raped.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ivan Zelenika, commander of the detention camp, located in a former
military surgery.
2. Omer Mrmo, guard
EVIDENCE: Minutes from the hearing of the witness filed with the
Committee under No. 595/95
III-097
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Zagreb, 1991 - 1992
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In 1991 Croats started mistreating Serbs. The
situation was growing worse from day to day, until it became unbearable. The
witness received anonymous phone calls every day, threatening that they would
kill him, his wife and their son, telling them that they were chetnik and that
they should move to Serbia. Most often, they received threatening phone calls
at night.
He received a number of anonymous letters telling him to move out of
Croatia.
He was threatened every day, but he did not go to the police because his
neighbour who had similar experience was told by the police that there was
nothing that they could do and that he should find ways to protect himself.
One day he saw 4 S letters written on his mail box and a message written
over the entrance door to his flat saying: "Serbs, get lost or else we will
slaughter you. What are you waiting for?".
The witness did not go out much because people would threaten and insult
him. One day he entered his apartment building and saw a sign on the wall "No
Serbs Allowed".
The situation was getting worse from day to day. What frightened him the
most were threats saying that they would kill his child which is why he left
Zagreb on July 1, 1992. Now he is a refugee in Novi Sad.
In one of the threatening letters he was told that they would take care
of him like they took care of "Milos from the Customs Administration Office".
The witness learned that this man had been killed in his office.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Authorities in Zagreb
EVIDENCE: Witness 71/95
III-098
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Sarajevo, 1992 - 1994
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After spending two months in detention camps for
Serbs, first in the premises of the soccer club "Famos", and then in the
elementary school "Aleksa Santic" in Hrasnica, then in the Culture Center in
Hrasnica, the witness was released. However, he had to report to the "Green
Berets" Military police.
This went on for three months during which time Moslem soldiers searched
his flat nine times. Every time they confiscated his belongings and never gave
him a receipt. They searched his flat at night when they would beat and
threaten him.
In the period from November 1992 to September 1994 the witness was a
member of a "labour unit" including 124 Serbs. They were forced by the "Green
Berets" to dig trenches at Igman, Stojecevac, Ilidza, Bjelasnica and other
places. They wore blue overcoats and caps and Moslems knew that they were
Serbs. On their way to work Moslems would approach them, beat them, curse
their Serb mothers and call them chetnik. Their guards also severely beat
them.
Every day each Serb, member of that unit had to dig a trench 2,5 meters
long, 140 cm deep and 60 cm wide.
Moslem and Croat soldiers made them carry their dead and the wounded from
the first front line. They were rarely allowed to go home and often were
forced to stay for 15 days at the front line and dig trenches.
21 Serbs were killed and 13 wounded from the unit to which the witness
belonged. The witness named most of them.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the "Green Berets"in Sarajevo.
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-2
III-099
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Vrana, The Commune of Biograd, October 1991
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In early October, a group of Croat soldiers surrounded
the witness' house where he lived with his wife and their four children. They
kept them isolated until his arrest on November 2, 1991.
They mistreated him and his family every day in different ways. During
interrogations they slapped the witness across his face in front of his
children and his wife.
They spilled wine all over his house which they took from his wine cellar
and filled his wine containers with fuel. They killed his livestock, 40 goats,
8 sheep and two donkeys. They slaughtered two of his dogs.
They would take him out of his house and tell his wife and children
"let's go kill this man". Then they would beat and slap him for two or three
hours and then bring him back home.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Boris Prebeg, from the surroundings of Varazdin, Commander of the HV
unit in Vrana.
2. Mladen Golem, from Vrana, member of HV
3. Tomislav Jajcanin, from Vrana
4. Damir Klaric, from Vrana
EVIDENCE: 236/95 - 13
III-100
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of civilians
PLACE AND TIME: Zadar, October 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On October 7, 1991, at about 2 p.m., the witness was
waiting for his wife in front of the Medical Centre of Zadar where she was
employed when a group of 15 uniformed members of the Croatian police armed
with automatic guns surrounded him shouting, "here is a Chetnik". One of them
slapped him across his face, while others pushed him to the ground and made
him kiss the Croatian land. Then they took him to the entrance hall of the
Medical school and beat him with their feet and their rifle butts. Then they
took him to another building where they continued to beat him, joined by some
other policemen.
About half an hour later they took him to the building of the Ministry of
the Interior, the court and prison. While he was waiting there he saw a metal
cage with three young men in it. ZNG members and policemen asked people
passing by to approach the cage and hit the men with their rifles. The three
men fainted a number of times, and then the policemen would spill water on
them.
After a 20 minute wait in the hall, the witness was taken to a solitary
cell, and then to a room where he met three other Serbs from Zadar. He knew
all three of them. During his imprisonment the guards beat him in a special
room every night.
He lost 16 kilograms while he was in prison for one month.
He stayed in the prison until November 4, 1991 when he was exchanged in
Pakovo selo together with other Serb civilians for Croatian soldiers.
This witness used to live in Zadar with his wife and two children. He was
employed in the Engineering School. After his exchange, his wife got fired
from work in the Medical Centre where she had worked for 25 years. She left
Zadar together with her children.
Their house was plundered and then burnt to ground.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ante Ikic, born in Gorica, Biograd Commune, member of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs.
2. Dubravko Vitlov, a HDZ active member
3. Drago Krpina, member of HDZ, delegate in the Croatian Parliament.
EVIDENCE: Witness 236/95-9
IV. INHUMAN TREATMENT OF DETAINEES AND PRISONERS OF WAR
IV - 171
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Daruvar - Bjelovar, May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Despite the fact that an agreement had been concluded
on the Serbs' surrender, the Croat armed forces persistently shelled the depth
of the Serb territory in Western Slavonia from 14.00 to 17.00 hrs. on 4 May
and also targeted civilian convoys. After that the Croatian army units started
advancing across the Serb territory.
The witness was captured at Kraguj where they took down both his and
other people's particulars. All men, regardless of age, were separated from
women and children who stayed at Kragulj.
At around 21.00 hrs. they were taken by bus to Daruvar. Around 100 were
brought there then.
There were among the captured men even some persons aged over 80 years,
as for instance V.V., R.V., R.S. and others.
They were placed in the "Ceski Dom" gymnasium at Daruvar where Croatian
soldiers slapped the detained Serbs on their faces and hit them with their
rifles. The witness received a blow to his shoulder with a riflebutt. They
separated the weak and the infirm from the younger ones and left them at
Daruvar.
At around 2.00 hrs after midnight, those younger men were transported
from Daruvar to Bjelovar and placed in a hall at the local sports center.
According to the witness's estimate, there were around 800 detainees at
Bjelovar. All of them had surrendered in their civilian clothes even though
they had been soldiers. It was only the commander of the brigade, Lieutenant
Colonel Stevo Harambasic who had a uniform.
As soon as they arrived they were ordered to strip naked and to give
their particulars.
At 6.00 hrs on the following day they called the roll for interrogation.
The witness's name was called in the first group, they handcuffed the witness
and all others in that group and interrogated them one by one. During this
interrogation they were beaten by military policemen. The witness also
received blows with a truncheon. After questioning which lasted until 16.00
hrs, they brought them back to the hall.
Other detainees were brought in for questioning in groups as well. The
procedure was identical to that followed with the first group.
The witness was ill-treated and battered all the six times during his
questioning. He was beaten the hardest by a criminal inspector who was in
civilian clothes. A large photograph of Ante Pavelic was always on his table.
Ustashi symbols shaped as the letter "U" were put up on the wall.
The food rations the detainees were given twice a day were meagre and of
poor quality. They were given a small sandwich in the morning and at 21.00 hrs
in the evening. During the first four days, the witness only ate once, for he
had been away for questioning at the time when they distributed food there.
Croatian soldiers would stop them on their way to the toilet and beat
them and ill-treat them. For that reason, most of the detainees did not dare
go to the toilet at all.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Ministry of the Interior of Croatia.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-18.
IV - 172
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Bjelovar, the detention camp at the sports hall, May
1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Having surrendered with a number of others from his
unit in the Army of the Republic of Srpska Krajina on 4 May 1995, the witness
was taken to the detention camp at Bjelovar which was located in a sports
hall.
While he was giving his particulars, the witness was able to see the
lists of detainees and he became aware that at one point the last detainee
number was 763. However, this figure was not final because new detainees were
brought to that detention camp even after that.
On the second day following his arrest, i.e. on 6 May, the detainees were
given uniforms which they had to put on. After that foreign and domestic
journalists were brought in and told that the detainees had been arrested as
Chetniks. The press proceeded to take pictures of them. Upon their departure,
the uniforms were taken away and the detainees given back their clothes.
All the money and valuables that the detainees had had were taken away
from them. The witness saw them seize DEM 15,000 from one detainee and DEM
5,000 from another. Neither the money nor any other valuables were ever
returned to any of the detainees.
The detainees were taken in groups to the Military Investigation Centre
at the Ministry of the Interior building for interrogations. The witness's
turn to be interrogated, together with other 12 detainees, came on 13 May.
During the interrogation the detainees were kept in the garage of the Military
Investigation Centre. Most of the detainees were beaten and ill-treated in the
course of their interrogations. A policeman known as "Kiseli" beat the
detainees the hardest.
During their detention in the garages, some Croats from Bjelovar came in
an organized manner to identify the detainees. Whoever was identified from
among the detainees was then singled out, taken out of the garage and
subjected to beatings.
The witness also noticed that some detainees were only brought to the
sports hall after batterred. Thus, M.B. was brought in almost uncoscious after
a vicious beating: he had a catheter in his ribs area from which some blood
was trickling down as a result of broken ribs and internal injuries.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Darko Pervan, active Croatian Army officer, age 30-35, detention camp
commander,
2. Kozic, head of the Military Police,
3. Neven Olovski, Police Inspector,
4. "Kiseli" and other members of the Croatian Police in Varazdin.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-3.
IV - 173
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Bjelovar, the detention camp at the sports hall, early
May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was captured on 3 May 1995 as a member of
the Army of the Republic of Srpska. On the following day he was taken to the
detention camp at the sports hall in Bjelovar.
The witness was brought in for questioning four times in Bjelovar. The
investigators - military policemen - subjected him to beatings and torture.
They beat him with their truncheons and with sandbags. When he fainted, they
poured water on him. When he came round, they continued beating him and
interrogating him. They insisted on being told which Serbs had allegedly
committed crimes and been in command of the units. As the witness in most
cases did not know the answers, he was subjected to even more vicious beating.
They broke one of his ribs there. In addition, he also reported pains in the
spine and kidney areas.
Other detainees were subjected to the same procedure as well. The witness
saw that S.M. had received the worst injuries as he had previously been beaten
in prison in Varazdin. A large number of detainees were brought to Bjelovar
from Varazdin. All of them were subjected to horrible torture.
A young man from a village near Okucani was brought to the prison in
Bjelovar with the others but had been beaten so hard that the witness doubts
he survived.
The detainees were beaten in particular when they went to the toilet.
The witness was detained 8 days at this prison in Bjelovar.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Darko Pervan, active Croatian Army officer, detention camp commander.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-1.
IV - 174
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Bjelovar, the detention camp at the sports hall, May
1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Following the capture at Seovic where, according to
the witness' s estimate, around 2,000 Serbs had been captured, the witness was
one of a number of people taken first to Pakrac on 4 May and then to Bjelovar.
When the bus they were on reached the sports hall, the detainees were
told to get off in fours, taken to the corridor of the hall, ordered to give
their particulars and questioned as to where they had been and what they had
done since 1991 onwards. Then they were made to take cold showers.
Prior to that, the detainees had been ordered to hand over whatever they
had in their pockets as well as their identification documents. The detainees
were not returned any of the things that were taken from them there.
The detainees were alloted places in the sports hall and were told to
stay put.
On the same day they were told to take off their clothes and put on
Croatian uniforms which, according to the witness's opinion, were made in
America. The uniforms had the emblem of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) on
their sleeves which one of the guards tore off from the witness's uniform. The
detainees were ordered to walk around in those uniforms while journalists were
filming them. After the press left, the detainees had to take off those
uniforms, hand them back and put on their old clothes.
On the same day, 5 May, military policemen trampled on and kicked with
their booted feet the witness and T.P. while they were lying on the floor of
the sports hall.
The following day, 6 May, the witness was taken to be interrogated to the
Secretariat of the Interior building. The detainees were interrogated both by
military and by civilian investigators. The witness, who had been brought in
for interrogation three times, would invariably start being beaten the moment
he got off the vehicle and this would continue in the course of the
interrogation as well. The first time, the witness was interrogated by a
civilian and the other two times by the Military Police. The witness and
others were also beaten by both their investigators and policemen who were in
the same room. Miso Surkalovic took part in that as well.
During the beatings they subjected the witness to, the perpetrators
kicked him with their booted feet breaking two of his ribs and causing a
swelling in his spine area.
The following were beaten the hardest: D.M., who remained in prison;
B.M., whose whereabouts are unknown to the witness; and P.F. and I.B. who
remained in prison as well.
The representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross
registered the witness in the sports hall on 6 May.
After he was brought before the investigating judge, the witness was a
member of the group which stood in the yard of the investigating prison and
which was ordered at around 17.00 hrs to go up to the wall, form a line facing
that wall, touch the wall with their foreheads and toes and put their hands
behind their backs 5 centimetres above their waist. They stood in that posture
until 3.00 hrs, i.e. six hours, which is why they were all completely
exhausted.
The witness did not receive any decision either from the judge or from
the police following his interrogation.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mica Koncar, one of the high-ranking officials at the Pakrac Ministry
of the Interior,
2. Miso Surkalovic, from Lipik, who wore a military uniform,
3. Darko Pervan, an active HV officer, detention camp commander
EVIDENCE: 654/95-8.
IV - 175
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Bjelovar, the detention camp at the sports hall and
investigating prison, May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness surrendered to the Croatian Army at
Seovica on 4 May 1995. Together with a group of around 750 captured soldiers
of the Army of the Republic of Srpska Krajina he was transferred to the
detention camp at the sports hall in Bjelovar. With him were also transferred
a number of male civilians age over 60.
While they were at this hall, Croat soldiers came to ill-treat them and
beat them at night.
A big photo of Ante Pavelic, the Croatian Nazi leader during the Second
World War, hang at the entrance to the hall and was removed during occasional
visits of foreign delegations. The detainees in that hall were also visited by
Mate Granic, the Foreign Minister of Croatia, who came with some diplomats and
persuaded them to stay in Croatia by promising them different benefits. Prior
to the Minister's arrival, the detainees had been given uniforms with the
breast chequered emblem and ordered to put them on. The event was even filmed
by a television crew.
They called the roll of detainees to be taken for interrogations to the
HVO barracks every day. While waiting, the detainees were placed in garages.
They were forced to sing Ustashi songs in those garages, and the guards hit
them with their truncheons and kicked them with their feet. They forced the
detainees to slap each other on the face. The detainees were taken for
questioning to the second floor of that barracks.
The detainees would stay between 8 and 10 hours in the barracks. Most of
them were interrogated more than once. The witness was interrogated twice and
then taken back to the sports hall.
From the sports hall the witness was taken to an investigation prison
where he was forced to fill in a questionnaire and reply among other to the
question: "Do you love Croatia?" The detainees at this prison were taken to
see the judge one by one. However, the witness did not receive any decision on
his detention nor on the conduct of an investigation.
A group of detainees from Varazdin was brought to the detention camp at
the sports hall in Bjelovar as well. Most of them had been beaten and had
visible bodily injuries - broken arms, legs, head injuries - and one of the
detainees was brought in a blanket.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Darko Pervan, active HV officer, detention camp commander.
EVIDENCE: 628/95-4.
IV - 176
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Bjelovar, the detention camp at a school, May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After having spent some time in prison in Nova
Gradiska the witness was released. However, after he returned to Okucani he
was arrested and incarcerated at the detention camp at a school in Bjelovar.
Detainees were placed in classrooms and in a sports hall.
The witness was brought in for questioning three times. He was
ill-treated and beaten on those occasions. They hit him with their truncheons
and kicked him with their feet. They ordered him to go to the wall, raise
himself on his toes, placed nails under his heels with their points up. He had
to stand like that for 45 minutes and was not allowed to lean against the
wall. Due to the unbearable position he was in, occasionally he had to lower
his heels against the nails and this caused him excruciating pain.
The detainees were beaten particularly hard when they went to the toilet.
They forced the detainees to lick off the tiles in the toilet. They also beat
the detainees in the classrooms where they were being held. Soldiers would
occasionally enter those classrooms to beat them all one by one. Thus, they
broke one leg and both arms of a K. from Podravska Slatina.
M.D. was brought from the Varazdin prison after severe beatings: his
belly was badly swollen and bruised all over. They continued beating him in
Bjelovar as well.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Darko Pervan, active HV officer, detention camp commander and the
detention camp personnel.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-2.
IV - 177
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Varazdin, the detention camp at the sports hall, May
1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After the capture, the witness was brought to the
detention camp at the sports hall in Varazdin. According to his estimate,
there were over 600 detainees in that hall.
When they arrived the detainees were forced to take shower and in the
course of that they were punched and kicked by some policemen.
The detainees had to sit on the floor in the hall with their hands behind
their backs and with their heads lowered toward their knees.
On the same day the perpetrators started taking the detainees out for
questioning which took place in the locker rooms. A number of detainees were
taken to town to be interrogated there. The detainees were beaten and molested
on that occasion as well. Many of them received injuries, as for example M.V.,
B.S., M.S. and L.G. who did not return from one of such interrogation
sessions. The witness does not know what has befallen him.
They beat the detainees even when they went out to the toilet. For that
reason, they avoided going to the toilet and thus some of them did not relieve
themselves for as many as 5 days.
The detainees were maltreated at the hall, there were repeated
roll-calls, the detainees were forced to sing Ustashi songs. The witness
states that throughout his stay in this hall he could not fall asleep.
Before arrival of any foreign delegation, the perpetrators would
distribute cigarettes, tea and water to the detainees and after the departure
of such visitors they would take all those items away.
The witness was taken for interrogation to the town and, if he remembers
correctly, this took place at the Secretariat of the Interior building; he had
to fill in a questionnaire and reply to questions such as which units he had
been a member of from 1991 - 1995, what kind of weapons they had, from whom
they had obtained them, who had been in command of such units, etc.
They transferred the witness from this detention camp to Gavrinci, where,
through the mediation of the UNHCR he managed to cross over to the territory
of the Republic of Srpska.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Ministry of the Interior of Croatia.
EVIDENCE: 628/95-5.
IV - 178
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Pakrac, early May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness and a group of arrested men were taken to
Pakrac and placed in the police building where he was interrogated straight
away. While interrogating him, the perpetrators were kicking and punching the
witness so viciously that he fainted as a result. When he came to he
established that he was in a cell. Policemen beat him some more in that cell:
they would enter the cell one by one and beat him without any reason and as
much as they pleased.
The following day, 3 May, they took the witness to a secondary school
where the Military Police had its headquarters. They interrogated the witness
there as well. During interrogation, the witness was kicked and punched. He
found detainee S. there who had been beaten as well.
After the interrogation, they brought the witness and S. into the
schoolyard and took it out on them in a number of different ways: they forced
them to pluck up grass in the yard, trampled upon them, forced them to collect
cigarette butts, to jump around and to catch flies and to say aloud "I am
catching a fly.", etc.
During the witness's detention in Pakrac the police brought a TV crew to
shoot his hearing and the witness had to give the answers that the policemen
had told him before. He was also made to light a cigarette in front of the
cameras, which was meant to show that he was receiving a fair treatment there.
His hearing was later broadcast by Croatian television.
Twenty detainees from the vicinity of Pakrac were brought to this school
and subjected to beatings by the guards which lasted all night long.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Milan Koncar, commander in the Croatian Army (HV)
2. Nikola Ivkanec, police commander.
EVIDENCE: 654/95-7.
IV - 179
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Slavonska Pozega, the detention camp in the women's
prison, early May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The arrested Serb soldiers, who were brought to this
detention camp, were battered and molested. They were beaten particularly hard
on their return from interrogation, in the corridor, so that they entered
their cells beaten up all over. Guards even entered the cells which were
separated by steel bars and beat them. This was a daily routine.
The perpetrators did not let detainees sleep at night but would order
them to do press-ups endlessly, sing Ustashi songs, etc.
Together with 26 other detainees, the witness was transferred to the
Military Prison Remetinac in Zagreb on remand, so their interrogation was
resumed.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR
Members of the Interior Ministry of Croatia.
EVIDENCE: 654/95-7.
IV - 180
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Nova Gradiska, the detention camp at the sports hall, 2 -
9 May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 2 May Croatian soldiers took all the Serbs they
could find in Okucani by bus to Nova Gradiska. They detained them in the local
Sports Hall. There were many men and women in that hall and even a large
number of infants.
The woman witness cannot assess how many Serbs there were in that hall,
but says that the hall was overcrowded.
On that day the detainees were not given anything to eat.
The detainees were taken out for questioning both in the mornings and in
the evenings every day.
The woman witness was not beaten but she saw her female acquaintances
come back from interrogation sessions with injuries. She gave names of four
such women.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Interior Ministry of Croatia and of the Croatian Army.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-6.
IV - 181
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhuman treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Varazdin, the detention camp in the sports hall, May
1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: At around 15.00 hrs on 2 May 1995 the witness was
captured at Garisnica. He was near the police station when three military
transporters with UNPROFOR markings appeared. He and the others there did not
react, assuming that the transporters were carrying UNPROFOR personnel. Then
members of the Croatian armed forces jumped out of the transporters ready to
fire. They were joined by approximately another 1,000 Croatian police and
armed troops. According to the witness's estimate, around 6,000 people were
captured on that occasion.
The arrested men were taken to the detention camps at Varazdin, Bjelovar,
Daruvar, Slavonska Pozega, Kutina and Zagreb.
At around 04.30 hrs on 3 May the witness was taken along with 600 more
detainees to Varazdin where he was placed in the detention camp at the sports
hall.
The witness stated: "... When we came to this hall, we were ordered to
sit down on the floor, put our hands behind our back, and lower our heads
toward our knees. They kept us in that position until 9.00 hrs when they took
us to have a cold shower.
Whenever the guards in the hall would notice anyone raising their head
while we were sitting in that position, they would take them to the toilet for
a beating. I was taken to that toilet for a beating several times.
The interrogation took place in the corridor and when the investigators
assessed that somebody from our group was giving false information they would
take them to the toilet and beat them. Such interrogations were conducted
several times a day with each one of us in turn and I was interrogated in this
manner in that corridor three times. Initial interrogations were conducted in
the corridor and the rest in the rooms upstairs. I was subjected to beatings
during my interrogation; they kicked me with their booted feet, inflicted
grave injuries in the rib area and also knocked out my front upper teeth.
After 5 May, following their interrogation, certain detainees were
transferred to the prisons in Bjelovar and in Zagreb respectively. As far as I
know, the detainees who were taken to Zagreb have not been released and, apart
from that, no information is available on their whereabouts.
It was only on 20 May 1995 that the representatives of the International
Committee of the Red Cross visited us, registered us and gave us ICRC
identification cards.
Prior to that visit, some detainees had been moved out of the detention
camp to another detention camp and they were not registered with the
representatives of the ICRC.
When I was taken out of Varazdin, around 200 detainees remained in that
detention camp.
In Varazdin I saw men with broken arms and legs,grave head injuries and
injuries to other body parts, as for example L.M. on whose whereabouts I have
no information..."
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Interior Ministry of Croatia and of the Croatian Army.
EVIDENCE: 628/95-8.
IV-182
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Orasje, the detention camp at the Secondary School
Centre, October - November 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: During her stay in this detention camp the woman
witness was subjected to daily beatings together with other incarcerated
Serbs. They beat her with nightsticks on her legs and hands. They also tied
her leg and hand and suspended her. They pounded her with fists all over her
body and knocked out 7 teeth in her lower jaw. They placed a pistol barrel
into her mouth and even a bomb as well.
Croatian soldiers urinated in her mouth and forced her to swallow their
urine.
The witness and others were made to lie on bare floor, without any cover
or rugs.
The woman witness was not raped in this detention camp but was forced to
engage in unnatural sexual intercourse so that she had to satisfy Croatian
soldiers by letting them place their penis in her mouth.
INDICATION CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Pero Vicentic, "Pera Konj" (Pera the Horse), commander of the Military
Police of the HVO Orasje Brigade
2. Damir Kljaic, "Dama".
EVIDENCE: 584/94-17.
IV-183
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Odzak, the detention camp at the factory "Stolit", May -
June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After he was brought by car to this detention camp the
witness was not well at all seemed had been bed beaten up previously. When he
asked for medical assistance, they told him that the Serbs were not given such
assistance and that he would die there.
After that, a man called Tomic came accompanied by six more HVO soldiers,
called the witness and cursed his Serb mother. He said that the witness should
tell the truth or else he would be beaten up. As the witness had known Tomic
even before, he thought that Tomic would protect him, so he told Tomic that he
had nothing to talk about; Tomic then ordered the soldiers to start beating
the witness. They battered him with their feet and fists on different body
parts until he fainted. After that Tomic ordered the guardsmen to take out the
witness, saying the witness was the worst Chetnik who had slaughtered Croatian
and Moslem women and children, even though that was untrue. He said that he
would be back in 15 days to see what they had done to him.
When Tomic reappeared after 15 days, he ordered the soldiers once again
to beat the witness, so that they battered the witness until he fainted.
The witness spent 40 days at this detention camp and throughout that time
Croatian soldiers would take him out to be beaten three times every day. They
kicked and pounded him, hit him with handles, rifle butts, sticks and various
other objects.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Pero Tomic, from Slavonski Brod.
EVIDENCE: 584/94-26.
IV-184
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Osijek, June 1992
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was arrested at Donji Miholjac and taken
to
the Red Barracks in Osijek, where he was incarcerated for a period of one
month.
When they arrested him they took away DEM 1,000, a gold chain and a
wristwatch and never returned them to him.
The witness was interrogated every day and beaten with sticks all over
his
body. They demanded from him to admit that he was a Chetnik.
Unable to endure it all, he attempted to hang himself but did not succeed
because the rope broke off.
After the witness came out of this detention camp, he was treated for
mental derangement at the Mental Health Institute in Belgrade.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Branimir Glavas.
EVIDENCE: Witness No. 584/94-25.
IV-185
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Slavonski Brod, the detention camp at the bowling alley
in
the restaurant "At Bardak's", in June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This detention camp housed some Serbs from Croatia,
whom the witness did not know, but he saw that they were swollen and
blood-stained upon their return from interrogation.
One night came a man called Cindric, wearing a HVO police officer
uniform, and took the witness to a room in which there was a table on which
there was a great deal of food and drink and told him: "You will do whatever
you are shown to do from the opposite side", and then they turned on two
cameras to film it.
The witness stated that he saw for the first time how bad he looked: he
had a very long beard and long hair, for they would not permit him to shave in
the detention camps at which he had stayed earlier on. They made him put on a
furcoat, put a big furcap with a cockade on his head, and woollen socks and
Serb peasant shoes on his feet, and then played some Serb music. Then Cindric
showed him that he should stand up and dance, and the witness had to do it and
when he showed him how to drink from a bottle filled with water he did that
too.
Soon after that a woman came, her name was probably Nada Alisa from
Zagreb television and gave him the text of a statement which he was to make
saying he was a Chetnik Duke, that he had raped Croatian and Moslem girls
under 13 years of age, and that he had cut off their breasts and slit the
throats of Croatian and Moslem children.
The witness stated that he could not do that and then Cindric proceeded
to hit him with a heavy object on his head.
They continued torturing him even after that: they tied up his feet and
made him hang upside down. The witness does not know how long he was suspended
like that for he fainted.
The following day, he was given electric shocks; they would pour water on
his chest and applied on it certain objects similar to brushes which were
connected with an electrode and thus caused terrible pain and nose and mouth
bleeding.
They tied up his sex organ with a cord and while he was standing with his
hands up they kept beating him until he fainted. Before that they threatened
to cut off his penis if he fell or that he would cut it off himself if he fell
down.
The witness at the bowling-alley detention camp was in a cellar room and
slept on bare concrete without any cover or rugs.
One day the witness and a group of arrested Serbs were taken to another
room. They ordered the witness to open his mouth, took his tongue out and
dried it with a cloth and placed burning cigarettes on it, threatening to
liquidate him if he reported on any of those things. They did the same to the
other men in that group.
The witness and others in the same group were taken to another room where
they made them sit at a table laden with food and drink and then brought in
the representatives of an international organization. The witness was unable
to eat anything due to his tongue wounds and Cindric explained to the
representatives that the witness was a notorious Chetnik and that he even
refused to eat the food on that table.
The witness was taken out of this detention camp four times in order to
be exchanged at Gradiska, but was not exchanged after all.
One evening, several days before the exchange, they took the incarcerated
Serbs to a room where some Croatian soldiers were eating and drinking and
having fun while someone was playing the accordion. They ordered the witness
and a group of Serbs which they had brought in to strip naked and stand face
to face and then they had to take each other's sex organ into their mouths.
The witness stated that the same order was given to a father and his son,
whose names he gave, so that they had to satisfy each other in an unnatural
way.
At the time of his arrest, the witness weighed 100 kgs and only 61 kgs
when he was exchanged.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Cindric, "Cindra" and other members of the HVO police force.
EVIDENCE: Testimony by witnesses and medical documentation (D-6) filed
with the Committee under No. 584/94-18.
IV-186
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), the detention camp at the city
stadium, July 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: One evening Kljajic entered the room where the witness
was put up and kicked the witness, cursed his Chetnik mother and then said:
"Now I'll cut your throat."
He ordered the witness to strip naked up to his waist and to lie on his
stomach and when the witness was already convinced that he would slit his
throat, Kljajic inscribed with the blade of his knife a cross and four letters
S on the witness' back.
When Kljajic cursed the witness' mother again, the witness spoke back
for, as he explains, he was convinced that Kljajic would kill him and this was
precisely what the witness wanted in view of daily beatings and ill-treatment
that he was subjected to for if that happened it would bring all his suffering
to an end.
Kljajic went away leaving him alone for a while and when he returned
after some time he had a big pistol in his hand and said that he would use it
to put the witness to death.
However, Kljajic only beat up the witness instead.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Blazan Kljajic, HVO member.
EVIDENCE: 584/94-28.
IV-187
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), the prison in the Municipality
Hall,
from 30 March to 3 April 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness, aged 45, was arrested by HVO members and
the "Green Berets" at his apartment and taken to the Brod Municipality Hall
where they locked him up in room No. 31.
When they arrested the witness, they took away a new passenger vehicle
"Lada", the keys of his house and his savings amounting to DM 3,000.
After he was taken to the Municipality Hall, he was interrogated. They
asked him about the whereabouts of the Serb army and how many troops it had
and refused to take into consideration his explanations that he did not have
any such information. This is why Josip put out his cigarette against the
witness' upper right and left palm as evidenced by the still visible scars. He
then placed his burning cigarette against the witness' right temple and
inscribed the Ustasha symbol "U" on the witness' forehead. The others kicked
the witness and hit him with their fists and with parts of a broken chair. As
a result, the witness was covered in blood and fainted several times.
Such torture would be repeated every six hours when they would come to
his room and beat him viciously. Oldobasic made him take off all his clothes,
and proceeded to beat him with the spit used for lamb barbecues. Omerovic took
the witness by his head and hit it against a steel strongbox which was in that
very same room until the witness fainted.
Josip cut off the witness' moustache with a knife and made him eat them
up.
Such "treatment" lasted four days and four nights and was repeated every
six hours.
The witness sustained a right-shin fracture, right and left rib fractures
and a spinal cord injury.
On 3 April HVO members took him to the Sarajevska Str. near the foodball
stadium and made him climb the terrace on the first floor of a partly
demolished house owned by Gligor Benak and to call out to the Serb army which
was in the vicinity and ask them not to shoot.
The witness called the Serb army twice but there was no response. When he
sought to call them the third time, Croatian soldiers fired a burst in his
direction, and shot him in his left leg loin area. The witness then jumped
from the terrace and managed to run over to the Serb-held territory.
After this, the witness was taken to hospital in Doboj to receive
prolonged medical treatment.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Anto Stuc, "Britva" (Blade), from quarter Tulek in Brod,
2. Nedzad Omerovic, member of the "Green Berets";
3. Blazan Kljajic, member of HVO;
4. Dedo Oldobasic, member of HVO;
5. Josis, member of HVO;
6. Dedo Oldobasic, "Kvaka", worked at the hosiery factory in Brod before
the war.
EVIDENCE: 584/94-29.
IV-188
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Slavonski Brod, the detention camp at the bowling alley
in the restaurant "At Bardak's", in June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Having been arrested, the woman witness, age 65 then,
was put up in a room with 4 elderly and 3 younger women.
As soon as they arrived in the room, a Croatian soldier entered the room
and took out the three younger women. When they returned they said they had
been raped.
A Croatian soldier demanded from the woman from the village Polje, whose
identity is known to the Committee, to take off her clothes in the presence of
the witness. When the woman replied that she was having her period, the
soldier forced her to satisfy him by placing his penis into her mouth, all in
the presence of this witness.
During her stay at this detention camp, the detainees were given food
every second or third day and it consisted of a small slice of bread and some
broth. Croatian soldiers used to say: "You are old, you do not even need any
food at all."
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Lukica Jocic, detention camp warden.
EVIDENCE: Testimony filed with the Committee under No. 584/94-30.
IV-189
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), the detention camp at the city
stadium, from 7 July to 19 August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The woman witness, age over 50, was arrested in Brod
together with her husband and they were both taken to the detention camp at
the stadium where they were separated. They locked the woman witness into a
room where there were 12 more women and took her husband to a men's room.
The witness gave names of 9 women with whom she was at the same room
where they slept on 5 or 6 beds. Croatian soldiers would come to this room and
order the women to take off their clothes and then raped them all. They would
do it in the presence of other women and would first of all batter them and
threaten to kill them all if they resisted.
They would occasionally take them to other rooms where Croatian soldiers
slept and raped them there as well.
The younger women were taken to the first combat line and on their return
the women said that they had been raped by 6 to 10 soldiers each there.
According to this woman witness' words, those women were an awful sight
because apart from having been raped they had been battered as well.
The woman witness stated that she could not give an accurate number of
Croatian soldiers who had raped her, but that there had in any case been very
many of them indeed. She would be taken to a room where even as many as 10
soldiers were waiting; the first five would rape her and the others would
place their male sex organs into her mouth and thus satisfy their lust. In
addition, they placed a pistol barrel into her vagina. They gave free rein to
their desires in other ways as well and kept cursing her mother and calling
her a Chetnik.
At night one could hear screams and moans from the men's department as
well as shots. The woman witness saw them take out men stark naked and beat
them until they fainted.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Anto Stuc, "Britva" (Blade) from Derventa;
2. Drago Lepan, and other soldiers.
EVIDENCE: Testimony filed with the Committee under No. 584/94-31.
IV-190
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), the detention camp at the city
stadium, September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The woman witness, age 38, was asrrested in Brod with
her husband and taken to the detention camp at the city stadium in Brod.
They locked her up in a women's room with another 6 women.
As soon as the witness was put up in this room, Croatian soldiers entered
the room ro rape the witness and other women in that room. They all wore HVO
uniforms. Before they did it, they most often threatened the women by saying
they would kill them or cut their throats and pounded them with their fists on
different body parts.
In addition, the woman witness was taken to the front line where she was
raped by Moslem and Croatian soldiers deployed along the line. They would then
take the women back to the detention camp. She was taken to the frontline by
Blazevic.
The woman witness recalls that she was raped by 10 Croatian soldiers one
evening.
In addition, she was forced to engage in unnatural sexual intercourse by
letting them place their penises in her mouth.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Lukica Jozic, from Korac near Brod, warden of the stadium detention
camp;
2. Ivica Glavic, from Sijekovac near Brod;
3. Taib Slabic, Moslem from Bord;
4. Drago Cabraic, from Novo Selo;
5. Ivica Blazevic, "Cedo", from Novo Selo near Bosanski Brod;
6. Kadrija Mlivic, a Moslem from Sijekovac;
7. Jurica, "Magas", near Brod;
8. Drago Lepan, from Brod;
9. Tadija Lepan, from Brod;
10. Adam Antolovic, all of whom raped the witness.
EVIDENCE: Testimony filed with the Committee under No. 584/94-32.
IV-191
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod, (Bosanski Brod), the detention camp at the
Secondary School Centre, end of September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: During the witness' stay at this detention camp, two
Serb detainees managed to escape. After this happened, the Croatian soldiers
ordered all men to strip stark naked and hit them with their feet, with their
fists and sticks, until most of the detinees fainted.
They tied them up with a cord by the feet and thus suspended them. They
spent several hours, and some of them even the whole night, hanging upside
down.
They kept hitting the detainees with whatever they could get hold of.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Lukica Jozic, the detention camp warden.
EVIDENCE: Testimony filed with the Committee under No. 584/94-32.
IV-192
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), the detention camp at the city
stadium, end of June - end of August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The woman witness, who was aged 64 at the time of her
arrest, was brought from Brod where she had been living with her family, i.e.
with two adult sons and a daughter.
She was put up in a room where she found a dozen other women. They took
her immediately to a cellar where a Croatian soldier, having inquired about
her sons, ordered her to take off her glasses and started hitting her on the
head. His blows damaged her hearing. The soldier went on hitting her until
she fainted. After that she was returned to the common room.
Croatian soldiers committed rape against all the women detained in the
room where the woman witness was put up. They would often barge in at night,
order the women to take off their clothes and rape them. As she was older than
the others, they forced her to satisfy them by letting them place their male
sex organs into her mouth.
Rapes were committed in the presence of all of those women and sometimes
they would also take several women out of that room and rape them outside.
Upon their return, the women said that they were raped by 7 Croatian soldiers
each.
The incarcerated women were humiliated and ill-treated on a daily basis.
In addition, they beat them, cursed their Serb and Chetnik mothers and kept
telling them that they would send them down the Sava River to Belgrade. They
also threatened to kill them and told them that they cannot stay alive in the
Croatian state even though Bosanski Brod has never formed part of the Croatian
state.
During the visits by the International Red Cross delegations, the women
from this room were hidden and taken to the kayak club in Bosanski Brod since
their rooms "had to be disinfected".
As a result of poor food rations at the detention camp, the witness lost
20 kgs.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Indira Vrbanjac, the warden of the women's wing of the detention camp
at the city stadium in Brod who was present during the rapes or brought
Croatian soldiers who proceeded to rape women in her presence.
EVIDENCE: 584/94-33.
IV-193
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), the detention camp at the "Beograd"
Department Store warehouse, early July 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: At around 13.00 hrs on 5 July the witness and four
other Serb detainees at this detention camp were ordered to get out into the
yard.
They were called out by Hamzic. When the witness got out, they started
beating him with their feet and their fists, as well as with baseball bats all
over their bodies.
As a result of those blows, the witness fainted and when he came round
and wanted to get back on his feet again, Milos kicked him in the left knee
area and thus broke his left knee joint.
After he received those blows the witness could not move so that they put
him in the boot of a vehicle and drove him somewhere threatening to kill him
along the way.
The witness did not know that an exchange would be arranged.
They took him for an exchange to Dragalic near Gradiska.
After the exchange, the wintess was taken to hospital at Prnjavor where
he was extended first aid, and then to hospital in Banja Luka where he was
admitted to the Orthopedic Ward and kept from 5 to 23 July 1992. After that he
was treated until December 1992 and had several leg and head area surgeries.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Nihad Hamzic, "Fric", from Derventa;
2. Jozo Brico;
3. Marko Milos.
EVIDENCE: Testimony and medical documents filed with the Committee under
No. 412/94.
IV-194
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Osijek, second half of January 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Having been captured as a JNA member, the witness was
incarcerated in the Secretariat of the Interior Affairs building in Osijek.
They took the captured witness and other Serb soldiers out of jail and
walked them around Osijek. They kept kicking them and hitting them with their
riflebutts. When they approached some civilians in a bread queue, they would
push the detainees toward the civilians and encourage the civilians to hit
them and kick them.
As they were walking them around the town, they forced them to shout at
the top of their voice that they had been in the first combat lines of the
Chetnik army, that they had killed innocent people, raped children and burnt
down houses.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Filipovic, member of the Interior Ministry in Osijek et al.
EVIDENCE: Testimony and other evidence filed with the Committee under No.
622/94.
IV-195
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: The detention camp Celebici near Konjic, end of May 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Having surrendered at Donje Selo near Konjic, the
witness was taken to the detention camp at Celebici on 25 May 1992.
Immediately upon his arrival, the guardsman who had taken his particulars and
those of four other detainees, lined them up against the wall and ordered them
to turn their faces to the wall and to stand still with their hands raised
above their heads. They spent as many as 6 hours in that position.
The following day the witness was taken to "Bata" Alikadic, who asked him
who had killed his two soldiers at Donje Selo, but since he did not know the
answer, Bata grabbed a bottle and hit the witness on the head with it. He then
pushed his pistol barrel into the witness' eye and told him that he would kill
him and throw his body to the dogs to tear it apart.
He then asked the witness who had killed the Moslem soldiers, and
dissatisfied with the answer, he took another beer bottle and hit the witness
on the head.
He proceeded to smash 20 more beer bottles against the witness' head.
He then ordered the witness to kneel down before him and kicked the
witness in his head 25 - 30 times.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. "Bato" Alikadic, father's name: Himza;
2. Zdravko Mucic, "Pavao", detention camp warden at Celebici.
EVIDENCE: Testimony filed with the Committee under No. 354/95.
IV-196
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - PoWs
PLACE AND TIME: Vitez, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Serbs were a minority at Vitez.
Even before the war broke out the Croats and Moslems had organized
rallies in Vitez and said that the Croats in Croatia were threatened by the
Serbs, that the Serbs were the worst villains, that they should be killed off
and expelled. Their rallies were also attended by the people whom they had
brought from Herzegovina and from other parts and they demanded that arms be
distributed to them and that Serbs be killed. They made dummies and inscribed
the names of Slobodan Milosevic, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic on them,
set the dummies on fire at the centre of Vitez in front of the Post Office
building for everybody to see.
Croat and Moslem soldiers started barging into Serb houses and
apartments, conducted searches and took away whatever caught their fancy. In
the process they would beat up all the present Serbs and forbid them to move
around the town saying that in case they saw someone in the street they must
not talk to each other at all.
They also barged into Serb-owned cafes and took away whatever caught
their fancy and then proceeded to close them down.
In April 1992 persecutions of the Serbs began in Vitez. Respectable Serbs
were arrested first and taken nobody knows where. Many went missing and no
information is available as to what has happened to them.
On 9 June Vlado Ramljak and three more Croats clad in black uniforms with
a big letter "U" on their caps, identical to those worn by the Ustashis who
committed genocide against the Serbs in the territory of the Independent State
of Croatia (NDH) during the Second World War, burst into the witness's
apartment without ringing the bell or knocking at the door, and immediately
handcuffed the witness, searched his apartment, blindfolded him with a cloth
and took him into their vehicle.
They drove him to the cellar of a house in the Kruscica community where
they kept him locked up for 9 days.
They kept beating the witness on his stomach, his chest and his head.
They knocked out 10 of his teeth and broke 5-6 ribs on both his left- and
righ-hand side.
During that time they did not give the witness any food, nor any water.
They kept cursing his Serb and Chetnik mother, repeatedly told him that he
would be killed and that life was over for him. His hands remained tightly
cuffed and the cuffs tore off his skin so that his bones were visible.
While they were beating him, they played for him the pre-recorded tape of
his wife and child screaming and their conversation and on that basis he was
led to believe that they had been tortured.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. IvicaSatnic, graduate engineer;
2. Anto Valenta, graduate engineer;
3. Pero Skopljak, former Croat priest, all three - HDZ activists in
Vitez;
4. Marinko Marelja;
5. Darko Kraljevic;
6. Ljuban Delic;
7. Ivo Garic;
8. Nikola Korovija;
9. Vlada Ramljak, former police officer from the village Gornja Vecerinka
near Vitez.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record 234/95-20.
IV-197
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - PoWs
PLACE AND TIME: The detention camp in the Tisovac Hotel compound near
Busovaca, June-July 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This hotel compound housed the chief staff of the
Ustasha Command and a detention camp for the Serbs in several small rooms.
The incarcerated Serbs were viciously molested and battered. They had to
respond to the hail "For the homeland" by saying "Ready".
The interrogated witness was not ill-treated because as a result of
previous torture his health had deteriorated and he was unable to move.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Policeman "Zoka".
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record 234/95-20.
IV-198
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - PoWs
PLACE AND TIME: Jajce, the detention camp in the Secretariat of the
Interior building, from July to September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After arreste, the witness was put in solitary
confinement. The cell had a concrete floor and there was no furniture in it.
While the witness was in that cell, the guards beat him several times
every night.
They threatened to bring "Filka", a specialist in cases such as his, and
one night she came, ordered him to stand up against the wooden door of the
cell and started hurling at him - like they do at a circus - automatic-rifle
bayonettes which stuck around his body.
She then proceeded to tear his shirt and put out cigarettes against his
body leaving around 10 blisters.
She cut him across the nose with a bayonette.
"Filka" came about 10 more times to beat the witness.
After the witness was transferred to a collective room, 4 or 5 drunken
HVO soldiers burst into it one night. They had just come from the frontline
and started beating them all. The soldiers had camouflage paint all over their
faces. All the detained Serbs were covered in blood. They made them lick off
their blood from the concrete floor, refusing to allow them to raise their
heads. When at one point the witness raised his head, he received a blow on
his right arm and a triple bone fracture.
They also took individual detainees to the corridor to beat them some
more.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Enes, HOS commander from Zavidovici, age around 30, cca 180 cm tall;
2. "Filka", age 23 or 25, 165 cm tall, strong build, plump;
3. Simun Saraf.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record 561/94-3, also confirmed in the record
No. 561/94-5, as well as the findings of the Expert witness commission which
examined the witness and found that he had received a right shoulder bone
fracture, resulting in the atrophy of his muscles in the right shoulder area
and a reduced mobility of the right hand, as well as two rib fractures. As a
result of the physical and mental traumas experienced by the witness, his
personality traits have changed irrevocably reducing to a considerable extent
his general and working capacities (J-1).
IV-199
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Jajce, the detention camp in the Secretariat of the
Interior building and in the Secondary School Centre, from June to October
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness, a peasant woman age 57 years, was
arrested in her home in the village and was first taken to the detention camp
in the Secretariat of the Interior building.
During her interrogation they made various threats but they did not beat
the witness. They ordered her to stand against the door and then hurled knives
at the door around her.
They played the pre-recorded tape to her on the ordeal of the Serbs at
the hands of the Croats and Moslems and on how her family members had been
killed by the Croats and Moslems. The tape further mentioned that her husband
and son had reportedly been murdered and that the Moslems and Croats played
football with their chopped-off heads.
They kept playing the same cassette to her every day.
Upon her release, the woman witness says she was so exhausted and
disoriented that she failed to recognize her own son and husband when she saw
them.
She still feels the consequences of her term in prison and cannot stay
alone even for a minute. She has particularly strong fears at night and
suffers from insomnia.
After the witness was arrested, her three cows, two sheep, eleven hens
and eleven hogs were taken to the village Grdovo near Jajce.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Usic, a Moslem from Biokovina near Jajce.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record No. 561/94-4.
IV-200
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Jajce, the detention camp at the "Electro-Vrbas"
Administrative building from 6 - 24 September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After he was captured the witness was brought to the
Police Command HQs of the so-called B/H Army Territorial Defence, which was
located in the basement of the "Electro-Vrbas" Administrative Building. There
were three more Serbs there who told him that they had been captured in the
village of Barevo. They wore JNA uniforms, were barefoot, battered and covered
in blood. All three men were then taken out and later on the guards said that
they were swimming in the Vrbas River and the witness hence concluded that
they were shot dead.
The witness was beaten up immediately and sustained a number of bleeding
head wounds. They also knocked out two of his teeth.
One night the witness was taken to an office where they clipped a
microphone on his lapel and the witness later on realized that his
interrogation was carried on live by Radio Jajce as part of a broadcast titled
"A midnight talk with a Chetnik".
One of the policemen was whetting his knife during the interrogation,
testing its sharpness by cutting some paper and by pricking the witness' left
hand with its blade and, as a result, the witness's hand was injured and
swollen up. They had some questions prepared in advance and would beat the
witness whenever he was unable to answer them or refused to reply.
Quite often at night Moslem soldiers would come from the frontline, burst
into the witness's cell and batter both the witness and all the other
detainees in it.
The detainees avoided going to the toilet because they were subjected to
beatings by the guards in the corridor whenever they did so.
The witness was beaten most viciously on the delicate leg areas, i.e. on
the inner sides of his thighs, on his shins and soles of feet, as well as on
his toes, so that consequently his feet and legs swelled up and his toenails
fell off.
As a result of his detention, the witness finds it hard to do even
minimal physical assignments, is agoraphobic, has nighmares, backache and
breathing difficulties.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Hamid Bostandzija, from Jajce,
2. Mujo Zgonic, former employee of "Elektrobosna",
3. Zijad Skiljan, policeman at the Public Security Station in Jajce,
4. Zjajo Muharem,
5. Safet Mukic.
EVIDENCE: 561/94-6.
IV-201
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Nova Gradiska, the prison within the barracks, in late
1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: There was a detained women's room just across the room
with detained men.
ZNG members would often burst into those rooms and rape detained women.
The women's screams could be heard coming from that room almost every day.
Among the detained women there was an injured young girl from Zajecar who
was raped by several of them. They also forced a captured young man to rape
her. The witness gave the young man's name.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
ZNG members and the prison warden.
EVIDENCE: 423/94.
IV-202
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Tuzla, the detention camp in the airport hangars,
December
1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: As a member of the Republic of Srpska Army the witness
was captured in early December 1993 and taken immediately to the airport
hangar in Tuzla. He was put in a room size 4 m by 3 m with 26 other Serbs. Due
to lack of space, they could not lie but only squat or sit with their backs
against the wall.
It was pitch dark in this room. At night an electric bulb was turned on.
An electric bell was switched on so that it rang all night long preventing the
detainees from falling asleep.
As soon as the witness arrived, they took off parts of his uniform so
that he remained only in his long pants and undershirt.
The detainees were not given anything to eat during the first three days.
After that they gave them the debris of the meals given to Moslem soldiers, in
old tins, and as they were not given either spoons or forks, nor a knife, they
drank liquid food and ate the rest with their hands.
The hygiene at the detention camp was poor: the detainees were not given
any water to wash themselves, nor could they wash their faces and had to
relieve themselves in a pail in a corner of the same room in which they were
detained.
Moslem soldiers subjected the detainees to different kinds of abuse and
torture on a daily basis.They once brought a 2 cm wide board into the room and
forced the detainees to hit their heads against it saying they wanted to see
whose head was the hardest.
They forced detainees to have sex with each other, made the detainees
penetrate each other's rectum or perform fellatio on each other.
At night women's shrieks and screams for help could be heard, most
probably coming from the women being raped.
The detention camp was twice visited by the International Red Cross but
the witness believes that as for the first time it had not been a genuine Red
Cross delegation. During the second visit, assailed by fears as they were,
they had to say that they were fine at the detention camp even though it could
be concluded that their living conditions were deplorable.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Camp commander at the airport in Tuzla;
2. "Kameni" (Stone), a high-ranking official at the detention camp,
short, fair and with an aquiline nose, as well as other Moslems working at the
detention camp.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record filed with the Committee under No.
88/95.
IV-203
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Gornji Rahic, commune Brcko, September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: During and after the attack launched by the
Moslem-Croatian armed formations on the village of Bukvik on 14 September
1992, the civilians who had been unable to run away from the village were
captured and all their valuable personal effects including cash, gold,
clothes, etc. were confiscated. They were then taken to the detention camp at
Gornji Rahic. Following the orders of Pljakic and Avdic, the guards in the
detention camp Hadzic, Causevic and Kalic tortured and subjected to inhumane
treatment the arrested civilians whom they were interrogating by pounding and
kicking them, by hitting them with rubber sticks and riflebutts and
threatening that they would slaughter them. In this manner they inflicted
severe bodily injuries on the following arrested civilians:
1. Pero Djukic, son of Pera, born on 7 September 1916 at Vujicic;
2. Rados Grbovic, son of Djordjije, born on 14 February 1933 in the
Pascensko area;
3. Pavle Mitrovic, son of Pavle, born on 23 April 1944 at Donji Bukvik;
4. Milenko Zaric, son of Paja, born on 1 February 1968 in Brcko;
5. Pavo Radic, son of Mihajlo, born on 2 October 1967 in Brcko;
6. Cvijetin Radic, son of Cvijetin, born on 6 January 1962 in Bukovac;
7. Borislav Piperac, son of Pera, born on 8 January 1962 at Gajevi;
8. Vasa Djukic, son of Sava, born on 17 March 1962 at Vujicic.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ramiz Pljakic, commander of the 108th HVO brigade
2. Kadrija Avdic, son of Alija, born on 23 September 1959 at Ratkovici,
warden of the detention camp at Gornji Rahic;
3. Galib Hadzic, son of Himza, born on 21 November 1947 in Brcko, chief
detention camp inspector;
4. Omer Causevic, son of Meda, born on 17 March 1968 in Bijelo Polje,
chief detention camp guard and
5. Nijaz Kalic, "Bego", detention camp guard.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing records, medical findings and a medical
specialist's opinion on the witness's injuries, all filed with the Committee
under No. 144/95-3.
IV-204
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Gornji Rahic and Maoci, commune Brcko, May- September
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: During May and September 1992 Moslem-Croatian armed
formations sent captured Serb civilians to the detention camps at Gornji
Rahic, Maoci and Tuzla.
The guards and the members of the Military Police Force in those
detention camps tortured and abused the detained civilians (hit them with iron
bars, plastic cables, inflicted wounds all over their bodies with knives, put
out cigarettes against their skin, a.s.o.) and also forced them to dig out
inactivated mines. The following detained civilians were treated in this
manner:
1. Aleksandar Pavlovic, son of Damjan, born on 4 February 1956 in
Obodovac;
2. Zoran Delic, son of Marko, born on 8 August 1960 in Brcko;
3. Milenko Radusic, son of Sava, born on 7 April 1969 in Brcko;
4. Ilija Dragicevic, son of Dusan, born on 5 June 1962 in Brcko;
5. Vasiljko Todic, son of Stanko, born on 6 May 1956 in Jablanica.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Kadrija Avdic, son of Alija, born on 23 September 1959 at Ratkovici,
former policeman at the Brcko Secretariat of the Interior at Gornji Rahic;
2. Galib Hadzic, son of Himza, born on 21 November 1947 at Brcko, former
police inspector in Brcko;
3. Osman Osmanovic, son of Semsa, born on 14 March 1960 in Brcko, former
police inspector in Brcko;
4. Novalija Fazlovic, son of Musa, born on 1 January 1948 in Isalamovac,
former police inspector in Brcko;
5. Ferid Fazlovic, son of Musa, born on 5 May 1954 at Islamovac,
graduated from the Faculty of Economy;
6. Ferhad Osmanovic, son of Semsa, born on 16 April 1954 in Brcko;
7. Redzo Adrovic, age 50, from Zivinice, detention camp warden in Tuzla,
former employee of the State Security Service (SDB) at Zivinice;
8. Bajazit Selimovic, age around 48, from Bratunac;
9. Vlada Matuzovic, age around 25, from Zivinice.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing records and medical documents filed under No.
144/95-17.
IV-205
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Rijeka, July 1993 - June 1994, the detention camp at the
garrison prison at Ciotina 24.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Having served his jail sentence passed by the
magistrate, on 16 July 1993 the witness was taken by inspector Ivo Radman to
the military garrison prison at Ciotina 24 near the railway station.
As soon as the witness arrived, they started hurling insults at him,
molested him and threaten to set him on fire. They put him in a room with 14
more Serbs whose names the witness has given.
They were in the habit of abusing and beating up detainees and the police
guardsmen battered them wherever they could and with whatever they got hold
of. The witness and other detainees spent all of their time indoors. They were
never taken for walks at all.
The witness gained the impression that nobody knew anything in this
prison.
They never interrogated nor tried the witness in court and it was only in
April 1994 that he was taken out for a walk for the first time.
With the assistance of the Serb community in Croatia, the witness came to
Yugoslavia via Hungary in late June 1994.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Tomislav Horvat, detention camp warden;
2. Nedeljko Hordic, age 25-26, from Rijeka;
3. Ivo Nazlic from Gospic living in Rijeka, used to force detainees to
strip naked and then batter them with a rod;
4. Tomica from Karlovac, HOS member, beat and tortured detainees, once
handcuffed the witness, placed the witness's hands on the table and cut into
his palms with a knife leaving visible scars;
5. Ivan Cindric from Slunj, remained there for a short while and most
often hurled insults at the detainees.
EVIDENCE: 532/94-5.
IV-206
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs.
PLACE AND TIME: Tuzla, the detention camp in the old mine near the
"Sloboda" stadium, second half of May 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was captured with 140 more JNA soldiers at
Kozlovac on 15 May and taken with all the others to the detention camp "Stari
Rudnik" (Old Mine) near the "Sloboda" stadium and detained underground.
There were 30 captured JNA soldiers in the premises.
They were battered every day. There were always 5 or 6 guards in front of
the room where they were locked up and they beat them with whatever they got
hold of, but most often with their feet, riflebutts and different kinds of
rods.
They were given food only once a day and on alternate days; their meal
consisted of some broth and a tin.
The guards were particularly fond of organizing fights between the
detained Serbs; the Serbs had to hit each other until the guards were
satisfied.
The detainees were forced to have homosexual intercourse with each other
as well as to place each other's sex organ into their mouths.
The detainees also had to eat their own faeces, pluck up grass and
several detainees had to let the guards urinate in their mouths.
During the 15-day period which the detainees spent in this detention
camp, some 10 of them soldiers were killed.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mithat Hadzimehmedovic, detention camp commander, 39, graduated from
the Faculty of Economics before the war and worked as an economist at "Rudar"
in Tuzla, encouraged torture against the detained Serbs;
2. Alija Mesanovic, 38, worked with the JNA before the war as a civilian
in the Military Command in Tuzla, performed executions himself, has his
separate unit, deputy detention camp commander;
3. Grbo Pasaga, took the lead in torturing the detained Serbs, owns two
brothels with detained Serb women.
EVIDENCE: Documents filed with the Committee under No. 127/95.
IV-207
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: The detention camp at Dretelj, second half of August
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: During her stay in this detention camp, the woman
witness was raped along number of other women whose names she gave.
A woman called Jasna was most cruel to the detainees and particularly
hard on women.
The witness recalled vividly a woman whose name she gave who was raped in
front of her husband and son, which was a horrible sight indeed.
The woman witness further stated that the murder of Boza Balaban from
Mostar, described in earlier reports, had made a terrible impression on her.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Jozo Golic, a Croat, HOS member and
2. Jasna, a HOS member.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record filed with the Committee under No.
595/95.
IV-208
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Sarajevo, Central Prison, February 1993 - November 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In August 1993 the witness was registered for the
first time by the International Red Cross. Even though he had spent more than
a year in prison, they kept hiding him from the Red Cross. On that occasion he
was examined by a physician who told him that he would urge for his release on
the grounds of poor health.
The detained Serb Zelic Dragan from Kljuc committed suicide following
repeated battery and ill-treatment at this prison.
Bajramovic, who often came to visit the detainees, molested them in a
number of different ways, beat them up and shot above their heads.
Several times foreign journalists were brought to the witness's cell and
shown the witness as a Chetnik leader who had distributed weapons to the Serbs
and organized an uprising against the Moslem authority. The witness was once
taken out to be filmed by a German TV crew and when he refused to let them
film him, he was beaten up by Dautovic.
During his detention, they gouged out with a bayonette one eye of a
person whose name the witness has given and burnt another detainee's hands
with red-hot wire.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ismet Bajramovic, "Celo", detention camp warden and
2. Dautovic, a guard.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing records filed with the Committee under No.
675/2-94.
IV-209
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Sarajevo, the prison at the former barracks "Viktor
Bubanj", the second half of 1992 and early 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After he was brought to this prison, the witness was
interrogated and the investigators took notes and told him that they would
type out the record later on.
When they brought the record two days later, the wintess insisted on
reading it by himself. Having done so, he realised that it did not reflect
what he had said but something else and therefore stated that he did not wish
to sign such a record. They immediately started beating him with their sticks.
The witness was afterwards also heard by Ignjac who told him that he was
interrogating him in his capacity as Public Prosecutor. Throughout the
interrogation there was a guard in the room who kept beating the witness all
the time while Ignjac demanded from the witness to admit everything.
The witness received a decision on his detention in this prison which
indicated that he should remain in custody for a month starting from 4 August
1992 even though he had been arrested a month earlier. He lodged a complaint
against such a verdict but the prison warden returned his appeal to him saying
there was nothing to complain about although the decision indicated in the
part concerning his right to legal remedy that the witness has the right to
lodge a complaint against such a decision within 3 days as from its receipt.
The witness was tried on 13 January 1993. His counsel for the defence
proposed that the hearing be postponed on account of the witness's poor health
for, as he indicated, the witness looked as if he had come out of Auschwitz.
Weighing 85 kilos when imprisoned, the witness weighed no more than 42 kilos
during the trial. The judge overruled this motion. The witness stated that he
was not a war criminal because he had not taken part in the war at all and
that he was arrested in hospital. During the trial the judge shouted at him
and ordered a police officer to beat him up. The witness was thrown out of the
court-room after that and was later told that he was sentenced to 15 years in
prison.
The witness remained in prison until 9 November 1994 when he was
exchanged.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ignjac, allegedly Public Prosecutor;
2. Fahrudin Tefdedaria, a guard.
EVIDENCE: 675/94-2.
IV-210
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Breza, the detention camp in the premises of
"Elektroterma", June - October 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: There were some 30 to 40 arrested Serbs in a cellar 6
m by 5 m. They were lying on the bare concrete floor without any coverlets.
The room was dark, with concrete floor and walls, without any windows or
light.
They were given food only once a day and it consisted of a small slice of
bread and two spoonfuls of boiled beans or rice. Occasionally they were given
some unsweetened tea as well.
They were repeatedly threatened that they would all be shot down, that no
Serb could live in a Moslem state. The perpetrators cursed their Chetnik
mother and Serb mother. When a Moslem soldier would enter, they would all have
to stand up and hail him with "Merhaba, Sir."
The detainees were often taken to the adjacent room to be beaten and to
sign some statements. The guards were particularly cruel to the younger
detained Serbs.
The detainees were told that they would be taken to be tried in court but
this has not happened.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Ante Markovic and other members of the "Green Berets" and HVO.
EVIDENCE: Witnesses 292/95-1, 292/95-2, 292/95-4.
IV-211
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Visoko, June - September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was arrested in his apartment by some
soldiers who wore HOS insignia and whom the witness had not known from before.
He was taken to Enver Basic's house in the village Srginje in whose cellar he
spent no less than three months with three more Serbs from Visoko before they
were transferred to another detention camp.
He was asked where the Serbs had their radio-station, whether he had any
weapons, which party some particular Serbs belonged to and the like. During
the questioning, the witness and others were beaten with sticks all over their
bodies and especially in the shin and thigh areas, on their backs and heads.
The witness stated that while they were hitting him on the head with their
sticks he thought that his head would burst and then fainted. They splashed
water on him and then went on beating him.
Several times a day they would take the witness to another room where
there were as many as 50 soldiers with sticks.
They were given food only once a day and their meals only consisted of a
small slice of bread and some meat paste.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Zeherovic from the village of Bradve near Visoko, formerly worked at
the "Zvezda" construction enterprise at Visoko.
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-22.
IV-212
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Zenica, the detention camp at the Music School, end 1992
- early 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: As soon as the witness was brought to this detention
camp, a policeman hit him with his head in the nose area and as a result the
witness's nose began to bleed.
The Music School is a three-storey building and it housed arrested Serbs
on all three floors. The witness was incarcerated in the basement.
The witness could hear screams and moans coming from other rooms on all
three floors both by day and at night.
As soon as the witness and other Serbs were arrested and brought to the
detention camp, Faruk Abdic ordered that their passenger vehicles be taken
away from them and that they sign certificates attesting to the voluntary
handing over of those motor-cars to the Moslem Army.
During interrogations, they would most often hold the "Scorpion" barrel
against the witness's temple and hit him with their riflebutts. They also
kicked him and other detainees with their booted feet, especially in the
kidney area.
At night masked soldiers would burst into the rooms and without saying a
single word proceed to beat the detainees viciously until the latter fainted.
They were given some food only once a day, and on certain days they would
not get anything at all. Their meals most often consisted of a small slice of
bread and two or three spoonfuls of boiled beans. When he got out of the
detention camp the witness weighed 46 kilos, and at the time when he was
brought to this detention camp - 75 kilos.
At that time people at the detention camp claimed that nobody could get
out of the Music School alive. However, one day a representative of the
International Red Cross came, the detainees obtained Red Cross registration
cards and were transferred to the Penitentiary in Zenica.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATORS:
1. Faruk Abdic, detention camp commander;
2. Rasim Draginovic;
3. Smajo and
4. Hodza, guards.
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-22.
IV-213
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Rama, near Gornji Vakuf, in late April 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Having been captured as a member of the former
Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), the witness was taken to the former Police
Station at Rama.
They introduced him there as a "Chetnik Duke", tied his hands and feet to
a metal post in a room which they kept open, and called on passers-by to do
whatever they pleased with him. Civilians entered the room, kicked and pounded
the witness and an old woman who moved with the help of a stick said that she
could not pound him with her fists and then used her stick to beat him on the
head with it.
After that, some uniformed Croatian soldiers in black uniforms with the
"U" sign - a sign of the Ustashi fascist formations in the Second World War -
took him out of that room, tied him to a power-line pole and told him that he
would be executed by a firing squad. Prior to that they had cropped his hair
and made a capital letter "U" on his skull.
They lined up the firing squad but then one of them said: "This is a
lenient sentence. He should be hanged." They then brought a bench, made him
get on it, tied one end of the rope to a branch of a nearby tree and put the
other end, i.e. the noose, around his neck.
A Croat who knew the witness passed by then and prevented them from
hanging him. They made him get off the bench, blindfolded him and took him to
another prison.
The witness was taken to the Police Station at Rama where he was tortured
particularly viciously by Ambrozije Tovilo, who stabbed him with a knife into
his left forearm. When blood gushed from the wound Tovilo licked it off the
knife blade for the other Croatian soldiers to see and then they, too, started
licking it off and smearing it all over their faces.
The group included two volunteers from the Netherlands and Davor
Glasnovic from Canada.
Tovilo pulled out three toenails from the witness's right foot with his
tongs. In addition to wounding the witness on his left forearm, he also cut
him on the neck with a knife leaving a visible scar.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ambrozije Tovilo, "Okolja",
2. Davor Glasnovic, volunteer from Canada and
3-4. volunteers from Holland.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record 234/95-6.
IV-214
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Grude, the detention camp beneath the garage for the
repair of motor vehicles, early May 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The interrogated witness, a POW, was brought from
Livno to Grude and detained beneath this garage.
The witness was brought to the garage by some uniformed soldiers who had
also brought other detainees there and was then beaten by them with their
booted feet, sticks and riflebutts. When he fell, they made him get back on
his feet again only to beat him some more until he fainted.
When he fainted, they threw him into a canal which they covered with
boards and after some time they removed the planks, took him out and continued
beating him.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ivan Prilic and other Croatian Army members.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record No. 234/95-6.
IV-215
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Ljubuski, the detention camp in the former prison
building, in June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The interrogated witness told the investigating judge
the following:
"...While I was detained at the detention camp in Ljubusko in the summer
of 1992, one day they brought in an elderly civilian from Stolac, a Serb by
nationality. They tortured him.
They told him they would let him go if he confessed that he had killed
Croats and he swallowed the bait.
We watched it all. The old man said: "Yes, I did."
The Ustasha asked: "How many?"
"Thirteen."
The Ustasha could not believe his ears. They beat the witness some more.
He then said he had killed 18.
Then Nedjo Macic approached the witness and suddenly gouged his eye out
with a knife. We heard a moan.
The Ustashi ordered: "Swallow it". The man had his own eye in his hand
and was trembling all over.
I was watching it all and was dumbfounded.
The Ustashi took the eye and pushed it into the victim's mouth. He pushed
and pushed until he forced him to swallow it...".
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Nedjo Macic, a guard,
2. Sinisa Tomic, detention camp warden at Ljubusko.
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-6.
IV-216
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Ljubuski, the detention camp in the former prison
building from June to August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was detained around a month in this
detention camp. During that time he was taken together with other detained
Serbs to do forced labour in the most scorching heat.
When a detainee from his group ran away, the Croatian soldiers who looked
after them battered them all most viciously. They did not give them anything
to eat, nor any water at all for no less than 15 days.
During that time they gave them a spoonful of salt a day in order to make
them even thirstier and thus cause unbearable suffering.
From this detention camp the witness was taken in stretchers to Stolac
where he was exchanged.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Sinisa Tomic, detention camp warden at Ljubuski,
2. Kraso Paradzic, "Cupo",
3. Nedjo Macic,
4. Ivica Susac,
5. Pero Antic,
6. Nedo Milicevic,
7. Nedo Matic,
8. Mladen Solin,
9. Branko Ernes, all of whom took the lead in battering the detained
Serbs at this detention camp.
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-6.
IV-217
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: The Kerestinec detention camp in Zagreb, February - June
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When the witness was brought to this detention camp,
he and the others were received by soldiers in Ustashi uniforms and with
Ustashi insignia and they started beating the detainees right away. The
detainees were battered every day and apart from that, the soldiers came up
with ever new methods of torture and humiliation.
The detainees were among other also tortured in the following way: they
would handcuff them and then tie the cuffs with a rope to a metal pipe under
the ceiling. They would then tighten the rope and thus suspend the detainees.
They would leave them hanging like that for an hour or two before bringing
them back to the ground. Meanwhile, they kept beating them so that most of the
inmates fainted.
The detainees were subjected to electric shocks which caused excruciating
pain.
They put out cigarettes against the detainees' bodies and placed a
spoonful of salt into their mouths, disallowing them later on to get any
water.
When the detainees went to the toilet to relieve themselves they would
interrupt them as soon as they began to urinate.
They forced the detainees to dance naked with the detained women and this
lasted from 22.00 to 04.00 at night.
They made the detained women kneel down and after they brought the
detained men to the room the women had to perform oral sex on them. Those
women had also been raped and some of them told the witness that they had been
raped by as many as 12 Croatian soldiers. The witness gave names of 8 women
who were detained in this detention camp.
They also brought rotten eggs which they cracked and pushed into their
mouths and those eggs gave off a terrible smell.
Among other things, they forced the detained Serbs to kiss the photograph
of the World War II Ustashi commander Ante Pavelic, as well as to sing Ustashi
songs.
The detainees slept on the floor, without any covers. It was only prior
to International Red Cross visits that they would bring beds into the rooms
with prisoners but would take them out after their departure.
As a result of battery, the witness sustained a multiple rib fracture
which did not heal properly.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
The Command and the personnel at the Kerestinec detention camp.
EVIDENCE: 292/95-7.
IV-218
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Poljare near Derventa, the detention camp at the
elementary school "Vuk Karadzic", 16 - 18 June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Upon his arrival in this detention camp the witness
found around 100 arrested Serbs there.
The warden of the Lipovac detention camp told him immediately that he
would be executed at 8.00 hrs the following day. The witness took the
information seriously because several days before a Stjepanovic and a Markovic
had been shot down at that detention camp.
The following day the witness and three more men were taken to the yard
and ordered to take off their clothes up to the waist, sit down against the
fence and turn round facing it. Lipovac gave a group of soldiers the command
to open fire, they fired a volley but the witness was not hit by any of their
bullets. After that the witness was returned to the detention camp and taken
immediately, together with other Serbs, to dig trenches in the village Vrhove.
The witness was taken to a mock execution once more.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Damir Lipovac, detention camp commander, father's name Ante, born in
1969 in Polje.
EVIDENCE: Witness 584/94-35.
IV-219
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: The detention camp Rabic near Derventa, late April-May
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Serbs detained at this detention camp were put in
the cellar where there was no light. They lay on the concrete floor, and as
water had been splashed over it they had to lie in water. They had no
bedlinen. They had to relieve themselves in the same room and as a result the
whole room stank terribly.
The detaineed Serbs were taken to be interrogated and battered every day.
They pulled out the toenails from both of the witness's feet with tongs. They
also chopped off a part of his finger together with the nail on his right
hand.
During the interrogation, the witness had to hold together three fingers
on both of his hands on the table while they kept wrapping him on the knuckles
with a knife and a stick. As a result they hurt his left-hand index finger.
During the first 13 days of their stay at this detention camp the
detainees were not given anything to eat, save a hot pepper and a pinch of
salt. They gave them a cup of water a day. After the first 13 days at the
detention camp they gave between 120 and 130 Serbs detained there a total of 4
kilos of bread a day.
Nobody could fall asleep at night because Croatian soldiers kept bursting
in every now and then and gave free rein to their desires by battering the
arrested Serbs. One evening they took the witness out of the detention camp
building, put a plastic bag on his head and brought him into a room where they
proceeded to interrogate him and beat him.
One day Azra Kovacevic cut the witness's left earlobe with garden
scissors inflicting a lasting scar. When a soldier whom others called
"Sandzaklija" saw the witness with such an ear, he said that they had damaged
what would be yet one more of his "souvenirs"; namely, he wore 6 or 7 cut-off
human ears tied to his belt. This "Sandzaklija" came to C.P. and stabbed his
knife into the man's left earlobe and chopped it off with a single cut.
The detention camp commander whom they called "Slovenac" told the witness
that he had been declared a war criminal and sentenced to death.
Zdravko Condric came over to the witness immediately after this incident
and told him that he could help the witness and save his life provided he gave
an interview to the Croatian Television and Radio. To save his life, the
witness agreed to say what they wanted him to and they filmed him.
After the filming was over the detention camp warden came to see the
witness and pretending he knew nothing about Condric's arrival with the press
he asked the witness who had interviewed him and why. He then took the witness
out into the yard and made him stand in front of a line of soldiers whom he
ordered to fire at the witness. Following his orders, the lined-up platoon did
open fire but above the witness's head.
The witness was brought before Croatian soldiers six times and shown as a
"Chetnik duke" and they battered him with their feet and fists.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Djura Decan, from the Osijek brigade
2. Mario Milos,
3. Grbic,
4. Azra Kovacevic,
5. unidentified man k.a."Sandzaklija", a soldier,
6. Zlatko Maras, from Zivinica near Derventa,
7. Josko Maras, from Zivinica near Derventa,
8. Marinko Maras, from Zivinica near Derventa,
9. Mirko Skoric, from Derventa,
10. Mato Skoric, from Derventa,
11. Mihad Hamzic, "Fric",
12-13. Brothers Haris and Muris Skelic,
14. "Slovenac", detention camp commander,
15. Zdravko Condric.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record 584/94-18 and relevant medical documents
(D-4).
IV-220
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Derventa, the detention camp in the former JNA Army Club,
mid-June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: As soon as the witness was brought to this detention
camp on 9 June the Croatian soldiers gave him a handful of salt which he had
to swallow and then took him to another room with some 25 arrested Serbs
there. They ordered him not to speak to them.
During the night they brought some more Serbs into this room so that
there were a total of 60 of them there. The rooms were only 4 m by 4 m large
so that they had to remain standing for there wasn't enough space for them to
sit or lie down.
At 10.00 hrs the following day two soldiers in HVO uniforms took the
witness to the corridor and ordered him to put his hands behind his neck and
bow his head. One of them mounted him and ordered him to crawl on all fours.
Thus, the witness had to make several circles giving this soldier a piggyback.
They ordered him after that to stand against the wall and started beating
him all over his body with sticks, fists, feet and rifle butts.
They kept beating him until he eventually fainted. Then they splashed
some water on him.
As a result of the inflicted wounds, he was covered in blood, swollen up
and bruised all over. After this they made him drink urine from the toilet
bowl.
He was detained there for 8 days. They beat him twice every day, usually
in the morning at 10.00 hrs and around 23.00 hrs in the evening.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Joka Vrdoljak's son, age 25-30 years, from Derventa, who beat the
witness every day.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record filed with the Committee under No.
584/94-35.
IV-221
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Derventa, the detention camp in the former JNA Army Club,
26 April 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When they conquered the Cardak community on the
outskirts of Derventa, the members of the Croatian and Moslem unit from
Derventa and the 108th Rijeka HVO Brigade, as well as the "Sandzaklija" units,
committed mass killings and slaughters of Serbs.
On that occasion 33 more persons were arrested together with the witness.
They started right away to beat them viciously, and then tied them up and
took them to the JNA Club with their hands behind their necks. At the Club
they started beating them and then ordered them to take off everything and
line up against the wall. They made them swallow a handful of salt each and
eat all Yugoslav money they had and took away their foreign currency.
They then started kicking them brutally with their booted feet. They also
battered them with their rifle butts, metal sticks 50 cm long and 1.5 cm in
diameter, with cables and nightsticks.
They kept beating them until they all fell on the floor. There was a lot
of broken glass strewn on the floor and they made them crawl or kneel down on
it.
In addition, they also had a piece of rope with a knot at one of its
ends; they would force the detainees to take the knot into their mouth and to
move around on all fours like dogs. They would then suddenly pull the rope by
the other end and thus knocked out many of the detainees' teeth.
The floor in the room where they were kept was covered in blood and Azra
and other Croatian soldiers forced them to lick it off.
All this lasted from 13.00 hrs when they brought them to this detention
camp until 22.00 hrs in the evening. They then took the interrogated witness,
who was naked, to a solitary confinement cell which was 1 m by 1 m large. They
splashed some water on him and it was there that he spent the rest of the
night.
The following morning they forced the witness and the other people from
Cardak, whom they had locked up in other rooms, to put on military uniforms,
even though they had all been arrested as civilians and in their homes, and
took photographs. After this, they were transferred to another detention camp.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Azra Kovacevic,
3. "Mornar" (Sailor),
4. "Mungos", all mebers of the Croatian army.
EVIDENCE: 584/94-18.
IV-222
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: The detention camp at the Retarded Children's Home at
Filip Jakov near Zadar, November 1991 - January 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 2 November 1992 a group of over 20 armed Croatian
soldiers took the witness out of his house in the village where they had been
keeping him in isolation, put him in a van and drove him to the police station
at Biograd. Later on they also brought his wife and four children there. After
a six hour delay they took them all to Filip Jakov and put them up in the
Retarded Children's Home.
There was only one wooden bed in the room where they were put up, a
chair, a privy and a washbasin. They gave two blankets to each one of them.
They had to sleep in pairs on the bed and four of them slept on the floor.
They were given some food every day and their meal consisted of a slice of
bread, two potatoes and sometimes a slice of salami which was given to them
stealthily by a nurse in white uniform. They kept all six of them in that room
for three months. After that, they gave the children a separate room. They did
not let them go out anywhere during the first three months, not even for walks
in the compound which was for that matter fenced around with wire.
When they eventually let them take a walk three months later they did not
permit them to talk to anyone. The witness noticed that in addition to
retarded patients, several arrested Serb families had also been put up in that
Home. They were under constant surveillance.
The witness holds that they were keeping them there in order to make them
go crazy.
Nine months later they were transferred to a detention camp at the
Elektroprivreda Rest Home where the witness stayed with his family until
January 1993 when the Croatian Police handed them over to the Serb authorities
at Rovanjski.
Upon his arrest the witness weighed 80 kilos and when he was released -
50 kilos. His wife and children have come out seriously traumatized.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Damir Klaric, from Vrana, member of the Croatian Army,
2. Miroslav Kapetanovic, member of the Croatian Army,
3. Unidentified guards and detention camp personnel at Filip Jakov.
EVIDENCE: 236/95-13.
IV-223
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Brod (Bosanski Brod), the detention camp at the warehouse
of the "Beograd" Department Store in the community Tulek, from 24 June - 6
October 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When the witness was brought to this detention camp,
there were only several arrested Serbs from Brod there but their number grew
in the course of the following few days especially after the arrival of the
Serbs from Derventa and Odzak.
Croatian soldiers came to this detention camp both by day and at night to
batter viciously all detained Serbs.
The detained Serbs were taken out of the detention camp every day to dig
trenches in the nearby villages along the frontline as well as to remove roofs
from Serb houses and take out furniture and other things from them.
Meanwhile the Croatian soldiers who guarded the Serbs beat them up
mercilessly and threatened to send their corpses via the Sava River to Serbia.
While the detainees were digging trenches in the village Zeravac, they
used them as a live shield for Croatian combat lines. They ordered the
detainees to sing Ustashi songs. However, the Serb army did not open fire at
them.
There were also women at this detention camp and they were raped by
Croatian soldiers who had free access to them.
They also forced certain detained Serbs to rape the women and made the
witness rape N.M.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Goran Garic, detention camp commander.
EVIDENCE: 584/94-20.
IV-224
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Zadar and its environs from 25 May to 6 June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After they captured the witness, who was a soldier of
the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK), Croatian soldiers battered him on the very
spot where they had captured him. They kept beating him until he fainted. When
he came round, he found himself at the quarry at Bibinje where they subjected
him to some more beating. He received around 50 blows on all parts of his
body.
He was then taken to Sukosan near Zadar and put up in a deserted house
with bars on its windows. He was locked up in a room which had been adapted to
serve as a cell and was severely beaten up once again until he fainted. At
night he overheard some Croatian soldiers saying to each other that they
should not have beaten him so hard for they would now be unable to interrogate
him. A physician came to the cell and gave him a shot. A woman journalist
representing Radio Zadar also visited the witness and put pressure on him to
make a statement whose contents she told him.
The following day they took the witness to the place where they had
captured him and then again back to Sukosan but this time they locked him up
in another house. He overheard the Croatian soldiers making arrangements for
his liquidation. After that the Croatian Military Police took him to the
"Marko Oreskovic" barracks in Zadar. The witness was beaten by at least 50
soldiers and policemen as he passed from the entrance to the barracks compound
to the first floor. They brought him to a room on the first floor where there
was no light at all. They beat him every day there, usually by dealing him
karate blows and most often when he went out to relieve himself. They once
forced him to take urine out of a clogged toilet bowl with a tin and drink it.
He was exchanged on 6 June 1992 at Zitnic. He had a large number of
injuries and the TV crews filmed them.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Unidentified Croatian soldiers;
2. N. Usljebrka, detention camp commander at Sukosan.
EVIDENCE: Witness 236/95-23.
IV-225
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: Slavonski Brod, the detention camp at the restaurant "Kod
Bardaka" from 1992 to 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The cellar of this restaurant was used as a detention
camp for the Serbs from Slavonski Brod and its environs. There were at times
as many as 80 Serbs detained there. They called this detention camp a torture
house for the Serbs.
They tortured the Serb detainees at this detention camp among other also
by sprinkling salt acid all over their bodies, thus causing the decomposition
of their tissues and excruciating pain.
They also applied salt acid on the body of a Vlada Milic from Slavonski
Brod whose leg had to be amputated after that and who died as a result.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Bilandzic, "Suger", Military Police commander in Slavonski Brod,
2. Ilija Filipovic, who executed Bilandzic' orders,
3. Trgomet, "Glavonja".
EVIDENCE: 359/95-1 and 359/95-2.
IV-226
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Inhumane treatment of detainees - POWs
PLACE AND TIME: The detention camp at Celebici near Konjic, June - August
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 15 June 1992 members of Moslem armed formations
locked up the witness together with other Serbs from the village of Brdjani
near Konjic, in the Celebici detention camp.
As soon as the witness and other Serbs arrived the guards shot above
their heads from automatic rifles in order to scare them and then put up the
witness and six more detainees into a concrete manhole around 4 meters deep
and 1 meter in diameter which they closed and tied the metal lid with a wire.
The detainees spent 20 hours in that manhole. When they took the detainees out
of the manhole they were half dead for lack of oxygene.
The detainees at this detention camp were starving and thirsty and the
witness had no stool for 34 days. Upon his arrival at the detention camp he
weighed 100 kilos and later on only 70 kilos.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Zdravko Mucic, "Pavo", detention camp commander.
EVIDENCE: 178/94-3.
V WILFUL KILLING AND INHUMAN TREATMENT OF WOUNDED AND SICK PRISONERS
V-056
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Kuline near Derventa, April 30, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Vasilije Patkovic, of father Simo, born on December
20, 1922, in the village of Vinski, the municipality of Bosanski Brod, lived
in the village of Kuline, was slaughtered at the doorstep of his house on
April 30, 1992.
He was disabled, without the right leg, and was alone at home when the
Croat unit came in and killed him.
The neighbors buried him in his yard. On September 10, 1993, the
investigative judge of the Basic Court in Derventa, exhumated his body and Dr.
Ljubomir Curkic performed the autopsy. Broken bones in the back of his head,
sized 7x9 cm were also established.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ivan Duspada, chief of the Security Service in Derventa,
2. Iko Stanic, president of the Croatia Democratic Union (HDZ) for
Derventa.
EVIDENCE: Records of the hearing of late Patkovic's son, Luka, filed with
the Committee under No. 438/94-4, as well as the victim's brother Risto
Patkovic under No. 584/94-21, including the records on exhumation and autopsy
of the Basic Court in Derventa Kri. 78/93.
V-057
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: Nova Gradiska, October 1991-January 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness had to lie in bed because he had been
wounded in both legs by a sniper.
Soldiers of the Croat forces attacked the village Sinlije where the
witness lived on October 10. The witness was lying in bed in his pyjamas when
soldiers of the Croatian National Guard (ZNG) broke into his house, put a
knife under his throat and pushed a rifle barrel in his mouth, threatening
that they were going to kill him. Then they ordered him to get up and follow
them.
When all the Serbs from the village were forced from their homes, they
started burning their houses.
Then they took them all to the Detention detention camp in Nova Gradiska.
The witness was placed in the army post in Gradiska, which had been
turned into a detention detention camp. There were 20 more Serbs in the room
where he was put.
They started beating the Serbs immediately, with rifles, sticks and
hammers. Since they had taken the witness's crutches before, he did not have a
support and fell down immediately.
A soldier often burst into the rooms to beat the detained Serbs.
The witness stayed in this detention detention camp until January 16,
1992.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Stjepan Aric from the village of Zakolje near Nova Gradiska and other ZNG
(Croatian National Guard) soldiers.
EVIDENCE: Records on the witness hearing before the investigative judge
of the Municipal Court in Prijepolje, filed with the Committee under No.
57/95.
V-058
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: Rajski Do, the municipality of Trnovo, November 12, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On November 12, on Rogoje, at the place called Kucin,
soldiers of Muslim-Croat formations captured and killed the wounded soldier of
the Army of the Republic of Srpska Pero Vitkovic, born in 1950 in Trnovo,
private truck operator from Trnovo.
His remains were found on September 18, 1993, in Rajski Do, near the
Rajski Do Hotel, about 5 km away from the place where he had been captured and
wounded.
Vitkovic's legs were firmly tied with a metal cable 6-7 meters long,
about 6 mm thick. The other end of the cable was tied to a piece of wood about
80 cm long and 6-8 cm thick. His bones were mostly broken, especially the
bones of his skull which was smashed, and parts of his clothings were torn.
All this indicates that Pero Vitkovic's body was dragged along from the place
where he had been
captured in Kucin to Rajski Do, probably tied to a vehicle.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Ethem Godinjak, of father Ibrahim, born on November 20, 1951, in
Sarajevo, a Muslim, head of the Secretariat of the Interior, Trnovo, before
the war.
EVIDENCE: Records on the investigation, photo-documentation and other
evidence filed with the Committee under No. 228/94.
V-059
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Jablanica, the municipality of Lopare,
August 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In the village of "Grabik", on August 19, the military
ambulance E-2369 which carried a sick and another wounded soldier of the
Republic of Srpska, who sustained wounds in a battle near Jablanica earlier
that day, was attacked by the soldiers of the Muslim-Croat armed formations
from Jablanica, from an ambush, with a light weapon ("Wasp"). The attacked
ambulance went up in flames, and the following persons were burnt:
1. Radomir Micic, of father Srba, born on March 20, 1961, in Peljeve,
severely wounded,
2. Vladan Bozic, of father Milan, born on January 21, 1971, in Jablanica,
sick,
3. Vojislav Jankovic, of father Mitar, born on December 7, 1958 in
Jablanica, aidman, and
4. Bozidar Abadzic, of father Savatije, born on September 24, 1970, in
Jablanica, the ambulance driver.
All were from the Army Post 5500.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Soldiers of the Muslim-Croat armed formations from Jablanica.
EVIDENCE: Records on the investigation, photo-documentation and the
drawing of the site, all in the documents 171/95-4.
V-060
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Bukvik, the municipality of Brcko,
September 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: During the attack against the village of Bukvik and
other nearby Serb villages on September 14, 1992, soldiers of the Muslim-Croat
armed formations occupied the bandage room in the house of Cedo and Manda
Pajic where the persons who had been wounded during the attack were placed.
Mensur Djakic, as commander of the battalion, issued the order that the
captured wounded civilians be shot immediately, which Sevket Ljubinovic
carried out. He killed the following persons that day:
1. Zivan Radic, of father Mihajlo, born on September 20, 1966, in
Bukovac, who had been wounded in the head,
2. Savo Veselinovic, of father Ilija, born on September 4, 1939, in
Vitanovici, who had been wounded in the leg,
3. Vlajko Puric, of father Avram, born on September 5, 1940, in Bukovac,
who had been wounded in the left shoulder.
The mother of Radic Zivan, one of the killed, testifies:
"... My Zivan was wounded in such a way that the bullet entered his mouth
from the right and exited on the top of his head... As I was watching my son
and the others, Muslim soldiers came in and one of them pointed his rifle into
my back, telling the others to shoot the wounded. He said: "kill the wounded",
and they, in my presence, fired a burst in Zivan's chest and in the chest of
the other two wounded men. They pushed me and then took me away to the
detention detention camp with the others ...".
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mensur Djakic, of father Salko, born on August 25, 1949, in Brcko,
commander of the battalion of the 108th Brcanska brigade,
2. Sevket Ljubinovic, of father Jusuf, born in 1953 in Brka.
EVIDENCE: Testimonies by 12 witnesses in the documents under 144/95-3, as
well as 617/95-8, 617/95-9, 617/95-25, 617/95-26 and 617/95-33.
V-061
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: Zenica, detention detention camp in penitentiary,
June-October, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Although he had been severely wounded, the witness was
kept in the "Crkvice" municipal hospital in Zenica for only 6 days. After
that, he was transferred to the detention detention camp within the
penitentiary in Zenica. Even though immobile, he was placed in the part of the
detention camp with about 400 other arrested Serbs from the surroundings of
Zenica. He lied on the floor without any spread or cover.
Every day, and especially at night, Muslims soldiers took out the
arrested Serbs and the witness heard screams and calls for help. They came
back beaten up, blue, swollen and bleeding.
They told him that they were beaten in a room which had 10-15 cm of water
on the floor.
The witness stayed in this detention camp until the end of October 1992,
when he was exchanged.
He was arrested as a civilian and no charges were brought against him.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Firad Sisak, warden of penitentiary Zenica.
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-8.
V-062
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: Split, "Firule" Hospital, the middle of 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After the torture in the Ljubuski prison, the witness
lost consciousness and was taken to the "Firule" hospital in Split.
When he came to again, a nurse at the "Firule" hospital told him that he
had ustashi blood inside now and then that all chetnik blood had been taken
out.
One day, during his stay in this hospital, the witness was recognized by
Jakov Pasalic who was in a wheelchair. Pasalic first hit him in the nose area
and broke his nose bones, and then ordered him to take off the sheet with
which he was covered. Having taken a stick from the policeman who guarded the
witness, Pasalic beat the witness all over his body, and on the soles of his
feet. He was hitting so hard that the witness's body turned black all over.
The beating lasted until the doctor on duty came and stopped it.
Since Pasalic threatened the witness that he was certainly going to kill
him next time, the witness was transferred to the "Lora" prison, Split, 4-5
days later.
In the "Lora" prison, Tomo Vrgic said: "Here comes another chetnik" and
kicked him in the jaw that had already been broken on three places. His jaw
broke and the witness was returned to the hospital where it was fixed again
and wires were placed without anesthesia. Immediately afterwards, he was taken
back to "Lora".
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Jakov Pasalic, from Rujan near Livno.
2. Tomo Vrgic, called "Tinci", guards in the "Lora" prison, Split.
EVIDENCE: 234/95-6.
V-063
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: Konjic, December 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Having had a stroke, Slavko Mitric from Konjic, 63,
moved and talked with difficulty.
Soldiers of the Muslim-Croat police beat him up for the first time on
December 1, in the street, just because he was a Serb. A non-Serb
acquaintance, a woman, who happened to pass by, saved him from further
beatings.
The other time, on December 22, when he did not return home, his wife
called Radio Konjic and asked for help. They replied via radio that her
husband had been taken to the Headquarters of the Croat-Muslim Army and that
he was going to be brought back home. Two hours later, when he did not return,
she called the Headquarters and was informed that he had left for the
hospital.
The wife went to the hospital, where she found her husband, who had been
brought there five minutes before. He was covered with blood, had numerous
wounds on his head, arms, legs, and other parts of the body.
After that, he ran a very high temperature and it was impossible to
establish any contact with him.
He died a few months later.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Jasmin Guska, chief of the Public Security Service, Konjic, and
2. Zejnel Delalic, commander of the Territorial Defense, Konjic.
EVIDENCE: 123/95.
V-064
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: Jablanica, detention detention camp in the Museum of the
Revolution, November - March 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was captured as a severely wounded soldier
of the Republic of Srpska.
He was taken to a detention detention camp for Serbs in the basement of
the museum in Jablanica, near the stadium. He was placed in a window-less room
with, according to his assessment, about 60 other Serb prisoners. Camp
Commander Dzino Seno beat the witness and, threatening to take his intestines
out with the knife, made a cut in his stomach.
Deputy Commander Nihad cut off the witness's left toes, one by one. Agan
Nezir in person cut off his right toe.
The wintess's four toes were thus cut-off. Nihad then brought a Serbian
fur hat with cockade as a Serb symbol, ordered the witness to put it on and
then gave him a statement which he was forced to read before the Muslim TV
cameras. Only after that, the witness was given a bandage to dress his
bleeding feet.
The witness was beaten every day and was also forced to drink urine.
After forty days, he was registered by the International Red Cross.
However, he did not dare complain to their delegation about the harassment in
prison. It was only due to the help of the International Red Cross, whose
doctor stated that he had lost a lot of blood and was festering, that he was
transferred to the hospital in Jablanica where both his feet were amputated. 6
days later, he was returned to the detention camp in the museum. On one
occasion, in the hospital, a soldier called Nihad came. He put brandy into the
infusion to which the witness was connected. He also forced the witness to
take a handful of apaurine pills and drink brandy after that.
After his return from the hospital, the witness was again subjected to
beating and molestation.
The witness was given the name of a captured Serb officer who, even
though he was wounded in this detention camp, spent 53 days handcuffed to a
strongbox.
Before the exchange, the prosthesis provided to him by the Red Cross,
with the help of which he was able to move, had been removed and taken away
from him.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Seno Dzino, commander of the detention camp located in the museum in
Jablanica, worked in the Secretariat of the Interior in Jablanica before the
war,
2. Nihad, born in Sandzak, deputy detention camp commander,
3. Agan Nezir, chief of the IV Corps of the Muslim Army,
4. Nihad, Muslim soldier.
EVIDENCE: 392/95.
V-065
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Deliberate killing and inhuman treatment of wounded
and sick persons
PLACE AND TIME: Zadar and its surroundings, January-May 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After they captured 15 Serb soldiers on January 23,
1993, at their position near Maslenica, the Croat soldiers killed three
wounded Serbs on the spot, and took the others to prison, beating them
incessantly on the way. Near Starigrad, one more prisoner died of the wounds
inflicted on him.
The remaining Serb prisoners stayed in prisons until the exchange on May
25, 1993. They were subjected to beatings and other inhumane treatment by the
prison authorities, but also by civilians, soldiers and women.
The following soldiers of the Republic of Srpska were imprisoned:
1. Zivko Badza,
2. Stevan Veselinovic,
3. Nikola Grozdanovic,
4. Gnjatovic Djuro,
5. Slobodan Jokic,
6. Rade Kljajic Peric,
7. Djuro Kuridza,
8. Zeljko Komazec,
9. Jovo Loncar,
10. Bosko Ljubicic Mijic,
11. Jovan Oluic,
12. Ilija Oluic,
13. Obrad Peselj,
14. Dusan Radmilovic,
15. Strahinja Svonja.
The following severely wounded captured Serb soldiers were killed on the
spot:
1. Bosko Ljubicic-Mijic, of father Nikola, born 1952 in Krupa,
2. Obrad Peselj, of father Ilija, born 1950 in Bilisani,
3. Zivko Badza, of father Jovan, born 1956 in Bilisani.
Bosko Ljubicic-Mijic was killed by a Croat soldier who fired a burst from
automatic rifle in him, from close distance, because he tried to pass a water
flask to his wounded friend Zivko Badza.
A Croat soldier threw a bomb at Obrad Peselj, who had been severely
wounded and was unable to get out of pool. He was left dead there.
When Zivko Badza, who was, like Peselj, wounded in the bomb explosion
asked the Croatian soldiers to give him some water, one of them asked "Would
you like some whiskey?" and shot him from an automatic rifle, from close
vicinity.
Before these killings, the witnesses heard the Croat soldiers reaching an
agreement to kill the wounded soldiers because "they could not walk".
Having taken them prisoner, the Croat soldiers took the remaining 12 Serb
soldiers via Starigrad to Zadar. On the way, they beat them with all kinds of
objects, stopped from time to time to let both the Croat soldiers and
civilians whom they met on the way beat the prisoners, all the way to the
Headquarters in Starigrad, where a row of Croat soldiers awaited them, to beat
them some more. The prisoners Slobodan Jokic and Jovo Oluic were beaten up
separately. Cigarettes
were extinguished on Slobodan Jokic's face.
When the beaten-up prisoners were thrown back on the truck in the
evening, the same truck by which they were brought from Starigrad to Zadar,
4. Slobodan Jokic, of father Mihajlo, born in 1968 in Zadar, was not
among them.
The witnesses saw that Jokic was ordered to get out of the truck by a
Croat soldier who had been known to them, who beat him and molested him. Jokic
was beaten by other Croat soldiers as well. He died of the wounds inflicted on
him. Jokic's corpse was exchanged by the Croats on May 23, 1993.
The beaten up prisoners from Starigrad were taken by Croat soldiers to
Razanac by boat and as they disembarked, they were ordered to stand against
the wall of a building, with their hands up. As they were standing in that
positions, local residents were also allowed to beat them. After the beating,
they were taken to Zadar by truck in which cattle had been transported and the
floor was covered with excrements. In the part of Zadar called Vostarnica, the
prisoners were lined-up again and civilians were allowed to beat them. As a
result of the beatings, most of the prisoners fainted.
They were, then, taken to the "Marko Oreskovic" army post, where they
were handcuffed in pairs and kept without food and water for two days. The
soldiers, guards and other persons beat them in a separate room during that
time.
Two days later, they were taken to the District Court in Zadar. On the
way to the prison, the policemen beat them with sticks. They were placed in
several cells and beaten regularly, every day. They were taken out at night,
ordered to kneel down and put their hands up, and in that position, they were
beaten with soldier boots, heavy-hiking boots, fists and objects. They were
also beaten by women who entered the prison freely. The women pulled the
prisoners by their hair and made them open their mouth, so that they could
spit inside. One woman lit the mustache of a soldier and forced him to swallow
the burnt mustache hairs. They also made the prisoners beat each others and
if, in their opinion, the prisoners did not do it strongly enough, the guards
beat them in addition. They forced the prisoners to sing Ustashi songs, and a
song which they made-up about their friend Jokic who was killed on the way.
They also forced the prisoners to lick dust, to eat excrements from the
toilet, to kiss the soles of the guards' shoes. They urinated in the
prisoners' mouth. They put a door handle in one prisoner's mouth, telling him
that it was chicken meet. They put the prisoner's heads in garbage cans,
holding the rifle at their heads as they did it.
Some prisoners were forced to satisfy the guards who put their sexual
organs in the prisoners' mouth.
Once a month, the prisoners were visited by a doctor, but since he was
accompanied by a guard, they did not dare complain. The doctor prescribed some
medicines, which they never received.
They were entitled to ask for the medical check-up, but if they did it,
the medical staff and the patients in the medical institution battered them.
Although they did not dare complain to the representatives of the Red
Cross that they were being beaten, the Red Cross representatives could reach a
respective conclusion based on their condition.
The prisoners were given very little food, consisting of a slice of bread
and a piece of canned meat or a small cup of something that was supposed to
look like a soup.
All the documentation related to the proceedings against the captured
Serb
soldiers had been taken away from them before they were exchanged on May 25,
1995, near Otocac. Most of them are now severely disabled as a consequence of
tortures.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Zlatko Kurtovic, commander of the Croatian Army unit that had captured
Serb soldiers, and soldiers of his unit;
2. Ante Busic, born of August 23, 1952, in Gorica, near Grude, of father
Jozo, president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in Obrovac (beat up
Jokic Slobodan, who died of the wounds inflicted on him),
3. Branko Brkic, investigative judge who conducted the investigation, who
asked the prisoners whether they had been beaten even though he saw clearly
that they had, but if any answered "yes", he ordered that the he be returned
to the cell, where he was battered even more brutally,
4. Jurjevic, soldier of the Croatian Army (HV) (participated in beating
up Slobodan Jokic and other prisoners in Starigrad),
5. Ivica Erlic, aged about 25, guard in the District Court in Zadar, from
Tinj, (was among those who took the lead in beating up and molesting the
imprisoned Serb soldiers),
6. Edi Bajilo, aged about 28, guard in the District Court in Zadar, from
Arbanas near Zadar (was among those who took the lead in beating up and
molesting the imprisoned Serb soldiers),
7. Ivica Usljebrka, guard in the District Court in Zadar, from Bjeljina,
near Benkovac, (was among those who took the lead in beating up and molesting
the imprisoned Serb soldiers),
8. Josko Dubroja, aged about 25, guard in the District Court in Zadar,
from Zemunik, (was among those who took the lead in beating up and molesting
the imprisoned Serb soldiers).
EVIDENCE: Witnesses 236/95-15, 236/95-16, 236/95-17, 236/95-18,
236/95-19, 236/95-20, 101/95 and 291/95.
VI HOSTAGE TAKING AND DETENTION CAMPS
VI - 050
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Taking of hostages and establishment of detention
camps.
PLACE AND TIME: Bjelovar, May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was captured at Seovica on 4 May 1995 and
transferred with a group of around 40 arrested persons to Bjelovar. He was
first placed in a sports hall. Their names were noted down there and they were
then ordered to take a cold shower. After that the interrogations began.
The detainees were interrogated both in the civilian prison and in the
investigating military prison. The witness was detained at both of those
prisons.
At first, at the civilian prison, he was placed in a very stuffy cell
together with 8 or 9 other detainees. Whenever they were brought into the
office for a hearing, they were beaten with truncheons, kicked and punched.
The witness saw that P.S. was battered the hardest and as a result could
hardly walk at all. The witness does not know anything about his present
whereabouts.
On 13 May the witness was transferred to the investigating prison of the
Military Court in Bjelovar. As soon as he was brought there, they lined him
and others up against a wall and told them to place their foreheads and toes
against the wall and put their hands behind their back. They spent an hour and
a half in that position before they were summoned to the courtroom.
The witness was heard by the Military investigating judge Mihael Malcic.
After having spent two days and two nights in that prison, the witness was
told on 15 May that he was free to go.
However, prior to that, he was locked up with others in a bathroom where
they stayed for 24 hrs. After that they were transferred to Seovica where they
were placed under house arrest.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR: Members of the Croatian armed forces.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-7.
VI-051
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Hostage taking and the establishment of detention
detention camps
PLACE AND TIME: Travnik, the detention detention camp at the "Petar
Mecava" army post, October - early November, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When he was brought to this detention camp, the
witness was informed about his alleged statement that a radio-station, a
sniper-rifle and 1,000 bullets had been found in his house, even though it was
not true, and he was forced to sign that statement.
After several days of molestation, he had to put his signature on the
required statement. In addition, he was forced to right a letter to his
brother, who was in the Serb army, telling him that he was imprisoned,
convicted because a radio-station, a sniper-rifle and 1,000 bullets were found
with him, as well as to ask his brother to release 26 Muslim prisoners. For
that reason, he was placed among Category I prisoners, although he had been
arrested as a civilian.
During detention in this detention camp in Travnik, the witness did not
receive any written ruling on his detention and was finally exchanged on 2
November 1992.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Salko Beba, a Muslim, the prison warden.
EVIDENCE: Records on the witness hearing No. 561/94-3.
VI-052
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Hostage taking and the establishment of detention
camps
PLACE AND TIME: Detention camp in Trnovo, in a kindergarten building,
August - November, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In early August, 1992, when detention camps in
Godinjske Bare and the village of Dejcici were disbanded, the prisoners were
transferred to the newly-establisheddetention camp in Trnovo, located in the
kindergarten building.
The number of prisoners has not yet been established, but from the fact
that about 50 Serbs a day were taken away from this detention camp to be
exchanged, it is obvious that a large number of Serbs, mostly civilians,
passed through this detention camp.
In this detention camp, the prisoners were molested and beaten every day.
In agreement with the guards, Muslim extremists came to detention camp
every day, to beat the prisoners, and the following took the lead: Mirza
Belonja, Edin Hamzic, Izet Cibra, Senad Sacic, Ramiz Ramic, Enez Karacic,
Safet Gagula and Dzemail Imamovic.
The imprisoned combatant of the Army of the Republic of Srpska, Dragan
Lalovic, from Kalinovik, was beaten very severely.
At first, the prisoners were given one very poor meal a day, and
sometimes not even that, but later, they were given two meals a day.
They slept on the floor, most frequently without any spread or cover.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mirza Belonja,
2. Edin Hamzic, of father Ismet, born on August 27, 1970, in the village
of Hamzici, the municipality of Trnovo, a policeman by profession,
3. Izet Cibra, of father Began, born on January 18, 1967, in the village
of Delijas, the municipality of Trnovo, a postman by profession,
4. Senad Sacic,
5. Ramiz Ramic,
6. Enes Karacic, of father Hasan, born on January 22, 1962, in the
village of Golubicic, the municipality of Kalinovik, former policeman,
7. Safet Gagula, of father Husko, born on April 23, 1967, in the village
of Kumjenovici, the municipality of Foca, policeman in Trnovo until the war,
8. Dzemal Imamovic, of father Sunjo, born on January 22, 1964 in the
village of Delijas, the municipality of Trnovo.
EVIDENCE: Testimonies by the witnesses filed with the Committee under No.
228/94.
VI-053
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Hostage taking and the establishment of detention
camps
PLACE AND TIME: Suhopolje near Virovitica, November 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The ZNG (Croatian National Guard) soldiers detained
the witness in early November and after the hearing, which lasted for 3-4
hours, let him go home. Ten days later, he was detained again, but on that
occasion, he was insulted, called a Serb nationalist and a chetnik. Two days
later, he was taken to the village of Klisa and exchanged for some Croatian
citizens.
The witness was thus forcibly expelled from Croatia and is now living as
a refugee in Serbia.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Soldiers of the Croatian National Guard from Virovitica.
EVIDENCE: Witness 400/95.
VI-054
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Hostage taking and the establishment of detention
camps
PLACE AND TIME: Visoko, July - October 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: At the end of July, 1992, soldiers of the Muslim army
bearing the green beret signs, whose commander was Ibrahim Puric, surrounded
the settlement of Zbilje, where some Serb families lived. All Serb nationals -
about 36 of them - were closed in the houses of Milinko Erzanovic, Mladen
Maric and Zdravko Miric. Guards were placed in front of these houses - three
guardsmen in front of each.
On the occasion of the establishment of this detention camp, Milutin
Lukic, of father Srecko, born in 1942, was first beaten and then shot dead in
front of his house.
The Serbs shut in these houses were not allowed to move, and were
occasionally taken to the weekend-settlement in Varosko Polje where men were
beaten with clubs, an electric cable, rubber hoses, handles of agricultural
appliances and riflebutts. They were beaten until they lost consciousness, for
several hours.
The witness heard was once beaten incessantly from 12.30 to 18.00 hrs.
During that time, 6 of his teeth were knocked out.
The Muslim soldiers made it impossible for the Serbs detained in these
houses to get food and water, the supplies of which had been previously taken
away from them.
Due to the lack of food and daily beatings, the witness's lost weight,
which fell from 91 kg to 56 kg.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Ibrahim Puric, commander of the "Green Beret" unit, a taxi-driver in
Zenica before the war.
EVIDENCE: 292/95-19.
VII WANTON DEVASTATION AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY
VII - 051
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Devastation of civilian facilities not mandated by
military needs.
PLACE AND TIME: Vrbovljani near Okucani, early May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Croatian military forces torched 30 Serb-owned houses
in the village Vrbovljani near Okucani.
They also set fire on some Serb houses in the nearby villages Gredjani
and Covac.
They took away two cows, two swine and 18 piglets that had belonged to
the woman witness. After her release from the detention camp, the witness only
found her dead calf in her yard.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Croatian armed forces.
EVIDENCE: 618/95-6.
VII-052
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of civilian facilities without military
reasons
PLACE AND TIME: Donji Miholjac, 1991-1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Around 40 Serb houses were mined and torn down in
Donji Miholjac.
Among others, the houses of the following owners were torn down:
1. Ljubo Krivokuca,
2. Slobodan Krivokuca, Kole, Pavla Radica Street,
3. Zdravko Oljaca, Zrinskog and Frankopana Street by the station,
4. Petar Oljaca, Katiceva Street (the new block),
5. Milan Borojevic, Vladimira Nazora Block,
6. Stana (Seja) Lukic's video club, Djakovacka Street,
7. Rade Rakas, whom Stevic wounded from firearms, and later at 2 p.m.
threw a bomb into the chimney and damaged the house considerably.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Bosko Andric, around 33, from Donji Miholjac, activist of Paraga's
Party of Rights,
2. Pero Katalinic, police officer and later commander of the Valpovo
police station,
3. Slavko Stevic, around 41-42 years old, police officer,
4-5. The Horvat brothers, Burek and Sendvic, from Donje Viljevo near
Miholjac,
6. Nenad Miroslavac.
EVIDENCE: The testimony filed with the Committee under number 221/95.
VII-053
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of civilian facilities without military
reasons
PLACE AND TIME: Ugljevik, March 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Ordered by Avdicevic and Mesic, members of
Moslem-Croat armed formations from Teocak fired on 20-23 March 1993 on several
occasions a number of large caliber grenades on Ugljevik, a town located
outside the war activity zone. As a result of the shelling, civilian Ruza
Markovic, born on 13 January 1955, was heavily injured, while four houses,
owned by Blagoja Tomic, Dragan Marinkovic, Mihajlo Djuric and Radivoje
Simikic, were considerably damaged.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Dzevad Avdicevic, Babak, son of Dzemil, born on 1 June 1964 in
Teocak-Snijeznica, commander of the "Hajrudin Mesic" Brigade in Teocak, and
2. Bakir Mesic, son of Meho, born on 2 September 1964 in Srednja Trnova,
deputy commander of the "Hajrudin Mesic" Brigade in Teocak.
EVIDENCE: The investigation record, the sketch of the site, testimonies
and material damage estimates, all filed under number 174/95-1.
VII-054
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of civilian facilities without military
reasons
PLACE AND TIME: Village of Mazgraja, commune of Ugljevik, August 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Ordered by Avdicevic and Mesic, members of
Moslem-Croat armed formations from Teocak fired on 22 August around 4 p.m. a
number of large caliber grenades on Mazgraja, a village outside the war
activity zone. As a result of this artillery attack, civilian Borislav Gajic,
son of Radovan, born 1 July 1928 in Mazgraj, was heavily injured in the left
shoulder blade.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Dzevad Avdicevic, Babak, son of Dzemil, born on 1 June 1964 in
Teocak-Snijeznica, commander of the "Hajrudin Mesic" Brigade in Teocak, and
2. Bakir Mesic, son of Meho, born on 2 September 1964 in Srednja Trnova,
deputy commander of the "Hajrudin Mesic" Brigade in Teocak.
EVIDENCE: The official record of medical examination and the official
record of interviews with Stevo Gajic and Pero Todorovic, a medical
certificate on injuries and photo documentation, all filed under number
174/95-3.
VII-055
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of civilian facilities without military
reasons
PLACE AND TIME: Stara Krivaja near Bjelovar, 1991-1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This purely Serb village contained 35 houses.
The newer ones built of more solid materials were mined, while the others
were burnt.
The village was burnt by members of the Croat Guard. They first expelled
the entire population from the village regardless of age, and then started
burning it and destroying the houses.
Before the village was burnt, Croats from Suho Polje had plundered the
houses and took away the livestock.
The monument devoted to the Victims of Fascist Terror from World War Two,
with the names of the Serbs killed by Ustashi in WW2, was also torn down.
The tombstones at the village cemetery, including the tombstone on the
grave of the witness's son, were also destroyed.
At that time there was no fighting in the village.
Today there are no Serbs in the Krivaja village.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Members of the Croat Guard from Virovitica, particularly Mato from
Turanovci and activists from Milanovac.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing record 430/94.
VII-056
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of civilian facilities without military
reasons
PLACE AND TIME: Hodbina and other Serb villages near Mostar, April 1992
and early 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When the war broke out, Croat and Moslem soldiers
started burning Serb houses in Hodbina and other Serb villages around Mostar.
10 Serb houses were burnt in Hodbina.
This was done for no military reasons.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Martin Boskovic from the Buna settlement near Mostar.
EVIDENCE: 440/94-41.
NOTE: Supplement to document VII-015.
VIII DEVASTATION OF PLACES OF WORSHIP, CEMENTERIES,
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
VIII-036
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of places of worship, cemeteries,
cultural and historical monuments
PLACE AND TIME: Zitomislic Monastery near Capljina, late June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Orthodox monastery Zitomislic was torn down by
anti-tank mines and the "UVEA" explosive. First the monastery church was
demolished, then the monastery treasury plundered, and finally the monastery
dormitory, built in 1963, burnt.
Kudra, Delic and Zegar drove to Zitomislic in a "TAM" vehicle with the
inscription "Bregava-Capljina".
The church was rebuilt in 1566 on the site of the old church.
On 26 June 1941 Croat Ustashi killed the monastery monks and threw them
into the Vidonja pit.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Zlatko Zegar, of father Ilija and mother Iva, born in 1965 in
Capljina, HVO member,
2. Mirza Kudra, of father Mithat and mother Camila, born in 1968 in
Capljina, member of the HVO 116th Brigade.
3. Zoran Delic, of father Serif, born in 1960 in Travnik, former JNA
Major, presently member of the HVO 116th Brigade in Capljina.
EVIDENCE: Document 703/94 filed with the Committee.
NOTE: Supplement to document VIII-004.
VIII-037
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of places of worship, cemeteries,
cultural and historical monuments
PLACE AND TIME: Village of Kucanci near Donji Miholjac.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The perpetrators tore down the Orthodox church in
Kucanci, a village outside the war activity zone. The present Serbian
Patriarch was born in Kucanci.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Bosko Andric of Donja Miholjica, active member of Paraga's Party of
Rights,
2. Pero Katalinic, police officer and later commander of the Valpovo
police station,
3. Slavko Stevic, 41-42 year, police officer.
EVIDENCE: Document 221/95 filed with the Committee.
VIII-038
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Destruction of places of worship, cemeteries,
cultural and historical monuments
PLACE AND TIME: Village of Mutnica near Zenica, late 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Orthodox cemetery in Mutnica was destroyed by
members of the Moslem army.
All the tombstones were torn down and removed. The witness also saw them
removing marble plates and taking them away in trucks.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Selim Beslagic, president of the Tuzla commune,
2. Enver Delibegovic, commander of the Moslem Territorial Defense,
3. Sead Avdic, president of the Communal Executive Committee, and
4. Mehmed Bajric, head of the Public Security Service.
EVIDENCE: 234/95-23.
IX ETHNIC CLEANSING
IX - 116
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing.
PLACE AND TIME: The village of Brusnik near Pakrac, May 1995.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Although surrender had been agreed with the Croatian
authorities, the Croatian armed forces shelled that village at around 16.30
hrs on 4 May.
After the surrender on 5 May, Croatian armed forces rounded up the entire
Serb population. The Croatian soldiers then singled out all men and at around
02.30 hrs loaded them on some trucks and transported them to Pakrac and then
to Slavonska Pozega where they placed them in detention camp at the local
sports hall.
There were a total of 108 villagers of Brusnik in the sports hall
detention camp at Slavonska Pozega. They included 14 people aged over 60 and 2
young 17-year-old men.
They were all first photographed and oredered to give their particulars,
and then questioned one by one. During the interrogations they were beaten,
especially the younger ones.
A number of detainees were released on 6 May so that 54 detainees from
that village remained in the detention camp. Some of them were later
transferred to Bjelovar, others to Osijek, as well as to some other detention
camps. In mid-July 1995, 10 - 15 more persons from this village were detained
in Croatian prisons.
After that the released villagers were summoned again for interrogation
at the Brusnik Culture Club.
Thus, the witness was heard at the Culture Club on 8 May and was beaten
with a truncheon and kicked with booted feet. When on 10 May he was summoned
to the Culture Club for the second time, he was transferred along with another
4 villagers to Tihomir Zorcic's house on the outskirts of Brusnik. They beat
them with truncheons there, stabbed them with knives, forced them to lie in
the Brusnik River for a whole hour. They forced the witness to carry piggy-
back and on all fours anyone who mounted him, they forced him to neigh like a
horse, bark like a dog and at the same time kicked him with their booted feet,
while one of them placed his gun against his head and pulled the trigger.
He was released after that. On 22 May villagers of Bresnik were once
again apprehended and taken to Milorad Nikolic's and Mile Mandic's houses
where they were battered and maltreated again, forced to lick off salt, they
were tied a bell round their necks as if they were sheep, and forced to bleet
like sheep do.
On 23 May the witness was beaten by the perpetrators who bastinadoed him
with their truncheons, pushed a gun into his mouth, smashed eggs against his
head, forced him to kiss the chess-board flag, took humiliating photos of him,
i.e. they would force him to kneel down and some Croatian soldiers would place
their feet on his shoulder and then force him to clean and kiss their boots.
He found this particularly hard to bear when one of them, who weighed 100
kilos, forced him to lie down and then jumped on his abdomen.
Aafter of all this, the witness abandoned his house and property and on
26 May he joined an UNPROFOR-organized convoy in order to cross over into the
Republic of Srpska. The witness is currently living as a refugee.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Zeljko Verkaz, commander of the Croatian police force unit at Brusnik,
from Barljevina near Pakrac,
2. Members of the Reserve Police Force from Osijek.
EVIDENCE: R/95-17.orched 30 Serb-owned houses in the village Vrbovljani
near Okucani.
They also set fire to some Serb houses in the vicinity.
IX-117
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Sarajevo, September 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Witness Radisav Stanovic, a pensioner, age 74 years,
managed to obtain from the Muslim authorities in Sarajevo a decision issued by
the Municipal Defense Secretariat under No. 261 dated 15 July 1994 whereby he
was allowed to travel abroad, allegedly to visit his son whose residence is in
New Zealand.
However, the authorization had been made conditional upon the donation to
the Muslim authorities of his apartment at No. 60/3 Palmira Toljatija St. in
Sarajevo, area 54 sq.ms. along with everything inside it.
At present, the witness is a refugee in Visegrad.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Top-ranking authorities in Sarajevo.
EVIDENCE: Record on the hearing of witness Radisav Stanovic and other
documents filed with the Committee under No. 440/94-23.
IX-118
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: The detention camp Celebici near Konjic, May - July 1992
and the sports hall Musala at Konjic, August 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 26 May 1992 the Muslims caught a large number of
Serb men, women and children at the village of Bradina, took the women and the
children to the school building and held them there for three days. The men
were taken to detention camps.
After that the Moslems summoned the Serbs at Podorasci allegedly for
informative interviews and took 63 of them to the Celebici detention camp.
They took away from them all of their valuables without issuing any
certificates, and incarcerated them in 6 manholes (there were as many as 18
men in one of them) where they were nearly suffocated for lack of oxygen. They
were transported then to a hangar called "Sestica". They were subjected to
beatings. They inflicted bodily harm including fatal wounds in a number of
cases. They beat younger men especially hard on their genitals.
In August 1993 Muslims captured 38 Serbs from the village of Brdjani
accusing them previously of constructing an airport for Serb planes and
detained them in the Musala Sports Hall at Konjic where they subjected a
number of them to beating to make them donate their blood.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Agan Ramis,
2. Nedzad Spago,
3. Zija Landzo, "Zenga",
4. Hazim Delic, deputy warden of the Celebici detention camp, prior to
the war, het had worked at the enterprise "Drvorezbarstvo" at Konjic,
5. Alic,
6. Edo Zilic, from Sobic,detention camp warden,
7. Hamid Velagic,
8. Nusret Tresnjo, prior to the war had worked at the enterprise
"Drvorezbarstvo" at Konjic,
9. Trnka,
10. "Focak", a guard.
EVIDENCE: Records on the hearing of witness No. 440/94-1.
IX-119
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Gorazde - Trebesko brdo, June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 14 July 1992 Muslim units attacked the village of
Bucje near Gorazde, collected the entire Serb population and took them out of
the village. En route to Trebesko, they let several women and children go and
put up the rest in a house at Trebesko Brdo.
The Muslim soldiers under the command of Ahmet Sejdic from Visegrad
subjected Serb males to vicious torture there. At night they took them out in
front of the building to pound, kick and hit them with their sticks and
riflebutts all over their bodies.
They ordered them to lie on their stomachs and "eat" dust while beating
them on their backs.
They inscribed the crescent and the star signs on their knees and the
letters SDA (standing for the Democratic Action Party) on their backs.
The following died as a result of the injuries inflicted upon them:
1. Jovan Carapic,
2. Dusan Carapic,
3. Drago Carapic, all from Bucje.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Ahmet Sejdic from Visegrad, commander of the Muslim military unit.
EVIDENCE: Records on the hearing of the above witness filed with the
Committee under No. 440/94-9.
NOTE: Supplement to application I-199.
IX-120
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Osijek, 2 August 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness and his wife lived in their private home
in Osijek at Eugena Savojskog Str.
On 2 August 1991 some members of the Croatian Army came to his house and
ordered him to move out immediately saying that the house had been designated
for them.
The witness was forced to abandon his home and flee Croatia.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR: HVO Command in Osijek.
EVIDENCE: 584/94-21.
IX-121
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
TIME AND PLACE: Zadar, 2 May 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: As of March 1991 the Zadar Police blocked all
exitcheck-points in Zadar in order to keep under control and abuse citizens of
Serb nationality, whom they ill-treated by pointing their automatic rifles at
them, by searching their homes, by threatening them or by harassing them in
other ways while the Croats were free to move around without any restriction.
On 2 May a large group of Zadar citizens violated the property of the
citizens of Zadar who were of Serb nationality their ultimate objective being
to force that population to move out of Zadar.
It all began at around 10 hrs when several columns of vehicles arrived.
There were 5 or 6 vehicles in each of the columns and they were driven by
civilians with nylon stockings over their heads who were armed with automatic
rifles. They got out of their vehicles to make threats at the top of their
voices saying they would slaughter all Serbs and singing Ustashi songs.
Around 15.00 hrs at least ten "Liburnija" and other Zadar firms' buses
arrived in Zadar from the surrounding villages. The buses were overcrowded
with Croats, mostly young people aged between 18 and 25 armed with clubs and
iron rods. They got off their buses near the railway station singing Ustashi
songs and shouting threateningly that they would slaughter all Serbs unless
they moved out. They also smashed up the shops and vehicles whose owners were
Serbs or the firms whose head offices were in Serbia.
They were followed by children aged from 5 to 15 who took out goods from
the Serb-owned shops or vehicles.
The children were followed by grownups carrying pails full of an
inflammable liquid which they splashed all over the looted possessions from
Serb homes and over their vehicles and torched them.
The mob comprised between 1,500 and 2,000 mainly young people from Zadar
and the surrounding villages.
The fact that on that day the police had been ordered to withdraw from
the town and that no policeman was in the street, confirms that this had been
organized by the Croatian authorities.
On that occasion, more than 168 shops owned by Serbs were ransacked and
demolished and a number of homes and apartments were set ablaze, as registered
by the police and by the Public Prosecutor in Zadar. This led to a massive
exodus of Serb citizens from Zadar.
The ransacked and looted shops and homes also include the following:
I. SERB PRIVATE SHOPS:
1. NEDELJKO STRBAC, a barber shop,
2. VLADIMIR STRBAC, a coffee-bar totally destroyed,
3. MIROSLAV MILOSAVLJEVIC, demolished tailor's shop,
4. MIRKO BUKARICA, restaurant "STARI GRAD" destroyed completely,
5. DJURO KORLAT, toy shop destroyed, apartment barged into and ransacked,
6. PETAR POPOVIC, a "Zadar" basketball-player's coffee-bar "TAJMAUT"
destroyed
7. STEVO KOVACEVIC, cobbler's shop smashed up
8. MIODRAG OPACIC, "BIS" video-club, 1,200 cassettes, a camera, 2 VCRs, 5
floodlights were taken
9. PETAR MATIC, a shoeshop looted and destroyed,
10. BOZO KRICKA, underwearshop looted and destroyed,
11. PERO KNEZEVIC, coffee-bar "PERO" destroyed totally
12. PERO KNEZEVIC, coffee-bar "PEN" destroyed totally
13. ZORICA DUKIC, leather-goods shop looted and destroyed,
14. MIROSLAV RAJCEVIC, ready-made clothes shop in the green market,
totally destroyed,
15. SENKA and DRAGAN BABAC, pizzeria "PET BUNARA" ransacked,
16. MARIJA MILANKOVIC, restaurant "MIRNI KUTIC" ransacked,
17. UROS VOJVODIC, coffee-bar "RAVA", totally destroyed (located 100 m
away from the Police Station),
18. VESELIN RATKOVIC, coffee-bar "GOGI" ransacked,
19. VOJO GNJIDIC, coffee-bar "JELENA" ransacked and demolished,
20. GLISO KOZUL, coffee-bar "AKVARIJ" demolished,
21. JOVO KOMAZEC, coffee-bar "JUGA", ransacked,
22. BRANKO LASKOVIC, coffee-bar "BULEVAR", ransacked
23. MIRKO ARCABA, coffee-bar "AMBASADOR", ransacked,
24. MARKO OSTOJIC, boutique "LIBERTAS", looted and ransacked,
25. MILAN BOGDANOVIC, coffee-bar "PEJTON" ransacked,
26. BRANKO KRESOVIC, driving school "ZADAR-INOKS" ransacked,
27. MIRO ALAVANJA, an enterprise and food supermarket, both destroyed,
28. ANDJELKO GOLIJANIN, enterprise manufacturing meat products and
foodstuffs destroyed,
29. LEPA KOMAZEC, tailor's shop destroyed,
30. "VESNA" auto-shop ransacked,
31. SLAVKO LAKIC, a hairdresser's shop destroyed,
32. SHOP AT "BILI BRIG", destroyed,
33. COFFEE-BAR "KAKTUS", ransacked,
34. BOsKO PUPOVAC, restaurant "BAMBI", ransacked,
35. DJURO GLADOVIC, little shoeshop "TIBO" looted and destroyed,
36. LJUBO GLADOVIC, little shoeshop "TIBO" looted and destroyed,
37. MARIJA VARECAK, glass shop smashed up,
38. VLADO KNEZEVIC, little textile shop "TIBO" looted and ransacked,
39. BRANKO VUKOJEVIC, little textile shop "TIBO" looted and ransacked,
40. UROs VUKIC, local souvenir shop "TIBO", looted and ransacked,
41. ZORAN DIMOVSKI, a "TIBO" kiosk looted and ransacked,
42. ZIKA ZIVANOVIC, a "TIBO" kiosk looted and ransacked,
43-48. BEGOVIC, 5 "TIBO" kiosks selling different goods destroyed,
49. MILAN CVIJANOVIC, stand selling ceramics,
50. DUSAN BABIC, a "TIBO" kiosk selling footwear looted and demolished,
51. LJUBOMIR CUK, stand selling different goods looted and demolished,
52. MISO KALUDJEROVIC, coffee-bar "GURMAN" demolished
53. STEVO STRBAC, barber's shop destroyed and his car parked in front of
it set ablaze,
54. ZIVKO SARIC, restaurant "PUTNIK", ransacked and torched,
55. PETAR MARICIC, carpenter's shop ransacked,
56. JOVANKA PUPOVAC, hairdresser's salon "ARIJANA" ransacked,
57. LJUBOMIR GLADOVIC, a small shoeshop ransacked,
58. NIKOLA KORLAT, a paintings shop looted and demolished,
59. BOZO MARICIC, car spare parts' shop "PLIMEKS" ransacked,
60. ZIVKO PAVIC, watchmaker's shop "ZENIT" ransacked,
61-75. 15 KIOSKS of different owners at the green market, goods looted,
kiosks destroyed,
76. VELJKO MARICIC and his brother, their kiosks destroyed,
77. A PRIVATE HOTEL, broken window panes,
78. SOFIJA PUPOVAC, chiropodists' shop ransacked,
79. NIKOLA SAVIC, butcher's shop destroyed,
80. ZIVKO LAKIC, coffee-shop "PROLETER", ransacked,
81. ILIJA GNJIDIC, souvenir shop ransacked,
82. ZORAN BJELANOVIC, shop at the green market destroyed,
83. DJURO KUTA, coffee-bar near the bank ransacked,
84. DUsKO ZUZA, bakery set ablaze,
85. VINKO GAJIC, enterprise "VIJAK" destroyed,
86. SLOBODAN DRACA, commission store destroyed,
87. NEVEN LEZAJIC, enterprise destroyed,
88. JOVO GAICA, inn "KOZARA" damaged,
89. DRINKO GAICA, enterprise damaged.
II. SERB-OWNED PRIVATE HOMES AND WEEKEND HOUSES:
90. MARKO SLADAKOVIC,from Zadar, his home and furniture ransacked,
91. DIMITRIJE DOPUDJ, weekend house at Posedarje near Zadar devastated
and looted,
92. JORDAN ZLATKOVIC, home at Sukosane torn down completely,
93. PETAR ALAVANJA, home at Sukosane torn down and ransacked,
94. MARIJA VARACEK, home in Put Bokanjca Str., broken window panes,
95. VOJIN JOKIC, home at Filip Jakov near Zadar torn down and furniture
burnt,
96. MILAN and DIVNA SKULIC (a Croat-Serb mixed marriage) their house was
mined while they were asleep at 04.15 a.m.
97. MILAN RELJIC, from Zagreb, home on island Vir mined,
98. TOMO POKRAJAC, apartment set on fire,
99. TOMISLAV NEDIC, home looted and devastated,
100. NIKOLA KUDRA, motor-car "Citroen" set ablaze,
101. MILOs MIRKOVIC, weekend house at Razanc set on fire,
102. MILOS GLIGOROVIC, house at Razanc set on fire,
103. DJURA KRESOVIC, house set ablaze,
104. RADE DRACA, house set ablaze,
105-126. 22 WEEKEND HOUSES of a number of owners in the area of Privlaka,
Vir and Nin.
III. SHOPS OF FIRMS AND COMPANIES FROM SERBIA:
127. "NOVI DOM", furniture shop, Belgrade, completely ransacked and
looted, goods transported by trucks and an armchair set ablaze in front of the
building of the Court of Law,
128. "JAT" REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE, totally ransacked,
129. "PUTNIK" - Belgrade, rent-a-car service ransacked,
130. "AVIS" - Belgrade, rent-a-car service ransacked,
131. "BEKO" - Belgrade, although it had been previously vacated the shop
was smashed up,
132. "MERKUR" - Backa Palanka, leather goods' shop, completely destroyed
and looted,
133. "KLUZ" - Belgrade, ready-made-clothes shop destroyed,
134. "JUGOTURS" representative office ransacked,
135. "BETEKS" ("ALKAR") - Belgrade, sportswear shop looted and ransacked,
136. "PETAR VELEBIT" - Belgrade, shoeshop, ransacked and looted,
137. "OBUCA" - Belgrade, shoeshop, ransacked and set ablaze,
138. "FRUSKA GORA" - Ruma, shoeshop, looted and ransacked,
139. "JUGOBANKA" - Belgrade, broken shop windows,
140. "CIK" - Kumanovo, shoeshop, ransacked and looted,
141. "STANDARD" - Zajecar, leatherwear shop, ransacked and looted,
142. "SIMPO" - Vranje, furniture shop ransacked and looted,
143. "VOJVODINA" - Stara Pazova, furniture shop, looted and ransacked,
144. "LEDERLAND" Belgrade - a shop at the green market,
145-148. "BORBA" - four kiosks, destroyed and set ablaze.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ivo Livljanic, mayor of Zadar township, currently Croatia's Ambassador
to the Vatican,
2. Vladimir Seks, deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament and
3. Petar Sale, a high-ranking HDZ official from Zagreb, all 3 of whom
were in those days at Bibinje near Zadar, wherefrom the majority of vandals
arrived, as well as
4. Ivan Brzoja, of father Ljuba, m. Marija nee Vrsaljko, born on 12
October 1954 at Nadine in the Benkovac township, head of Police Dpt. in Zadar,
a Croat by nationality,
5. Ante Ikic, of father Josip, m. Kristina nee Sikic, born on 22 May 1953
at Gorica, Zadar township, police officer at the Zadar Police Dept., a Croat
by nationality,
6. Tomislav Stanic, high-ranking official in the Ministry of the Interior
of Croatia, then newly appointed by Zagreb as Head of the Police Dept. in
Zadar.
EVIDENCE: Evidence contained in the documents filed with the Committee
under Nos. 220/94-2, 82/94, 236/95-6, 236/95-7, 236/95-11, 236/95-12, 157/94
and 101/95.
IX-122
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Visoko, April - June 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On Orthodox Easter Muslim soldiers drove Serbs out of
7 houses in Visoko, including the Manojlovic family (8 members 5 of which were
children aged under 12) and the Molijevic family (with 2 children aged under
10). Muslem faimilies moved in.
On 20 June the Muslim Army launched a strong attack on the Serb homes at
Visoko. At the call of the Muslim soldiers, around 150 Serb men and around 250
Serb women and children came out of their homes and they were immediately
searched by the Muslims. All their valuables were taken away from them
including jewelry, watches, rings, and the like. The women and children were
locked up in the classrooms of the school at Visoko and in the Culture Club,
and the men in the barracks near the bus station.
There were 150 men put up in a single room in the barracks area 8 by 9 ms
so that they did not have enough space even to lie down.
The detainees were subjected to different kinds of torture on a daily
basis. Masked Muslim soldiers beat them in the course of alleged
interrogations. Thus they knocked out several of the witness's teeth, broke
several of his ribs and inflicted a number of wounds in his neck area.
As a result of torture and exhaustion three men died including Vojo
Rakovic, age cca. 55 years.
The detainees were tortured, in particular by starving. The detained
Serbs were not given anything to eat for several days, and only very small
food rations after that followed by several more days without any food at all.
In 2 or 3 months they lost around half their weight. The witness's weight
dropped from 70 kgs to 38 kgs so that he even had difficulties moving around.
Muslim soldiers took particular pleasure in throwing food to their dogs
and watching the detained and famished Serbs vie for it with the dogs.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Hajrudin Halilovic, "Mrco", Sefer Halilovic's brother,detention camp
warden;
2. Amir Murtic,
3. Asim Hamzic,
4. Miralem Cenov,
5. Samir Selimovic, "Domac".
EVIDENCE: 440/94-38.
X-123
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Bibinje, near Zadar, 2 May 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 2 May a large number of citizens of Zadar and
Bibinje destroyed in an organized manner the property owned by Serb citizens
near Zadar with the aim to force that population to move out of Bibinje.
On that occasion 37 Serb houses and a number of Serb shops were ransacked
and demolished at Bibinje.
All the shops and houses had previously been looted. This led to a
massive exodus of Serbs from Zadar and its surroundings.
The ransacked and looted houses at Bibinje included, among other, those
owned by:
1. BRANKA PAVLOVIC, from Korlate near Benkovac, her house was burnt down;
2. GOJKA BOJCIC, works in Switzerland, her house was burnt down;
3. Dr. BOROJEVIC, works in Switzerland, his house was looted and burnt
down;
4. MILOs KRESOVIC, from Zadar, his house was looted and burnt down;
5. PETAR KOSEVIC, from Zadar, his house was looted and set ablaze;
6. MILOs KOVAC, from Zadar, his house was looted and set ablaze;
7. MIRKO VUJATOVIC, from Zadar, his house was burnt down;
8. STEVO RUMENIC, from Zadar, his house was torched;
9. DJURA KRESOVIC, from Zadar, his house was ransacked;
10. STOJAN SAMOLOV, his house was burnt down;
11. PERA ROKNIC, his house was burnt down;
12. Dr. ZIVORAD ZOJIC, his house was burnt down;
13. Dr. DUsAN RNJAK, his house was burnt down;
14. STRAHINJA OZEGOVIC, his house was burnt down;
15. SIMA ZUNIC, his house was burnt down;
16. VLADA PAVLOVIC, his house was looted;
17. MIRKO OZEGOVIC, his house was looted;
18-27. TEN HOUSES in the quarter known as "Punta" at Bibinje were set
ablaze,
28-37. FIFTEEN HOUSES, in the quarter known as "Rezani" were set ablaze.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Ivan Brzoja, of father Ljuba, m. Marija nee Vrsaljko, born on 12
October 1954 at Nadino, township Benkovac, Chief of Police in Zadar, a Croat
by nationality;
2. Ante Ikic, of father Josip, m. Kristina nee Sikic, born on 22 May 1953
at Gorica, township Zadar, policeman at the Zadar Police Department, a Croat
by nationality;
3. Tomislav Stanic, high-ranking officer of the Ministry of the Interior
of Croatia, put up by Zagreb as a candidate for the office of Chief of Police
in Zadar.
EVIDENCE: Evidence filed with the Committee under No.220/94-2 & 82/94.
IX-124
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Novi Travnik, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness lived with his family in Novi Travnik
where he had spent his entire period of service and was a pensioner when the
civil war broke out.
When the war broke out in Croatia, there was a systematic pressure put on
the Serbs living in Novi Travnik; their apartments and garages were broken
into, their cars stolen and Muslims and Croats knocked at their doors and
said: "You are Chetniks and you have to move out."
They threw messages through the witness's window in which the witness was
told to move out. They also wrote threatening graffiti on the walls of the
buildings and on the doors of Serb apartments.
When the war broke out in Bosnia-Herzegovina between the Muslims and the
Croats, the number of Muslim refugees in Novi Travnik rose steeply and this
marked the beginning of a number of public drives involving the vandalization
and looting of Serb apartments, as well as the killing of Serbs. This was done
by armed and uniformed Muslims.
It was in this manner that
Sima Svetlica
was killed; they stabbed him to death with their knives after having
broken into his apartment. Their second victim was a young man whose surname
is
Pavlovic
who was riddled with bullets when he opened the door of his apartment. A
sniper's bullet also killed
Djuro Krupljan
who was standing on the terrace of his apartment.
Dj. M.'s teen-age daughters were raped in their home before the eyes of
their parents. Having seen this, Dj. M. hanged himself in the attic of the
building where he had been living.
All this made Serbs leave Novi Travnik. Many did not manage to get out,
were intercepted en route and forced to hand over all their possessions. They
therefore had to hide in cellars and in garages.
The witness is aware that a Dj. D. was molested particularly hard; they
held him by the hair and moved a knife blade against his throat while they
were searching his apartment. In doing this, they also cut the arm-chairs,
smashed the TV set and made a mess of his apartment. He fell ill as a result
and had to be admitted for treatment at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Fikret Kunic;
2. Ismo Zaimovic.
EVIDENCE: 472/95.
IX-125
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Cabun near Virovitica, 1991 - 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness and his wife and son lived in the place of
the witness's birth at Cabun.
In August 1991, when the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was already in
power in Croatia, the witness received a message saying that his son would
soon be slaughtered, and that he would be made to watch it in person. After
this message, in fear for his only son's life, the witness and his wife
transferred him to Hungary.
Following this message, the witness was subjected to various forms of
harassment. Police patrols often came to the witness's house looking for
weapons. Policemen claimed that the witness's son had joined the Chetniks and
demanded that the witness hand over his weapons. As the witness's son only had
a hunting rifle, the witness handed it over to them. Even after that, however,
they came to his apartment again looking for other weapons which the witness
did not have. During their calls on the witness the policemen smashed up his
effects and furniture.
At 23.50 hrs. on 2 February 1992 somebody knocked at the witness's door;
the witness was asleep with his wife. Scared to death as they were, the
witness and his wife gave no reply and two persons burst into their apartment.
Each one of them had a nylon stocking and a cap on his head and face, wore a
military uniform, was armed with a "Kalashnikov" rifle and equipped with a
walkie-talkie. They started beating viciously and molesting the witness and
his wife right away and went on for a whole hour. When at one point the cap
fell off an assailant's head, the witness recognized Anica Vazen who lived in
the very same village.
The two assailants abandoned the witness's apartment after a third
person, who was in the garden, told them through the loudspeaker "They have
had enough".
After that the witness and his wife did not dare sleep in their house but
went into hiding at a friend's place. Somebody soon removed the entrance door
to their house and after that many people repeatedly entered their house and
took away their possessions.
As the witness realized that he could no longer live in his native
village, he fled with his wife to Serbia and later on managed to sell his
house to a Croat for DEM 27,000 even though the amount was far below the
actual price of his new house which was worth at least DEM 120,000.
As a result of similar pressures, other Serbs from that village have
moved out as well.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Anica Vazen from Cabun;
2. Zeljko Vajda from Cabun and other HDZ members.
EVIDENCE: 397/95.
IX-126
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Osijek, mid-1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness had been living in Osijek for over 30
years and had her own house there.
In August 1991 she fled with her family to Serbia because she and her
family had felt threatened for being Serbs. They currently have refugee
status.
The witness's grandson, aged 10, who was the only Serb in his street, was
often beaten by Croat children. He would come home in torn clothes, his head
smashed and his nose bleeding.
They received an increasing number of anonymous telephone calls. They
were told that they should report to the Chetnik headquarters as chetniks, a
mention was made of their grandchildren and threatening them.
The witness's daughter was being intimidated at her place of work by the
warehouseman, who had pointed his gun at her breast, that he would shoot her
down for being a Serb. When she complained about it to her superior, the
superior said that the warehouseman was only joking.
The witness's son-in-law, a Croat who worked at the "Belje" Combine, saw
at his enterprise a list of Serbs who were to be killed. The list also
included the names of his wife and children. They also put pressure on him to
divorce his wife and marry a Croat. He, therefore, decided to flee Croatia
with his family.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Branimir Glavas, the then President of HDZ in Osijek, who instigated
expulsions of Serbs.
EVIDENCE: Record from the hearing of witness by the investigative judge
of the District Court of Novi Sad filed with the Committee under No. 694/94.
IX-127
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Osijek, 1990-1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: After HDZ came to power in Croatia in 1990 the witness
started receiving anonymous telephone calls from people who demanded that he
abandon his home. Unknown persons started coming to his home demanding from
him to move out with his family to Serbia. Then some friends of his came, too,
and told him to leave Osijek because he was a Serb.
In November 1990 on his way back from work, the witness was shot at from
a gun. After the incident, the police came to conduct an investigation, drew
up a report but failed to do anything else.
In early February 1991 somebody broke all the windows on the witness's
house overlooking the street and left a letter in his mailbox demanding that
he leave the town. After that a grenade was thrown on the witness's house and
the fence was torn down. The witness reported all this to the police but no
avail.
In the course of April 1991, the ZNG members in uniforms visited him at
his place a number of times, beat him up, made a mess of his apartment and
caused a lot of damage. They told him that he would have to leave his house
immediately and that he would not be given any other chance to do it.
At that time "Slobodni Tjednik" featured accusations charging the witness
with being a chetnik and a terrorist. A grenade was then thrown on his shop
causing considerable damage. Once again the police failed to take any action.
On 23 May 1991 the witness, who was on his way to his place of work, was
beaten up by five HDZ members. He received injuries in his spine, hands and
feet, was stabbed with a knife as well and was taken to hospital. The case was
reported to the police.
During his hospitalization, the witness was not allowed to receive any
visitors and was declined appropriate medical assistance.
The witness was provoked, spat at and slapped on the face by Croats at
this hospital. He asked the doctors to be transferred to another room but they
refused t meet his request.
After two days in hospital and having been informed that they would
poison im there, he was secretly transferred by some friends to the hospital
in ombor.
Immediately after that the witness's house was mined again and was
considerably damaged by the blast.
In early June 1991 all the witness's possessions from his house and shop
were looted.
During his hospitalization the witness received notice from his
enterprise hat he was dismissed for not having come to work for 5 successive
days. The itness suspects that he was persecuted in this manner because he was
a igh-ranking official of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) in Osijek which was
operating as a legal party.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Branimir Glavas and other HDZ members in Osijek.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing records and other documents filed with the
Committee under No. 167/95.
IX-128
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Crikvenica, end November 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness lived in Crikvenica in his own fully
furnished apartment area 60 sq.ms. and had a new motor-car make "Golf".
At around 21.30 hrs on 28 November two members of the Ministry of the
Interior of Croatia entered the apartment of the witness, who was born in
Bosnia, nd ordered him to prepare himself to be transported to Bosnia the
following ay. e was only allowed to pack one piece of luggage.
The following morning they came to take him by a police car; there was
already a Serb from Novi Vinodolski in that car. They took them both to the
Police Station at Crikvenica. After 15 hours spent in that Station, they drove
them by a police van, together with one more Serb, to Rijeka and made them
embark ship which was waiting for them and, as far as the witness remembers,
was alled "Liburnija". There were around 700 people on that ship, most of
which ere erbs. There were some Muslims as well.
The ship, escorted by the Military Police, set off at around 16.00 hrs
and ransported them to Split where they arrived at 7.00 hrs the following
morning.
They made them get on six articulated local city transport buses and
drove hem to Duvno (Tomislavgrad). They divided them up into two groups and
one roup ent in the direction of Mostar and the other toward Posusje.
They made the witness get off in Zenica. This was how the witness lost
all is possessions. He currently lives as a refugee in Serbia.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
The top-ranking authorities of Croatia and of the former B/H.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing records filed with the Commiteee under No.
532/94-5.
IX-129
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Vinkovci, 1991.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness lived as a pensioner in Vinkovci.
In May and June 1991 he came under pressure to move out of his apartment
and go to Serbia. They called him by phone every day and asked: "You, Serb,
are ou still here? When will you move out of that apartment? When will you go
to erbia?" The witness had to unplug his phone at night in fear of such
threats.
When he went downtown, he was stopped by some people who made threats and
hurled most vicious insults at him.
In May 1991 he saw a police vehicle coming; the vehicle stopped by his
side. Several policemen got out of the vehicle. The police officers asked him
to how them the way to the hospital and as he proceeded to explain, he
received a terrible blow on his head. He came round on his way to the
hospital where they
sewed his head wound. His left eye had been injured as well.
As they started threatening the witness for being a Serb at that hospital
and intimidated him, the witness ran away. He remained in hiding until
mid-July when a friend of his, a Croat, told him that some harm was in store
for him and that he had better leave for Serbia straight away.
After the witness escaped to Serbia, police officers in Vinkovci caught
his son and took him to the local neighborhood community in Vinkovci where
they beat him up. He sustained serious bodily injuries.
The witness ran away from Vinkovci in a summer suit leaving all his
possessions behind. After the witness's flight, some Croats moved into his
apartment and into the house of his son.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Tihomir Zovak, mayor of Vinkovci.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing records filed with the Committee under Nos.
577/94 and 17/93.
IX-130
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Grubisno Polje, 1990 - 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When he came back to his native village in 1990 after
having done his military service, the witness was in a situation to establish
that all his former Croat friends with whom he had been on very good terms,
had become police reservists. Whenever he went out now, they would ask him to
produce his I.D. every 100-200 meters.
When the HDZ took over in March 1990, a shell was thrown on the house of
the witness and his father destroying its facade. Somebody wrote the graffiti
"HDZ: death to Serbs" on the wall of the Orthodox church at Veliki Grdjevac,
and "March forward across the Drina, you thieves and Judas" on the facade of
the witness's house.
In June 1991 the witness wrote "Krajina" on the postage stamp with the
chess-board flag on it which he was sending by mail to Belgrade. For that
reason, he was subsequently summoned to the Police, interrogated and harassed.
In the night of 13 August 1991 the witness's house came under another
grenade attack. After that, the witness and his parents abandoned this family
house area 400 sq.ms. which was subsequently looted and demolished.
In January and February 1992, about 10 Serb houses near the witness's
house were mined in this village. Having managed to escape, the witness and
his father learnt that somebody had drawn and put up in public places at
Grubisno Polje the lists of the names of chetniks, as well as that the
witness's father had been sentenced to death by firing squad and the witness
to 16 years of imprisonment.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Zeljko Pusic, chief of police at Veliki Grdjevac;
2. Sandor Tot, head of the Secretariat of the Interior at Grubisko Polje,
3. Alojz Gros,
4. Ivica Ferendzic from Mala Pisavica,
5. Dinko Kranjevic, teacher at Veliki Grdjevac,
6. Ivica Debic,
7. Ante Delic from Grubisno Polje.
EVIDENCE: 427/4-94.
IX-131
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Vares, 1992 - 1993.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In this township the Croat population formed a
majority and was in coalition with the Muslims.
The attitude of the Croatian authorities was more or less correct;
Muslims, however, who had their units with the "Green berets" markings, often
threatened the Serb population and provoked different conflicts whenever an
opportunity was there.
This was done especially toward rural populations, bursting into Serb
homes and taking away some Serbs who never came back. In the course of 1992
the Croatian authorities tolerating at and did nothing to prevent them. Later
on the Muslims started looting and torching Serb homes. They repeatedly
threatened the Serb population that they would expel them from this area or
put them to death, that they could no longer live together and that there was
no room for Serbs there.
By pursuing the above policy they managed to cleanse 12 Serb - populated
villages around Vares by November 1993 including Neprivaj, Debela Medja,
Drazevic, Strsljenice, Brda, Radonjic, Slavinj and Planinica.
The Serbs were forced to abandon those villages and leave in the
direction of Sokolac and other places. The villages had remained completely
deserted and the Muslims' idea to cleanse that territory of Serbs was put in
practice.
A large number of villagers were taken to nobody knows where or put to
death as for example Nedja Leka from the village Zizci.
By 3 November 1993 the Muslim Army had expelled all Croats and Serbs that
had until then been living in Vares.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Top-ranking officials in Vares.
EVIDENCE: Witness 292/95-14.
IX-132
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: The village Ponijevo near Zenica, 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The village of Ponijevo was inhabited exclusively by
Serbs with surrounding villages populated by Muslims.
On the eve of the war in the first half of 1992, the Muslims from the
neighboring villages set up military units with "Green berets" markings and
started arming them.
They threatened the Serbs from Ponijevo that they would all be either put
to death or expelled. They kept saying that there was no room for Serbs in
that village, that they could not live in their homes and that all was theirs,
Muslim, property. With the outbreak of war drawing near, their threats were
ever more frequent and aggressive, so that most people of Serb nationality
abandoned their homes. Already in June 1992 there were no Serbs left in that
village, for all had abandoned their homes.
The Muslims from the neighboring villages had looted the abandoned
property, and set the houses ablaze. The houses that were made of solid
construction material were mined. The Muslims from the surrounding villages
divided up among themselves the land previously owned by the Serbs.
The interviewed witness was consequently left without 5 hectares of
arable land, a big new one-story house, a garage, a stable and other auxiliary
buildings, as well as without his combine harvester, a tractor, a mill, 15
beehives in the total estimated value of DEM 700,000.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Siradj Sisic, commander of the Muslim armed formations;
2. Branko Boncina, commander of the Zenica Territorial Defense;
3. Beslo Mujcin, Military Police Commander.
EVIDENCE: Witness 234/95-23.
IX-133
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Suhopolje near Virovitica, January 1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness lived at Suhopolje like his two sons who
had their separate households.
In the night of 1 January 1992 a grenade was thrown on the house of the
witness's elder son. After that his son fled to the Serb-held territory.
The witness's younger son was detained after being dismissed at Bjelovar,
and exchanged a day later for some Croat citizens.
On 4 January, a ZNG member Drago Stanisek came to the witness's house and
started cursing his Serb mother and demanding from him to get out of his
house. He then threw the witness down the stairs saying that there was no room
for him there anymore and that he would have to get out of Croatia. As the
witness refused to get out of his house, the ZNG member hit him on the face
with his automatic riflebutt, broke his jaw, knocked out 4 of his teeth and
made a bad cut along his face.
The witness's neighbors took him to hospital at Virovitica where they
made 7 stitches and sewed together his cut. A woman doctor then told the
witness that he should not stay at hospital for the ZNG would certainly come
to the hospital to look for him again.
After that, the witness escaped to Serbia. His elder son's house, on
which a grenade had been thrown on New Year's Eve, was mined.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Drago Stanisek, a ZNG member from Virovitica.
EVIDENCE: Witness 401/95.
IX-134
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
PLACE AND TIME: Banovici, 1992 - 1994.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The witness was born at Banovici where he was working
as the manager of a well-known factory when the war broke out.
On 22 May 1992 the witness was taken from his apartment by some uniformed
and armed members of the Muslim Patriotic League for an "informative
interview". Already at the apartment the witness was hand-cuffed and then
taken to the library building of the school "Ivan Goran Kovacic" in the
village of Banovici where other arrested Serbs had been incarcerated.
The witness spent three days and three nights there and was subjected to
torture and inhuman treatment. They beat him with sticks there. As a result of
the blows he received on his head with riflebutts, the witness still has a
visible scar.
After that the witness was transferred to detention camp for Serbs in the
building of the Railway Transport Company at Banovici where there were between
300-400 detained Serbs.
All of them had been subjected to torture and battery.
The witness was locked up in the cellar and was regularly beaten every
night between 23.00 and 05.00 hrs, when the curfew was in force. They would
most often take detainees to the office on the second floor and beat them
there. They beat them with sticks and in most cases they made them put their
hands on the table in front of themselves, with palms down, and then hit them
the hardest on the knuckles.
The witness was transferred from Banovici to the jail in Tuzla where he
stayed for 60 days and where they charged him with allegedly having poisoned
the water supply at Banovici and with having illegally possessed weapons, even
though the witness had a valid license obtained before the outbreak of the
war. The trip from Banovici to Tuzla lasted 6 hours because the van by which
they were transported stopped whenever it came across any soldiers or other
citizens. They would get out and tell those passers-by that the Serbs they
were escorting were Chetniks and that they should beat them. In response to
such words of encouragement, the passers-by then actually proceeded to beat
them.
Sixty days later the witness was released, but he was not in a position
to get back to his apartment at Banovici, because it had meanwhile been taken
away from him along with all his possessions, so that he had to move to his
parents' place. He was included in "labor platoons" and had to do forced
labor.
This lasted until the end of 1993 when he managed to cross over to
Serb-held territory after having paid DM 2,000. Prior to that, together with
some other Serbs who had paid for their exit from Banovici, he was summoned to
the Local Stadium where he had to sign a statement saying that he was moving
out of Banovici on a voluntary basis and without any property. It was only
then that he was transferred to Bijeljina, in Serbia.
In August 1994 the witness's parents also moved out of Banovici after
having paid DM 2,000.
The witness's entire property along with that of his parents, including
an apartment, his parents' family home, a truck and business premises was
confiscated.
At the end of his statement the witness said:
"I have never been a nationalist, and have never hated persons belonging
to any other nationality, especially not Muslims. I was not a member of any
political party at the time of my arrest either".
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
1. Mirsad Kukic, President of the Executive Board at Banovici,
2. Sefer Pilic,
3. Abid Kurtic,
4. Nair Kurtic,
5. Abid Mulic, "investigative judge" who took the lead in the inhuman
treatment of Serbs at detention camp in the Railway Company building,
6. Andrija Getos, "Miro",
7. Mrkonjic, "Mrkonja" from the village of Omagici near Banovici, who
took the lead in beatings of the detained Serbs,
8. Ethem Joldic, "Edo",detention camp warden in the Railway Company
building.
EVIDENCE: 232/95.
IX-135
DESIGNATION OF CRIME: Ethnic cleansing
TIME AND PLACE: The village Raspotocje, Zenica township, 4 and 5 June
1992.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: On 4 June 1992 extremely strong Muslim armed
formations launched a sudden attack on the Serb part of Raspotocje near
Zenica. The defenseless Serb villagers surrendered.
The Muslims transported around 140 men by buses to Zenica and
incarcerated them in the local penitentiary, whereas they took women, children
and elderly people to a makeshift prison at the elementary school "Sead Skrgo"
in Zenica.
Some 1,200 Serbs seized in this and other villages around Zenica were
brought by force to the penitentiary in Zenica on that occasion.
The detained Serbs were subjected to battery and torture, and the witness
is aware that the following died as a result of beatings:
1. Radovan Djukic from Lokve, who worked as a guard at the mine in Zenica
and a
2. Kupresak from Osjecanik near Zenica.
When on 5 August 1992 the witness got out of jail, he found his home in
the village burnt down and devastated. Also devastated had been the houses of
his next-door neighbors Stanimir Bencun, Uros Bencun, Veljko Jankovic and
Danilo Jankovic.
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATOR:
Muslim armed formations in which served brothers:
1. Dzemal Huseinspahic,
2. Kemal Husenispahic,
3. Mehmed Huseninspahic, all from the village Gnjusi near Zenica.
EVIDENCE: Witness hearing records filed with the Committee under No.
283/94-6.
==================
ANNEX I
Committee for the Collection of Data
on Crimes Committed against Humanity
and International Law
No.471/95
Date: August 23,1995
Belgrade, 10, Vlajkoviceva st.
Telephones: 330-369, 341-107
Fax: 334-133
DECAPITATION AS A MEANS OF GENOCIDE OVER THE SERBS
IN THE FORMER BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
The magazine "Novi voks" published in Sarajevo promoted the most extreme
Moslem stances and openly called for genocide of the Serbian people.
Thus in its October 1991 issue No.3, on page 40, in a regular feature
called "Documents", "Novi voks" published an article entitled "What (is to be
done) with the Serbs in the Moslem Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", which,
inter alia, stated the following:
"1. Every individual Serb must be aware of the responsibility of the
entire nation for his own uncontrolled acts. The punishment for evildoings
committed will be collective - for one Moslem house torn down ten Serbian
houses will be demolished, for one dead Moslem 100 Serbs will be liquidated.
For a wounded Moslem, depending on the severity of the wound - 10 to 50 Serbs.
2. All Serbs will have 12-hour working days, the salaries of all
employees will reflect the degree of their loyalty and will as a rule be by
30% below the salaries Moslems occupying the same posts receive.
...
9. A good Serb is a live and obedient Serb; or a dead disobedient
Serb....".
The front page of the No.3 issue of this magazine which came out half a
year before the so-called Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was proclaimed in
April 1992, carried the message "Khanjar division readying" illustrated with a
drawing of an armed Moslem soldier beneath whom were the cut off heads of the
Serb leaders Karadzic, Koljevic, Milosevic and Seselj with the Moslem soldier
trampling Karadzic's head underfoot.
The khanjar division had been a military unit composed of Moslems from
Bosnia and Herzegovina, who, having previously been specially trained in
France and Germany, fought on the side of fascist Germany in World War II and
is remembered for the war crimes committed against the Serbian people.
This cover page presaged what would start happening to the Serbs a year
afterwards, when the civil war broke out in the territory of the former Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
There ensued a massive genocide of the Serbian people which involved the
killing of Serbs by decapitation, as was characteristic of the period of
Turkish rule in these lands, when the beheading of Serbs was common practice.
Ivo Andric, who was born here and is the only Yugoslav Nobel laureate for
literature, also describes this in his books.
Following are some examples of this practice of killing Serbs by
decapitation:
1. On May 26, 1992 Zvonko Zovko, from Podorasac near Konjic, a member of
Croat-Moslem armed formations, chopped off the head of the Serb Sretko
Kuljanin from Bradina near Konjic, who was captured in Bradina, took it to
Konjic as a trophy, kicked it around the streets and in the end impaled it on
a stake.
When Sretko's wife Branka, seven months pregnant, heard of this on May
28, she went into labour. However, the Moslem gynecologist in Konjic, Dr.
Jusufbegovic, refused to attend to her although her waters had broken and he
returned her to the Musala detention camp in Konjic where on June 14 1992 she
gave birth to a child which, according to the findings of the Mother and Child
Care Institute in Belgrade, was born with brain and optical nerve atrophy (in
his second year a pronounced retardation in the development of the motor
functions was established manifested as incomplete control of the head,
inability to sit, stand on his legs and impaired vision with oculogyration and
the inability to fixate the source of light). In the view of the physicians of
this renowned child care establishment this is the consequence of premature
birth and of adverse influences before birth and the prognosis is that the
child will remain severely handicapped for life.
Proof: Documentation of the Committee 106/94.
2. After June 8, 1992, there remained only 13 Serbs, elderly men and
women in the village of Ledici, the commune of Trnovo, most of whom met their
death at the hands of Moslem-Croat military formations commanded by Ethem
Godinjak, Head of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs in Trnovo before the
war.
That is how Rade Mijovcic (father Aleksa), 70 was killed. His body was
found on August 7 with his head severed from the rest of the body.
The body of Savka Vasic (father Nikola), a woman 78, who was butchered on
her doorstep, was also found decapitated.
Members of Godinjak's unit found and arrested the last five remaining
Serbs from the village of Ledici on June 18 and 19. They drove them in the
direction of Treskavica and killed them on a spot called "Ledicka krivina".
During the in situ inspection carried out after the Serbs liberated this
territory the beheaded bodies of all these five Serbs were found: Tankosava
Mijovcic (father Jovica), a woman 70; Ljubica Vasic (father Djura), a woman
84; Ikonija Vasic (father Lazar) a 92-year old woman; Zoran Vasic (father
Jovan), 71, and Milka Vasic (father Danilo) a 56-year old woman.
Three of the heads have not been found and two heads were found away from
the bodies.
Proof: 228/94-30.
3. On October 5, 1992, Moslem armed formations attacked the house of
Sreten Djokic in the village of Divovici near Bratunac, and two days later the
bodies of the people killed in Divovici were handed over to the Serbs.
The body of Sreten Djokic was given without the head and the right arm.
On the neck hung a patch of skin with hair from the top of his head.
The head and the arm have not been found and the body was buried
accordingly.
Proof: 37/94-6.
4. Nedeljko Lukic, 52, was killed in the orchard in front of his house in
the village of Vujicic near Brcko on September 14, 1992. His head was then cut
off and taken away. He was buried without the head.
Proof: 144/95-10 and 617/95-14.
5. The Moslem Ejub Dugalic, a member of the "intervention platoon" in
Slavonski Brod, forced Mirko Djeric from the village of Donja Mocila near Brod
out of his house on July 12, St. Peter's Day, 1992.
He maltreated and tortured him, took him to the house and killed him in
the bathroom. He cut his head off and left it in the attic.
Proof: 227/95-15.
6. Sometime in July 1992 Ivko Soldan brought two amputated human heads to
Sijekovac near Bosanski Brod and showed them around Sijekovac and in the
restaurant of Hazim Cutic claiming that those were the heads of Serbs whom he
had slain.
Proof: 227/95-15
7. The heads were also cut off of the Serbs Stojan Pudic and Perica
Jovicic who had been taken prisoner by members of the 108th Bosanska Posavina
brigade when the village of Bodeliste was attacked in March 1993.
According to the findings of the post mortem examiners of the corpse of
Stojan Pudic his head was cut off most probably in two stages. The edge of a
mechanical instrument severed the soft tissue of the neck in the first stage
and in the second the body was cut through of the fourth cervical vertebra at
a stroke with the edge of a heavy instrument. In the opinion of the examiners,
he was probably first wounded by firearms in the lower limbs and then, as he
lay there still alive, his head was cut off; the firearm wounds on the head
and chest were inflicted only after the head had been cut off.
The findings in respect of Perica Jovicic were similar. He first
sustained lacerations and contusions on the left side of the face and a double
fracture of the jawbone and then while he was in lying position and still
alive his head was cut off. The wound from a hand gun in the area of the left
breast was inflicted after death i.e. after his head had been cut off.
Proof: 144/95-9.
8. Marko Ivanovic from Lisovic near Trnovo was killed by decapitation;
his head was not found with his body on June 6, 1992 when the Serbs liberated
this village, so that his body too was buried headless.
Proof: 228/94-26.
9. Janko Popovic was slaughtered in front of his house in Gornja
Presjenica near Trnovo on July 7 1992. After slitting his throat they cut off
his head.
Proof: 228/94-15.
Darko Parezanin, a captured Republic of Srpska soldier, taken prisoner on
June 30, 1992 in Skoripov Gaj near Trnovo, was beheaded.
Spasoje Popovic was captured at the same time and his head was also cut
off and it was never found so that his body too was buried without the head.
Proof: 228/94-32.
11. Zivko Markovic, 61, was killed in the village of Mirusic in the
commune of Foca.
His head was cut off and then put on a tree. This happened on May 20,
1992. His head was cut off, his left arm was cut off, he was flayed, his
stomach ripped and saturated with salt.
Proof: 36/95.
12. On November 13, 1994, four members of the Army of the Republic of
Srpska were taken prisoner at the Herzegovina war theater. After capture they
were taken to the basement of the Museum of the Revolution in Jablanica which
had been turned into a detention camp for Serbs. In December 1994 they were
killed.
Mirko Simic was killed by beheading. Adnan Salcin, a member of the Moslem
army cut off his head with a saber. His body was exchanged in Podvelezje
without the head, as was also noted in the post mortem examination carried out
on March 18,1995.
Proof: 392/95 and 371/95.
13. Niko Males, born in 1931, was killed by decapitation on April 7, 1992
in the village of Rilic in the commune of Kupres.
Proof: 117/95-4.
14. In an attack on the Serb village of Brezani, the commune of
Srebrenica, on June 30, 1992, members of Moslem armed forces killed 19 serb
villagers. The body of Milos Novakovic from the hamlet of Cicevac was found
with the head cut off.
Proof: 493/94-9, 493/94-5, 493/94-6, 493/94-7, 493/94-8 and 635/94-9.
15. Slavko Mladjenovic, (father Ljubomir), born in 1965, was killed on
August 8, 1992 during an attack on the village of Jezestice, the commune of
Bratunac.
He was buried without the head which had been cut off and taken away.
Proof: 68/94 and 635/94-28.
16. In an attack launched on the village of Vrasalici, the commune of
Rogatica, on November 20, 1992, Milos Kovacevic, about 6, was shot dead in
front of his house by Rusmir Balas. When Milos fell on the ground, Rusmir cut
off his head, his right arm at the elbow and his penis and then threw the head
and penis away from the body.
Proof: 137/95-8.
17. Pero Ozic was killed in 1993 in Fojnica. He was first forced to dig
his own grave and then killed and beheaded. Responsible for the killing is
Omer Pobric, a militia commander in Fojnica before the war.
Proof: 319/95.
18. In clashes between Moslem armed forces and those of the Army of the
Republic of Srpska on November 5,1992 in the area of Kamenica, the commune of
Zvornik, the Moslems captured and killed by beheading Vlado Grabovica, Savo
Djokic, Dragomir Bozic, Slavko Tijanic, Savo Kazanovic and Radomir Pavlovic.
Dragomir Bozic was massacred his head severed from the body.
The head of Slavko Tijanic was found without the eyes, ears and nose, a 6
mm diameter iron bar was found in his chest, while his neck, hands and feet
were tied with wire.
The head of Savo Kazanovic had also been cut off, his chest pierced with
a large nail, and he himself nailed to an oak tree and crucified.
A head without the body was also found which is assumed to have belonged
to Milos Grabovica.
The following were also killed in Kamenica on November 5,1992: Miladin
Asceric, 28; Mico Tesic, 24, and Nikola Milinovic, 27. They were also
beheaded.
Proof: 184/94-5, 184/95-6, 184/95-7 and 184/95-8.
19. In an attack launched on May 29, 1992 on the village of Bavar, the
commune of Jajce, members of the Croato-Moslem army killed Stana Trifunovic,
68. They slit her throat and then chopped her head off with an axe.
Proof: 116/95-12 and 333/95-1.
20. Mirko Dejanovic from Majevac was killed on May 6, 1992 in Ritesici by
the members of the Croat armed formations from the villages of Ritesici and
Brezak. They killed him by cutting his head off with a pickax. They cut off
his penis and put it in his mouth.
His body had over 100 stab wounds inflicted with a knife. Jela Titura
(female) from Ritesici took part in the killing.
Proof: 30/94
21. In July and August 1992, the Moslem youths aged 15-16 carried around
Sarajevo the heads of killed Serbs, which they found in the cellars of the
part of Sarajevo called Dobrinja 5.
They played with and kicked around the heads and threw them in garbage
bins.
Proof: 234/95-1.
22. In an attack carried out on June 3,1992 on the village of Brezane,
the commune of Srebrenica, Moslems killed Milivoje Mitrovic and Stanoje
Mitrovic. When this village was liberated in April 1993 their headless bodies
were found.
Stanoje Mitrovic's throat had been slit by one "Kemo" from Pale.
Proof: 635/94-9.
23. The Moslems killed the Serb Sredoje Jovanovic from Krnice by
beheading him when they attacked this village on July 5, 1992.
Proof: 493/94-13.
24. Milos Pepic from the village of Pepic, the commune of Kladanj, over
60, was killed on January 31, 1994 in the area of Banderka near Sehovici. They
killed him by chopping his head off on a block with an axe.
Proof: 184/95-34
25. On September 24,1992 Moslem forces occupied the village of Podravanje
in the commune of Milici, set it to fire, looted it and killed all the wounded
they came across in the village. They killed 19 persons on that occasion and
massacred their bodies.
Zulfo Tursumovic from Suceska had the severely wounded Tomislav Perendic
put his head in his (Tursumovic's) lap and then slaughtered him and cut his
head off.
Svetozar Jovanovic's head was cut off and impaled on a stake and Gojko
Tomic was beheaded and his head thrown some 20 metres away from the body.
Proof: 184/95-34.
26. During the Moslem attack on the village of Snagovo on February 19,
1992, four villagers were killed. The head and one arm of Dobrivoje (other
particulars are being established) were cut off.
Proof: 184/95-1.
27. Andja Vukomanovic was slaughtered in early August 1992 and her body
was found towards the end of October 1992 in front of the house in the hamlet
of Svaljak, the commune of Trnovo, with the head severed from the body.
Proof: 228/94-31.
28. After Trnovo was taken in July 1992, Serb civilians found in Trnovo
and the vicinity were killed.
Danilo Misovic, 78, was killed in front of his house in the village of
Tosici near Trnovo. His remains were found buried under a dump heap.
These burials were organized by the so-called "Land Sanitation
Commission". During in situ inspection and exhumation on August 13, 1992 his
body was found without the head.
Drago Golijanin, 86, was killed on July 31, 1992 on Rogoj, in an area
called Rankcev Do. His remains were found on September 22, 1993, when it was
established that the head had been severed from the rest of the body.
Proof: 228/94-23 and 228/94-25.
29. The Moslem Zijo Kubac slit the throat of the Serb Vasilije Lavljiv in
mid-October 1993 in Sarajevo, on a spot called "Kazan", and then cut off his
head with a knife and Mrs. Lavljiv was killed by Esad Tucakovic who also cut
her head off. Then their bodies were hurled into the abyss.
Proof: 432/95.
30. In mid-September 1993 the Serbs Dusko Jovanovic and Ervin Nikolic
were brought into the premises of the Headquarters of the tenth mountain
brigade of the so-called Army of B&H in Bistrik, where they were beaten and
then taken towards Bogusevac to a spot called "Kazan". There they took them
into the sniper platoon dugout where they were again beaten and then Samir
Ljubovic killed Jovanovic with a knife and Samir Pajkic cut off Nikolic's
head.
Proof: 432/95.
31. In mid-October 1993 Predrag Salipur and his wife Katarina were
arrested in their flat in Sarajevo, Borisa Kidrica street No. 3. On the orders
of Musan Topalovic they were taken to the Headquarters of the 10th mountain
brigade of the so-called Army of B&H together with Branislav Radosavljevic who
happened to be in Salipur's flat. There they beat them.
Afterwards they were taken to a spot called "Kazan" where Nihad Hodzic
cut the throat of Branislav Radosavljevic slashing it twice or thrice with a
knife and then cut his head off. Then he gave the knife to Husein Hodzic who
severed with it the head of Predrag Salipur who had been previously killed by
Sabahudin Ziva and Omer Pendzo. Then they threw their bodies into the "Kazani"
precipice.
Proof: 432/95.
32. According to the witness heard, a peasant woman 57, while she had
been held in prison at the Secondary Education Centre in Jajce in mid-1992,
she had been made to listen to a tape describing the ordeals of Serbs at the
hands of Croats and Moslems. Members of her family were also mentioned on the
tape as having been slain by Croats and Moslems.
Specifically, she heard that her husband and son had been killed and that
Moslems and Croats played soccer with their chopped off heads. She was made to
listen to that tape every day.
After having been released from prison, she stated, she was so tormented
and lost that she was unable to recognize her own son and husband when she was
reunited with them.
Proof: 561/94-4.
33. Zekira Mulasmajic, an elementary school sixth grader from Novi Seher
near Maglaj, speaks about the beheading of Serbs in her Diary.
In her entry of September 29, 1992, she wrote that the Moslems had taken
Glipova Glava, and stated, inter alia:
"... On that same day I saw something I never ever imagined I would see,
a chopped off head of a Chetnik. Safet (Devletin) told Hido how some guys had
brought a Chetnik head and were playing ball with it. I and Lalo immediately
went downtown to see whether that was true. And indeed some guys downtown were
really carrying a wrapped head. Down by Bahro's shop they unwrapped it and I
saw it... The face was black and the hair was horrible ... they say that the
lad had been young, 22 at most. Nothing is surprising in this fratricidal war.
There are lots of heads rolling about..."
Proof: 471/95.
34. In the area of Kruzno Groblje near Crni Vrh the following Serbs were
killed by decapitation in mid-September 1992: Branislav Djuric, 40, from
Gornji Teslic; Blagoje Blagojevic, 46, and Nenad Cetkovic, 22, from Jasenava
near Teslic.
A mercenary from Saudi Arabia had his photograph taken with their cut off
heads.
Proof: Zarko Krstanovic, By Genocide Against the Serbs, Belgrade, 1995.
35. In exchanges of bodies the Serb side has been given an increasing
number of headless corpses, with it being established by post mortem
examinations that the heads had been cut off. Thus the Moslem side handed over
the headless bodies of the following persons, post mortem examinations of
which were carried out on November 11, 1993 at the cemetery in Vlakovo in
Sarajevo:
1. Slavko Rajcevic (father Milan), born in 1957, from Sarajevo, and
2. Bosko Mizdrak (f.Steva), from Sarajevo.
In the vicinity of Trebinje such post mortem findings were established on
March 7, August 17 and February 23, 1993 on the bodies of the following
persons:
3. Slobodan Pejakovic (father Ilija), born in 1960,
4. Zoran Radovic (father Martin), born in 1966,
5. Petar Sekulovic (father Danilo), born in 1960,
6. Djordje Bulut, born in 1949, and
7. Sasa Maras, born in 1973.
In the vicinity of Bileca such post mortem findings were established on
July 11, 1992 on the bodies of the following persons:
8. Mile Trsic (father Dragutin), born in 1946, from Mostar,
9. Milan Bojanic (father Dragutin), born in 1956,
10. Luka Papic, born in 1954, and
11. Goran Mrkovic, born in 1960.
In the vicinity of Nevesinje, on March 18,1995, such post mortem findings
were established on the body of:
12. Trifko Zuza (father Dusan), born in 1947.
In the vicinity of Priboj, such post mortem findings were established on
May 5,1994 on the bodies of the following:
13. Jovan Tomic (father Steva), born in 1939, and
14. Dragan Jurkovic, born in 1965.
In Bratunac such post mortem findings were established on March 21 and
22,
1993 on the bodies of the following:
15. Bora Blagojevic, born in 1973,
16. Dragica Mastikosa, born in 1955, and
17. Miodrag Vorkapic, born in 1971.
In the village of Kravice such post mortem findings were established on
March 18 and 19, 1993 on the bodies of the following:
18. Lazar Veselinovic (father Kostadin), born in 1935,
19. Mitar Nikolic (father Cvijan), born in 1927,
20. Kristina Eric, born in 1921, and
21. Djordje Miladinovic, born in 1936.
In Fakovic such post mortem findings were established on July 10 and 11,
1993 on the bodies of the following:
22. Ranko Rankic, born in 1933,
23. Zora Prodanovic, born in 1941, and
24. Obren Bogicevic, born in 1932.
In Zvornik such post mortem findings were established in October 1994 on
the bodies of the following:
25. Cvija Kostic, born in 1927, and
26. Milorad Milic-Lazarevic, born in 1918.
Proof: Forensic findings of Dr. Zoran Stankovic, reg. under No. 471/95.
ANNEX II
Committee for Compiling Data on Crimes against
Humanity and International Law
No. 162/95
December 28, 1995
LIST OF DETENTION CAMPS FOR SERBS
1. Detention camps in the so-called Bosnia and Herzegovina
1. BANOVICI, basement of the main railway-station building
2. BANOVICI, old building of "Helios" company management
3. BANOVICI, management-building of former Territorial Defence Headquarters,
opposite the post-office
4. BANOVICI, village of Trestenica, primary school
5. BANOVICI, village, primary school "Ivan Goran Kovacic" and barracks nearby
school
6. BANOVICI, Djurdjevik
7. BIHAC, main prison (District prison), Luke
8. BIHAC, aero-club premises
9. BIHAC, military barracs "27th July"
10. BIHAC, "Jedinstvo" football-club stadium
11. BIHAC, hotel "Park" - cement premises
12. BIHAC, restaurant of the owner Vukovic Mustafa
13. BIHAC, "Batnoga" camp
14. BIHAC, village of Cekrlije, basement
15. BIHAC, school-building in village of Frkasic
16. BRADINA near Konjic, primary school
17. BRATUNAC, village of Gornje Potocare, private prison of Beslic Hajro
18. BREZA, Military prison
19. BREZA, Police station
20. BREZA, camp in "Elektroterma" company basement
21. BREZA, "Udarnik" company warehouse, across the Department of Interior
22, BREZA, outdoors swimming-pool
23. BREZA, camp in warehouse of the "Breza" mine
24. BREZA, building "29"
25. BROD (Bosanski Brod), secondary-schooling center "Fric Pavlik"
26. BROD (Bosanski Brod), Tulek, warehouse of the "Belgrade" department store
27. BROD (Bosanski Brod), storage of the building material of the "GIK"
company
28. BROD (Bosanski Brod), camp "Krndija" (opposite fire-station building)
29. BROD (Bosanski Brod), camp near the Sava river (kayak-club)
30. BROD (Bosanski Brod), "Bosnia" stocking-factory manufacturing hall
31. BROD (Bosanski Brod), camp in Military police building (former "Jugobanka"
building)
32. BROD (Bosanski Brod), city stadium
33. BRCKO, Boderiste, "Interplet" factory, manufacturing hall
34. BRCKO, Bosanska Bijela, local community premises
35. BRCKO, Bosanska Bijela, premisses for drying plums
36. BRCKO, Bosanska Bijela, private houses
37. BRCKO, Boce, primary school
38. BRCKO, Boce, local community premises
39. BRCKO, Gornji Zovik, warehouse of building material
40. BRCKO, Gornji Rahic, local community premises
41. BRCKO, Gornji Rahic, warehouse of building material
42. BRCKO, Gornji Rahic, place for drying in Okrajci
43. BRCKO, Gornji Rahic, primary school
44. BRCKO, garage in hothouse between places of Rahic and Maoce
45. BRCKO, Donji Rahic, private houses
46. BRCKO, Maoca, chicken-farm
47. BRCKO, Maoca, restaurant "Bolji zivot"
48. BRCKO, Palanka, library of the local community
49. BRCKO, Rasljani, warehouse
50. BRCKO, Ulice, primary school
51. BRCKO, Ulice, local community premises
52. BUGOJNO, building of the bank in which the Military police of the Army of
the B&H is stationed
53. BUGOJNO, basement of the "Kalin" hotel
54. BUGOJNO, private house at the outskirts
55. BUGOJNO, sports-cultural center hall
56. BUGOJNO, "Stipo Djerek" primary school
57. BUGOJNO, Grammar school
58. BUGOJNO, "Rostovo" ski-center
59. BUGOJNO, "Slavko Rodic" factory
60. BUGOJNO, garages in former Tito's Villa, "Gorica"
61. BUGOJNO, house of murdered Serb, Lukic Relja
62. BUGOJNO, coal-mine in village of Gracanica
63. BUNA, camp in school-building
64. BUNA, prison of brothers Ivan and Srecko Gagro
65. BUSOVACA, Kaonik
66. BUSOVACA, hotel complex "Tisovac"
67. VARES
68. VELIKA Kladusa, prison
69. VISOKO, "Ahmet Fetahagic" military barracks
70. VISOKO, basement of investigation prison
71. VISOKO, local community premises
72. VISOKO, "Fojnicki odred" school-building
73. VISOKO, "Ognjen Prica" school-building
74. VISOKO, Military police prison based at the "Ahmet Fetahagic"
school-building,
75. VISOKO, village of Srhinje, house of Enver Basic
76. VISOKO, village of Hlapcevici, local community premises
77. VISOKO, village of Glina, stables of the owner Sakib Sudzuk, called
"Postman"
78. VISOKO, Buzic Mahala, cooperative consumers' house
79. VITEZ, police station building
80. VITEZ, chemical factory
81. VITEZ, Kruscica
82. VISEGRAD, marshy rooms of Hydro-Energetic Plant "Visegrad"
83. VISEGRAD, grain silo "Zito"
84. VISEGRAD, Crni Vrh
85. VLASENICA
86. GABELA near Capljina, hangars of the former Yugoslav People-s Army (JNA),
near STRUGA, Croatian Defence Council (HVO) prison
87. GORAZDE, Department of Interior, Police station in the center of the town
88. GORAZDE, grain silo in Kopaci
89. GORAZDE, building of the insurance company ZOIL "Sarajevo"
90. GORAZDE, "Balkan" old hotel building
91. GORAZDE, camp named "Mujkovica Polje"
92. GORAZDE, Mahala
93. GORAZDE, building of electric power distribution center
"Elektrodistribucija"
94. GORAZDE, VitkovicI
95. GORAZDE, camp in printing house in VitkovicI
96. GORAZDE, camp in Mose Pijade Street, opposite police station building
97. GORAZDE, camp in house of Nedimovic family
98. GORAZDE, isolated part on the right bank of the Drina river
99. GORAZDE, village of Mravinjac
100. GORAZDE, village of SasiciI
101. GORNJI VAKUF, camp in Rama, police station building
102. GRADACAC, prison in basement of the Town Tower (in fortress)
103. GRADACAC, camp in secondary school center building
104. GRADACAC, basement of the Grammar School
105. GRADACAC, village of Srnica
106. GRADACAC, Gornja Tramosnjica, camp in a school building
107. GRACANICA, village of Godinje, garage
108. GRACANICA, Cultural Center
109. GRACANICA, camp in "Hasan Kikic" primary school building
110. GRUDE, school building
111. GRUDE, garages
112. GRUDE, Dejcice, camp in primary school building
113. DERVENTA, former JNA Club
114. DERVENTA, camp in grain silo in Polje
115. DERVENTA, Poljari, "Vuk Karadzic" primary school
116. DERVENTA, Rabic, underground premises of military storage
117. DERVENTA, Plehan
118. DOMANOVICI, near Capljina, camp in a private house
119. DRETELJ, near Capljina
120. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), Department of Interior prison in a basement
121. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), central-heating station
122. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), secondary school center
123. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), the Grammar School
124. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), "Borisa Kovacevic" primary school
125. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), nuns' home
126. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), military prison
127. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), Eminovo Selo
128. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), village of Babine
129. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), private prison in Suice
130. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), Balecic near Suice
131. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), village of Rascani
132. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), Gornji Brisnik
133. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), village of Stipanici, basement of a deserted house
134. DUVNO (Tomislavgrad), village of Stipanici, primary school
135. DJEVERUSA
136. ZEPCA, STORAGE - ZEPA, storage, cement
137. ZEPCA, GYM IN - ZEPA, gym in primary school "Rade Kondic"
138. ZEPCA, SECONDA - ZEPA, secondari school center
139. ZIVINICE, building of former ambulance
140. ZIVINICE, building of Department of Interior
141. ZIVINICE, building of an old Post-office
142. ZIVINICE, building of Employment Bureau
143. ZIVINICE, stadium "Mladost", dressing-rooms
144. ZIVINICE, library "Sarenjak" near stadium
145. ZIVINICE, mill situated between Tuzla and Zivinice
146. ZIVINICE, warehouse of the former JNA. Military prison (on the road to
Husi)
147. ZIVINICE, stadium "Metalac"
148. ZAVIDOVICI, basement of a building of political organizations' premises
(old City Hall)
149. ZAVIDOVICI, basement of the Forestry Center building
150. ZENICA, House of Correction
151. ZENICA, prison
152. ZENICA, basement of the Faculty of Metallurgy,
153. ZENICA, hotel "Internacional"
154. ZENICA, "Mihajlo Pupin" schooling center
155. ZENICA, "Sead Skrgo" primary school
156. ZENICA, camp in the Music school
157. ZENICA, Perin Han, "Bratstvo-Jedinstvo" primary school
158. ZENICA, Arnauti
159. ZENICA, Bijelo Polje, stadium
160. ZENICA, school building in a village of Janjici
161. ZENICA, village of Drivusa, school building
162. IGMAN, atomic shelter in the hotel "Igman"
163. IGMAN, basement of the hotel "Famos"
164. IGMAN, hotel "Mraziste"
165. JABLANICA, Memorial Museum of the Battle on the Neretva River (Museum of
Revolution)
166. JAJCE, old fortress
167. JAJCE, prison in basement of the "SJS" main building
168. JAJCE, prison of Territorial Defence Center in "ElektroVrbas" main
building
169. JAJCE, camp in "Bratstvo - Jedinstvo" primary school
170. JAJCE, prison in HVO military barracks, near Catholic Church
171. KAKANJ, camp in a coal-mine
172. KAKANJ, motel "Sretno"
173. KALESIJA, village of Miljanovci
174. KALESIJA, village of Medjan
175. KLADANJ, former Insurance Bureau for People and Property
176. KLADANJ, village of Stupari - camp in primary school building
177. KLADANJ, prison in cinema
178. KONJIC, prison in Police station
179. KONJIC, camp in Celebici, in a warehouse of the former JNA
180. KONJIC, Celebici, "Maksim Kujundzic" primary school
181. KONJIC, "3rd March" primary school, 3. mart Street
182. KONJIC, sports hall "Musala", Brace Bektasevica Street
183. KONJIC, new residential settlement
184. KONJIC, Donje Selo
185. KONJIC, cafe-bar "Amadeus"
186. KONJIC, Buturovic Polje
187. KONJIC, village of DzepI
188. KONJIC, village of Parsovici
189. KOTOR VAROs, village of Vecici
190. KREKA, Faruk Ppcic's private prison in the cultural centre "Mosa Pijade"
191. KRUPA, Podpazarice, warehouse of the former JNA
192. KUPRES, "Kvalitet" clothes factory
193. KUPRES, basement in Vila Milenka's house, Narodnih Heroja Street where
the "War Headquarters" was located
194. KUPRES, private camp
195. LISTICA
196. LIVNO, police station and garages of police station
197. LIVNO, "Ivan Goran Kovacic" primary school
198. LIVNO, "10th October" primary school
199. LIVNO, fortress "Old City"
200. LIVNO, school gym
201. LIVNO, "Dinara" hotel, basement (brothel)
202. LIVNO, secondary schooling center
203. LIVNO, camp in a school in the village of POTOK, 10 km towards Mostar
204. LIVNO, camp in Ic's family house in a village of Zastinje
205. LIVNO, village of Celebici
206. LUKAVAC, basement of the Secondary school, "Patriotska liga" prison
207. LUKAVAC, old policlinic's building
208. LUKAVAC, slaughterhouse
209. LUKAVAC, village of Modrac, prison of the owner Rifat Morankic,
210. LUKAVAC, "Transervis"garages
211. LUKAVAC, Croatian Armed Forces (HOS) camp in workers' resort in Svatovci
village
212. LJUBUSKI, HVO military investigation prison
213. LJUBUSKI, HOS old prison
214. LJUBUSKI, prison in a buy off tobacco station
215. LJUBUSKI, village of Lipno, camp in a primary school building
216. LJUBUSKI, prison in a school building in Kravice
217. MAGLAJ, dressing rooms of "Natron" football team
218. MATIJEVICI, near Kladanj
219. MEDJEDJA, cooperative consumers' house, central prison of Visegrad
Territorial Defence Headquarters
220. MEDJEDJA, basement of a private house
221. MOSTAR, military policlinic
222. MOSTAR, Celovina, 27 Santiceva Street - former District prison, HVO
prison
223. MOSTAR, Military hospital, HOS prison
224. MOSTAR, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, HVO Military police
225. MOSTAR, Faculty of Economics, HVO Military police
226. MOSTAR, Faculty of Law, "collective center" for Serbs
227. MOSTAR, local community club "4th July"
228. MOSTAR, "Bristol" hotel, basements
229. MOSTAR, Mladena Balorde Street
230. MOSTAR, Northern Camp
231. MOSTAR, Rodoc, heliport (central prison in Herzeg-Bosnia), in Military
Grammar School
232. MOSTAR, Svinjarina, halls of "Djuro Salaj" spinning mill, camp of the
Moslem Army
233. MOSTAR, Svinjarina, "Djuro Salaj" spinning mill
234. MOSTAR, Svinjarina, "Zlatka Vukovic" company
235. MOSTAR, Svinjarina, a private house
236. MOSTAR, village of Kocine, camp of the Moslem Army
237. MOSTAR, CIM, a private prison
238. MOSTAR, village of Vojno
239. NOVI TRAVNIK, installations of the former JNA in the village of Stojkovic
240. NOVI TRAVNIK, "Bratstvo" annealing factory
241. ORASJE, secondary schooling center
242. ORASJE, Donja Mahala, camp in a primary school building
243, ORASJE, Donja Mahala, storage of Mirza Filipovic, nick-named Deljkovic
244. ORASJE, POSAVSKA MAHALA
245. ODZAK, primary school (gym)
246. ODZAK, "Strolit" company
247. ODZAK, village of Novi Grad
248. PAZARIC, primary school
249. PAZARIC, former JNA military barracks "Kruap" in Zovik
250. PAZARIC, Cultural Center
251. PAZARIC, camp in storages in Krupska Rijeka
252. PAZARIC, village of Urduk
253. PODBREZJE, "Vatrostalna" company, main building
254. POSUSJE, police station
255. POSUSJE, a garage
256. PROZOR, prison
257. PROZOR, garages
258. RAVNE, in Popovo Polje
259. SARAJEVO, Alipasino polje - private prison
260. SARAJEVO, Alipasino's settlement No. 2, "Borsalino" cafe-bar
261. SARAJEVO, Alipasino polje, basement on ZAVNOBIH Square Nos. 21 and 27
262. SARAJEVO, central heating station Alipasino polje, B phase
263. SARAJEVO, local community club "Mladost" in Alipasino polje
264. SARAJEVO, atomic shelter in Dobrinja 3
265. SARAJEVO, the Buca stream
266. SARAJEVO, the Buca potok, ZIS secondary school (Secondary School for
Railroad and Industrial Workers)
267. SARAJEVO, military prison in former JNA "Viktor Bubanj" barracks, now
"Ramiz Salcin"
268. SARAJEVO, garage near "Privredna banka of Sarajevo"
269.SARAJEVO, cellar vault of the "Privredna banka of Sarajevo", Dobrinja 5 in
Bratstvo-Jedinstvo Street
270. SARAJEVO, kinder-garden in Palmira Toljatija Street
271. SARAJEVO, "Iskrica" kinder-garden in Mose Pijade Street
272. SARAJEVO, "Iskrica" kinder-garden in Mladena Pojanovica Street
273. SARAJEVO, "Iskrica" kinder-garden in Skerliceva Street
274. SARAJEVO, complex of "Zetra" company
275. SARAJEVO, 2 Dobrinja Street, basement of a trading company "Masinopromet"
in Oktobarska Revolucija Street
276. SARAJEVO, Railway Station
277. SARAJEVO, Female Prison
278. SARAJEVO, basement of the "Zagreb" hotel, in Marin-Dvor area (brothel)
279. SARAJEVO, the "Europa" hotel, (brothel), air-conditioning chamber in
basement
280. SARAJEVO, prison in the Stup area
281. SARAJEVO, building of The Bank and the Social Accounting Office in
"Cengic
Villa"
282. SARAJEVO, restaurant named either "Strela" or "Stela"
283. SARAJEVO, deserted Serb-owned apartment in 28 Muhameda Djurdje Street
284. SARAJEVO, deserted Serb-owned apartment in 30 Mahmuta DZudze Street,
Kosevo brdo
285. SARAJEVO, Meteorological Center on Bjelave
286. SARAJEVO, "Mehmed Busatlija" students' dormitory on Bjelave (brothel)
287. SARAJEVO, the Ciglana settlement, Djure Djakovica Street
288. SARAJEVO, "Djuro Djakovic" cinema
289. SARAJEVO, Skyscraper No. 2, Pera Kosarica Square
290. SARAJEVO, camp in "Slobodan Vukovic" school-building, Blagoja Parovica
Street in Novo Sarajevo
291. SARAJEVO, primary school "Pavle Goranin"in Svraka village
292. SARAJEVO, primary school "Andrija Raso", Alipasino polje
293. SARAJEVO, primary school " 1st May", Alipasino polje
294. SARAJEVO, primary school in the Marin-Dvor area
295. SARAJEVO, police station on the Kosevo Hill
296. SARAJEVO, "Center" police station on Bjelave
297. SARAJEVO, police station in the Sokolovic Colony
298. SARAJEVO, police station, Novo Sarajevo
299. SARAJEVO, House of Correction in Pofalici
300. SARAJEVO, Pofalici, G.P. "Vranica" basement premises, former hostel
premises
301. SARAJEVO, local community offices "Mojmilo"
302. SARAJEVO, warehouse "25. May" in Svraka village
303. SARAJEVO, "Kosevo" Stadium
304. SARAJEVO, camp "Sunce" - in the atomic shelter in Dobrinja II, the 5th
Motorized Brigade Headquarters (in the building just below the "Sunce" shop),
1 Marko Oreskovic Street
305. SARAJEVO, students' dormitory "Mladen Stojanovic" at the corner of the
(118?) Radiceva Street and JNA Street (brothel)
306. SARAJEVO, Faculty of Civil Engineering, basement (brothel)
307. SARAJEVO, Technical High School, Vojvode Putnika Street, (School of Civil
Engineering)
308. SARAJEVO, tunnel of the "Kosevo" hospital
309. SARAJEVO, tunnel "Velesici - Ciglane"
310. SARAJEVO, FIS (DTV Partizan), Mis Ibrina Street, basement
311. SARAJEVO, Central Prison, 8 & 9 JNA Street
312. SARAJEVO, warehouse of "Sipad" company in Dzemala Bijedica Street
313. SARAJEVO, "Vladimir Nazor" school for retarded children, in Ivana
Krndelja
Street, Bjelave area
314. SARAJEVO, special school in 54 Ivan Krndelja Street, in Cengic Villa
315. SARAJEVO, basement of "Poljoopskrba" company, on the way towards the
centre
of the old city (Bas Carsija)
316. SARAJEVO, the 101st brigade prison
317. SARAJEVO, the 102nd Brigade HQ in Hrasno
318. SREBRENIK, primary school
319. SREBRENIK, Youth Center in Rapatnica suburb area
320. SREBRENICA, a prison between the buildings of the Municipality Court and
the
City Hall
321. SREBRENICA, prison of a police station
322. SREBRENICA, village of Potocari, private prison of Oric Naser
323. SREBRENICA, village of Sceska, Zulfo Tursunovic's private prison
324. STOLAC, buy off tobacco station
325. STOLAC, "Inkos" company
326. TARCIN near Pazaric, grain silo
327. TEOCAK near Ugljevik, primary school building
328. TEOCAK, local community offices
329. TEsANJ, military prison
330. TRAVNIK, prison
331. TRAVNIK, prison near "Tri Bora" restaurant
332. TRAVNIK, Retired Persons' Club
333. TRAVNIK, "Petar Mecava" military barracks
334. TRAVNIK, club of the former JNA (old medrasa)
335. TRAVNIK, Hunting home in Pavlovica area
336. TRAVNIK, basement of the old Railway-Transport Enterprise building
337. TRAVNIK, prison in Dolac, near the matchmaking factory in Sljemena
village, within the JNA warehouse compund
338. TRAVNIK, laundry in 14 Slavka Radica Street
339. TRAVNIK, village of Kraljevica
340. TRNOVO, building of police station
341. TRNOVO, camp in kinder-garden
342. TRNOVO, "Treskavica" hotel
343. TRNOVO, village of Godinjske bare, private storage
344. TRNOVO, village of Dejcici
345. TUZLA, military investigation prison based in District prison building in
1 Djura Djakovic Street, both on the ground and on the 1st floor
346. TUZLA, camp in District prison, part for civilians, 2nd floor
347. TUZLA, camp in "Husinjska Buna" military barracks in Skojevska settlement
348. TUZLA, camp in an "old mine" near "Sloboda" stadium in Tusanj
349. TUZLA, former military fire-range near "Sloboda" stadium
350. TUZLA, camp in saltworks in Tusanj
351. TUZLA, military barracks "Lipnica", 4 km away from Tuzla
352. TUZLA, Engineering-Technical High School
353. TUZLA, Mining School-Centre in Irac
354. TUZLA, camp in Medical High School
355. TUZLA, students' dormitory
356. TUZLA, Workers' University "Mitar Trifunovic - Uca"
357. TUZLA, Mining - Geological Institute
358. TUZLA, "Tusanj" Stadium
359. TUZLA, a club of the former JNA
360. TUZLA, Faruk Prcic's private prison
361. TUZLA, Serija Zaimovic's private prison
362. TUZLA, hanger on the "Dubrava" Airport
363. TUZLA, Cerik
364. TUZLA, Kozlovac, shelter-place in a motel
365. TUZLA, Kozlovac, former prison's husbandry
366. TUZLA, Tojsici, 14 km from Tuzla, village Cultural Centre
367. TUZLA, Pozarnica
368. FOJNICA, basement of the "Sarajevo" Bank
369. FOJNICA, "Kata Govorsic" secondary school, basement
370. HRASNICA, Cultural Centre
371. HRASNICA, former building of apartments for single persons, who worked in
"Famos" company
372. HRASNICA, stadium of the "Hrasnica" football team
373. HRASNICA, "Famos"company workers' residential area
374. HRASNICA, "Aleksa Santic" primary school
375. HRASNICA, Social Club
376. HRASNICA, basements of a skyscraper near the Moslem police station
377. HRASNICA, garages in basement, Igman's Partisan Battalion Street
378. HRASNICA, basement of a residential building, still in construction
379. CAZIN, prison
380. CAZIN, gravel works
381. CAZIN, stadium dressing-rooms
382. CAZIN, "Vojin Maric" primary school in Osredak
383. CAZIN, village of Liskovac, primary school
384. CAZIN, village of Coralici, hamlet of Djehverusa
385. CERSKA, near Vlasenice, private stable
386. CAPLJINA, police station
387. CAPLJINA, "Mirko Popara" military barracks in Grabovina, HVO camp
388. CAPLJINA, basement in the City Hall
389. CAPLJINA, tobacco station
390. CAPLJINA, HOS camp in a basement of an old Post Office
391. CAPLJINA, grain silo near "Neretvatrans" company
392. CITLUK, garages
393. CITLUK, police station
394. SAMAC, village of Domaljevac, primary school
2.Camps in CROATIA
396. BIOGRAD at the seaside
397. BIOGRAD at the seaside, fishing house on the "Vransko" lake
398. BJELOVAR, prison of the Ministry of Interior
399. BJELOVAR, District prison
400. BJELOVAR, Military prison
401. BJELOVAR, sports hall
402. BJELOVAR, military barracks
403. BJELOVAR, school-building
404. VARAZDIN, prison
405. VINKOVCI, prison
406. VIROVITICA, military barracks (guardhouse)
407. VRGINMOST, police station
408. VRGORAC, camp in a Croatian Club
409. VRGORAC, garage in a village near Vrgorac
410. VRPOLJE, prison
411. VUKOVAR, Ministry of Interior in Vukovar
412. VUKOVAR, Borovo village, "Komerc" company
413. VUKOVAR, Borovo village, "Nova obuca" company
414. VUKOVAR, hanger at the airport
415. VUKOVAR, school in construction in Borovo village
416. VUKOVAR, kinder-gardens near City Hall
417. VUKOVAR, basement premises in the City Hall
418. VUKOVAR, atomic shelter
419. VUKOVAR, warehouse of "Drvopromet" company
420. VUKOVAR, catacombs under the cemetery
421. VUKOVAR, Ruthenians' Church
422. VUKOVAR, "Vladimir Nazor" school
423. VUKOVAR, Luzac
424. VUKOVAR, warehouse of "Abazis" company
425. VUKOVAR, Elc's royal palace, chapel
426. VUKOVAR, Military recruiting department
427. GOSPIC, District prison
428. GOSPIC, camp Smiljane
429. GOSPIC, brick-works in a village of Perusic
430. GOSPIC village of Zablato
431. GOSPIC, Trnovac (Zablato)
432. GRUBISNO POLJE, hotel "Bilogora", National Guard Forces (ZNG) HQ
433. DARUVAR, prison
434. DARUVAR, police station
435. DARUVAR, sports hall "Czechs' House"
436. DARUVAR, "Varteks" department store
437. DARUVAR, basement of the supermarket-building in the centre of the city
438. DARUVAR, Miokovicevo
439. DUBROVNIK, hotel "Excelsior", Military Police HQ
440. DUBROVNIK, villa "Palma"
441. DUBROVNIK, District Prison
442. DUBROVNIK, hotel "Zagreb" on Lapad, Military Police HQ
443. DJAKOVO, prison
444. ZADAR, prison of the District Court
445. ZADAR, Military prison
446. ZADAR, hotel "Donat" on Diklovac, Borik
447. ZADAR, aeronautics club
448. ZADAR, "Velimir Skorpik" school
449. ZADAR, primary school "Sime Budinic"
450. ZADAR, primary school "Simun Kozicic"
451. ZADAR, "Marko Oreskovic" military barracks
452. ZADAR, restaurant belonging to Josip Prtenjaca, on the road to Diklo
453. ZADAR, old town
454. ZAGREB, Vlaska Street, Ministry of Interior
455. ZAGREB, Vukomerec (prison of torts)
456. ZAGREB, 3 Gajeva Street, former military investigation prison
457. ZAGREB, "Marsal Tito" military barracks
458. ZAGREB, Kerestinec in Sveta Nedelja settlement near Zagreb
459. ZAGREB, Kuniscak, basement of the Military police hospital
460. ZAGREB, Remetinec, Rajtariceva (Rajterova) Street, prison of the Military
Court
461. ZAGREB, 12 &18 Petrinjska Street
462. ZAGREB, 92 Selska Street, former JNA barracks
463. ZAGREB, Correction house-hospital
464. ZAGREB, "Martinovska" sports hall
465. ZAGREB, Trstenik
466. ZAGREB, Cernomerec
467. ZAGREB, Cernomerec, brick-works
468. ZAGREB, sports hall in Samobor
469. IVANIC GRAD
470. IMOTSKI, police station
471. KARLOBAG
472. KARLOVAC, prison
473. KARLOVAC, Ministry of Interior
474. KARLOVAC, pupils' dormitory
475. KOSTAJNICA, Babina reka
476. KRAPINA, prison
477. KUTINA, Firemen House
478. LEPOGLAVA, Correction House
479. LIPIK
480. LIPOVICA
481. MARINO SELO, Ribarska Koliba (near Daruvar)
482. MARINO SELO, main administrative building of the "Ribnacarsko-Pakracka
poljana" company
483. METKOVIC, prison
484. METKOVIC, Military police
485. METKOVIC, Civil Protection Center
486. METKOVIC, Radio Station
487. METKOVIC, Sports hall
488. METKOVIC, basement of a tobacco station
489. METKOVIC, village of Doboka
490. NASICE
491. NIN, brick-works
492. NOVA GRADISKA, prison of the Department of Interior
493. NOVA GRADISKA, prison in military barracks (on the road to Resetari)
494. NOVA GRADISKA, basement of the Grammar School
495. NOVA GRADISKA, school building
496. NOVA GRADISKA, Sports hall
497. NOVSKA, prison
498. NOVSKA, Military Recruiting Department near City Hall
499. OGULIN, prison
500. OKUCANI, forge
501. ORAHOVICA
502. OSIJEK, Department of Interior
503. OSIJEK, Investigating prison
504. OSIJEK, "Red" Military Barracks
505. OSIJEK, "Pampes" prison on the fire-range
506. OSIJEK, camp on the stadium
507. PAG (Slano)
508. PAKRAC, prison
509. PAKRAC, basement of a department store
510. PAKRAC, village of Seovica, a camp in the Cultural Centre
511. PAKRACKA POLJANA, "Jedinstvo" company, hall for producing the pens and
electric switches
512. PAKRACKA POLJANA, fishing house
513. PETRINJA, village of Brijest
514. PLOCE
515. PODRAVSKA SLATINA
516. PULA, District Prison
517. PULA, Katarina
518. PULA, Kranjcevica
519. PULA, "Valtura" Correction House
520. RAKITJE near Samobor, ZNG Training centre
521. RIJEKA, prison
522. RIJEKA, 24 or 25 Ciotina Street., a camp, "reception center for
foreigners"
in former JNA barracks
523. RIJEKA, "Via Roma" in Zrtve Fasizma Street
524. RIJEKA, Skurine, barracks
525. RIJEKA, "Trsat" military barracks, Military police prison
526. SINJ, "I Split Partizan Detachment" military barracks of the former JNA
527. SINJ, prison of Military police
528. SISAK, District Prison
529. SISAK, garages of the refinery
530. SISAK, Department of Interior
531. SISAK, camp in forge
532. SISAK, High School of Economic Sciences
533. SISAK, powder plant
534. SISAK, "22 Lipanj" primary school
535. SLAVONSKA POZEGA, District Prison
536. SLAVONSKA POZEGA, police station
537. SLAVONSKA POZEGA, Sports hall
538. SLAVONSKI BROD, Military prison
539. SLAVONSKI BROD, basement of a restaurant with a bowling alley belonging
to Dusan Bardak, in Partizanska Street (now Osjecka Street)
540. SLAVONSKI BROD, premises in basement of the Center for Public Security
541. SLAVONSKI BROD, camp in the Firemen House
542. SLAVONSKI BROD, Refinery
543. SLAVONSKI SAMAC
544. SLUNJ
545. SPLIT, prison on the Katalinic Hill
546. SPLIT, Lora
547. SPLIT, Dracevac, former JNA barracks, HOS prison
548. SPLIT, Bilice (between Split and Solin), District Prison
549. SPLIT, the "Firule" hospital
550. TROGIR
551. TUROPOLJE
552. FILIP JAKOV, Hospital for retarded children
553. SIBENIK, "Mandalina" prison
554. SIBENIK, "Ante Jonjic" military barracks
555. SIBENIK, Subicevac
556. SIBENIK, Sports hall near "Stjepan Radic" school
557. SIBENIK, Island of Obonjan
3.CAMPS IN SLOVENIA
558. DOB PRI MIRNI, Correction House
559. DOB PRI HRASTNIK, mine
560. DRAVOGRAD
561. ZIDANI MOST, improvised prison in a Hunting House
562. ZIDANI MOST, prison
563. ILIRSKA BISTRICA
564. KOPER, prison
565. KOPER, police station
566. KOCEVSKA REKA, camp in military barracks
567. KRANJ, Exhibition Hall
568. LJUBLJANA
569. LJUBLJANA, students' centre near the railway station
570. LJUBLJANA, Povsetova Street
571. KOZINA
572. MARIBOR
573. MURSKA SOBOTA, primary school
574. NOVA GORICA
575. RADOVLJICA, barracks, sports halls
576. RIBNICA, St. Frantisek's Monastery
577. CELJE
578. CERKNICA
ANNEX III
Committee for the Collection of Data on
Crimes Committed against Humanity and
International Law
GENOCIDE OF THE SERBS IN MOSTAR
In his Sixth Periodic Report, Mr. Mazowiecki, special rapporteur of the
Commission on Human Rights, states:
"The number of Serbs, which before the war was 30,000, after the ethnic
cleansing of the Serbs in Mostar, fell to only 300."
1. A retired lady from Mostar 9/94, stated:
... On June 1, 1992, the Ustashi came to our flat in Mostar, beat me and
my husband, took away all valuables, gold, bracelets, chains, wedding rings,
watches, crystalware, expensive clothes. They took all this before our very
eyes. They repeatedly clobbered my husband with a stick and he fainted from the
blows. They also beat me. I had recently had surgery. I showed them my wound
but that did not help any, in fact they took the bandage from my wound and
stuffed it into my mouth trying to choke me. Then they put a knife to my
throat and cursed my Serb mother. This kind of torture went on until July 15,
1992.
It was the worst on July 15. On that day they beat us the most and took
away everything from the flat - the household appliances, the cooking range,
the refrigerator, the TV set, the music deck and our two cars, my husband's
and my son's. They forbade us to leave the flat and we were confined there for
15 days.
On August 1, 1992, they took us to the camp at the Military Hospital
where they had set up a camp for Serbs. On that day they beat us and showered
the vilest abuse at us. In this camp they handed us over to Ivan Zelenika, an
inveterate criminal, who tortured all the Serbs in this camp. They stripped me
and my husband naked and pounded us with nightsticks. My husband's head
started bleeding. They took 700 DM from my husband. Two of them standing by
Ivan ordered me to take my wedding ring off and I obeyed.
In this camp I shared a cell with 6 Serb women from Mostar whom I had not
known before. Here they also tortured us and threatened that we would be taken
to the camp at Ljubuski where they tortured inmates with gas and electric
shocks. From this place they took us to Grude where a notorious camp for Serbs
had been set up. There I saw people without eyes, with broken arms, with cut
off ears. They told us: Look at these people, this is the way you will be
treated also. One of them added that those were not people but Serb dogs. As
there was no spare place there they took us to the camp at Ljubuski. There was
no room there either. The exclusive inmates of this camp were Serbs, whom they
showed us. They had gaping wounds, burns, were without eyes and were maimed.
2. In his statement the witness 91/94, a pensioner from Mostar, currently
residing in Belgrade, stated, inter alia:
... On July 9, 1992 a patrol of the Croatian military police led by
Sergej Belovic barged into my flat in Mostar on Ante Zuanica street.
Immediately they started beating me and my wife hitting us with their hands
and kicking us with their feet. They took us to the building of the former
military infirmary - the headquarters of the Military Police of the HOS
(Croatian Armed Forces) and separated us. They locked me up in a room in the
basement of the same building. There they beat me for two days in a row
because my sons, who were in Belgrade then, were allegedly Chetniks. On the
third day they took me to Mario Milicevic, a high-ranking officer of the HOS.
He said that he would put me in the Dretelj camp which was like Aushwitz and
that the only way for us to be released was for our sons to pay them the sum
of DM 35,000. He asked for the telephone number of my sons in Belgrade and I
gave it to them out of fear.
Several days later he informed me that he had reached agreement with my
sons and that he would hand us over to them at the Hungarian border.
On July 13, 1992, Mario Milicevic and Marko called "Zeljo" took us in a
car, via Split and Zagreb, to a spot at the Hungarian border near Koprivnica.
There they handed us eviction orders. We were handed over to our sons at the
Slovenian-Hungarian border, after they had given them DM 30,000. Later our
sons told us that over the telephone Milicevic had threatened he would kill us
unless they gave them the money, and they agreed to this blackmail in fear for
our lives.
The witness states that things worth DM 50,000 remained in his flat in
Mostar which he had to leave forcibly. A garage worth DM 10,000 with a
"Lada-lux" automobile in it was also left behind.
3. The witness, file No. 92/94, stated, inter alia:
The witness lived in Mostar from 1963 working as a bookstore manager.
After the big explosion of a tank truck near the barracks on April 2,1992,
which caused vast casualties and damage to property, HVO (Croatian Defence
Council) military units began to be formed in Mostar. They began arresting the
Serbs and taking them to "Celovina" prison on Santica street.
In May armed HOS units in black uniforms appeared. Members of these units
looted the apartments of Serbs and took Serb families to prison. Thus on
August 15, 1992 three uniformed HOS members fell upon the witness's flat. He
later learned that one of them was named Haris Fazlagic, another one was Sergej
Belovic. They demanded that all the gold, jewelry and money be put on the
table, so the witness and his wife brought all their valuables and put on the
table one watch worth DM 200, four or five lady's rings, several golden
bracelets, 1 gold chain and DM 200-300. Belovic took it all.
The witness and his wife were taken to the former military infirmary and
a prison had been set up in the cellar of that building. Men were held in one
room and women in another. There were some 20-30 men. He was immediately taken
to the prison warden Ivo Zelenika for interrogation. The latter wanted to know
what property the witness possessed, so that he concluded that the objective
of the interrogation was for them to seize that property. At a certain point
Zelenika grabbed a saber and putting the blade next to the witness's throat
threatened to kill him unless he told where the money was. Already on the
first day they beat him with clubs. After three days of interrogation he
confessed to having another DM 1,100 in the flat and told them where it was.
He and the other inmates were threatened that they would be surrendered over
to the torturers nicknamed "Crvenkapica" and "Luster". When they passed down
the corridors the guards kicked them with their feet in heavy army boots on
the most sensitive parts of the body. Handcuffed to each other in threes, and
there were nine of them, they were dumped into the cellar in which his wife
also was. He saw that she was severely bruised all over her body.
4. The witness 140/94-5, in the minutes dated April 13, 1994, stated,
inter alia:
From April 1992 to May 18 of the same year the witness lived in the
village of Goranci. The morning of that day the village was surrounded by
Croat and Moslem troops who ordered the villagers out of their houses. He too
was taken out of his house and immediately tied to a post with his hands on
his back. Then they beat him with their hands and kicked him with their feet
and also pounded him with a metal rod on various parts of the body demanding
that he tell them where his son was. They took him and the other captured
villagers to the west detention camp in Mostar, to the basement of a
university building.
Describing the physical torture they were subjected to the witness
stated: "They took the prisoners one by one to a room and there they beat them
on the arms and legs with some metal objects which were the fragments of an
exploded mortar shell with sharp points. When they returned from such
interrogation the men were bloody, disfigured, they would faint and the police
poured water on them to make them come to. They beat me in the same way when
they took me out, telling me that I was a Chetnik; once they hit me in the
face so hard that they knocked out six of my upper front teeth. They hit me in
the back, legs and arms, they forced me to kneel during interrogation holding
my arms up. I fainted from the blows."
He further explained that after three days he was transferred to Celovina
prison where he was detained for three months and where the physical torture
continued. In this prison were also Medan, a judge of the District Court in
Mostar, Dusan, a policeman, M.M. and S.I., who would be brought back from
interrogation all beaten up, smeared with blood all over and fainting. They
broke M.M.'s both arms and wounded him with a firearm in the leg, and S.I.
lost his mind on account of the beatings. They beat especially viciously the
captured YPA reservists. Thus they broke the legs and arms of V.T. from Bijelo
Polje near Mostar so that after the interrogation he could not move at all.
They would take out M., the brother of M.M., strip him naked, tie his hands
and beat him with every conceivable object they had. He would afterwards be
brought back on a stretcher.
Through the prison window he could see the policemen taking out younger
women from the basement of the building whom then they stripped naked and
raped and then forced to promenade in front of them naked. Among these women
he recognized the wife of the former manager of "Hepok-Komerc", who was later
killed together with her daughter.
In conclusion the witness stated that his house in his native village of
Goranci had been burned down and destroyed.
5. The witness 140/94-6, in the minutes dated April 12, 1994 stated the
following:
... Until the outbreak of war in 1992 I lived with my husband and two
children in Mostar, the settlement of Zeljusa. One day Moslem and Croat troops
fell upon the village. A man from our neighbourhood called Duka was in his
passenger car at that moment. I personally saw Croat and Moslem soldiers set
his car on fire. Duka clambered out of the car alone. I saw a soldier walk up
to him and slit his throat right there. Duka burned in the car. On that
occasion all Serb houses were set to fire and the Serb families fled in the
direction of Nevesinje.
... In the village I had a house 12 m. by 10 m., which was burned down.
6. The witness 221/94-10, a retired professor, stated, inter alia:
... Before the outbreak of war I lived in Nevesinje. In March 1992 I
joined the YPA as a reserve corps officer and with my unit I went to the
"North camp" in Mostar. On April 3, 1992, HOS members blew up the barracks in
Mostar and the armed conflicts began then.
... On June 16, 1992 I myself, Branko Glavan, deputy commander of the
Mostar security brigade, Novica Johlija, Velimir Avdalovic and tze private
Mladen Soldo set out for negotiations with members of the HOS and Moslem
forces. Before reaching the place of the negotiations, we were captured by the
very same people who had invited us to negotiate and taken to the store in
Svinjarine. There we found an active YPA captain, a reserve YPA major and a
group of 26 soldiers. During the night they started to insult us, to threaten
that they would kill us, slit our throats, and they hit some of the men in the
process. I remember well that the owner of the store in which we were, a large
and fat man, kicked the captain in the face with all his might, drawing blood
from his mouth. They particularly maltreated a woman from Mostar captured
together with the group of soldiers.
... Around dawn HOS members came and took us over. They tied us and put
us aboard a truck and took us to the auditorium of the Faculty of Mechanical
Engineering in Mostar. A lieutenant colonel of the YPA joined us here. When
they took us in, there were about 200 uniformed HOS members sitting at the
students' desks. They stripped us stark naked, they forced us to raise our
right arms, to salute "Ready for the Fatherland" and to sing Croat and Moslem
songs they told us to sing. There they beat us with sticks, rubber hammers,
kicked us with their booted feet and pounded us with their fists on all parts
of the body. They brought grass and forced us to eat it. Then they forced the
soldiers captured together with us to have sexual intercourse with one
another. Anyone refusing to do so would be beaten until he did it. They forced
me to suck the captain's penis in front of everybody. He grabbed me by the
hair, threw me on the floor and kicked me fiercely in the ribs. The major had
to do this to the lieutenant colonel and the lieutenant colonel had to do the
same to the YPA major. This torture lasted for a full three hours, and from
the thrashing I received my back and right arm were totally black, and
everybody else was just as badly beaten up.
... They took turns torturing us. In one of the groups I recognized Cazim
Maslo from Nevesinje, about 26, and he ordered us to raise our arms and sing
Moslem songs.
... From there we were all transferred to Celovina prison. Here they
placed each of the officers in a separate cell. That first night I could hear
the horrendous cries and screams of people being beaten up.
... In the morning they tied us officers, dumped us into the boot of some
van and drove us to the tobacco station in Metkovic where they put us in a
premise three stories below ground level, airtight, and serving as an atomic
shelter. We were detained there for 7 days. The room was 2 x 1.5 m and less
than 2 m. high and airtight so that we suffocated. In the mornings when the
door opened we were half dead for lack of oxygen. In the day civilians would
come to the hall above our rooms, as a rule drunken people who wanted to take
it out on us for one reason or another and the guards let them hit us and beat
us up.
... I remember well how Miro Mesar from Metkovic once came and took out a
knife to slaughter us, but the guards prevented him and sent him away.
... I do not know the names of the guards and the other prison staff. I
remember one who was nicknamed "Bili", blond, of medium height, bony, who beat
us the worst.
... A woman from Mostar was singled out from the group on the old bridge
in Mostar and, as I learned later, taken to some private flat where she was
gang-raped. She was later exchanged.
7. The witness 273/94 stated, inter alia:
... I was arrested on August 18, 1992 in Mostar by three HOS members led
by Sergej Belovic. The moment they barged into my flat they started beating
me, demanding gold and foreign currency, and after they gave me a vicious
thrashing they searched the flat, chose what they liked, wrapped these up in a
parcel 15 kilograms in weight and had me carry it. They took me to prison set
up in the former military infirmary where I was detained from August 18-25,
1992, locked up in a room serving as a torture chamber for Serbs which they
called "Little Serbia". They beat me with whatever was at hand, e.g. wooden
sticks, and kicked me with their booted feet. They beat me for a solid five
hours and I was dazed. They demanded that I tell them where I had hidden my
gold and foreign currency which they failed to find in my flat.
... In the room called "Little Serbia" there were at the time two
brothers, the son of one of them, and a number of other Serbs from Mostar and
the vicinity (whose names the witness states).
In the room across Serb women were locked up.
During the week I was detained at this prison I was beaten up every
night. They beat me all over the body. They broke several of my ribs. I was
all black and blue, I could not raise my arms at all and I could not walk.
They called me "the rubber Serb" because I had taken all that beating.
Screams could be heard every night coming from the room in which the
women were.
The following beat us the most:
1. Vinko Martinovic, called "Stela",
2. Sead Kapetanovic, who they said was the chief of police,
3. Ivan Zelenika, prison warden,
4. Boris, a Croat, called "Sova", who took the lead in night beatings,
5. Dugalic, called "Luster", a greengrocer,
6. Mesuta Comic, called "Mensa",
7. Comic' s son, about 20,
In Mostar I had a flat and possessions in it worth DM 250,000, all
looted. I had also a collection of leather goods of the company for which I
worked as a salesman in the value of DM 20,000 and silk samples worth DM
5,000.
8. The witness 295/94-2, stated on July 8,1994, inter alia:
... On July 7, 1992 he was taken to the Faculty of Economics in Mostar
where he was interrogated him and then put him in prison on Alekse Santica
street, where there already were some 20 Serbs, mainly civilians. In prison
they were often maltreated by various individuals who kicked them and hit them
when they were doing hard physical work. The warden of this prison was Pero
Nikolic, who before that had been the director of the enterprise "Parkovi" in
Mostar. One of the commanders of the prison was Ante Peko, previously a market
inspector. The witness was in this prison for about two months and was then
transferred to the prison in Rodoc and detained until October 31, 1992 when he
was exchanged with a group of prisoners and left Mostar. At Rodoc prison the
prisoners were physically maltreated the most by a man named Ivo from Krusevo
who had previously worked for the "Hercegovina" enterprise in Mostar. His wife
told him that while he had been in prison their neighbour Slobo Ivanisevic had
been taken away by Huso Begovic and Azis Belja and killed on Bijeli Breg.
9. The witness 295/94 stated the following, inter alia:
... On May 25, 1992 I was arrested by HVO members in front of the house
in which I lived in Mostar and I was taken to the Faculty of Law. Among the
people present there I recognized Luka Sunjic, Marko Leko, Nijaz Salcine,
Babic whose first name I cannot remember, and Pusic, commander of the HVO
police. Pusic interrogated me and asked me why, being a Serb, I had remained
on the right bank of the Neretva and whether I knew that "Chetniks" could not
stay there for they would be destroyed and liquidated. They asked me what my
place of birth was. Then Pusic told his men to take me to see my people from
Bogodol, and they took me down to a cellar room where I saw 35 or 36 people
from my town, all of them tied with a single length of wire. Blood covered
their faces and clothes. Then they took me back to the interrogation room.
Pusic ordered them to handcuff me and to take me to another room in the cellar
where they sat me on a chair and several of them started beating me with a
crowbar, a stick and a thick copper cable 1 metre long. When I fainted and
fell off the chair they splashed me with cold water till I came to and then
started all over again. This torture lasted for 24 hours with only short
breaks.
... The next day they took me to Celovina prison the commander of which
was Ante Peko and the warden was Pero Nikolic. They put me in solitary
confinement and handcuffed me at night. They threatened me every day, they
swore at me cursing my Chetnik mother, saying that 1992 would be a much worse
year for the Serbs than 1941 had been.
... Seven days after that they returned me to the Military Police
building where I was harassed again. When four military police came to my
solitary cell I was sure that they were going to take me out and kill me and I
resisted. Later nine of them came, armed and as I did not want to go with them
they fired shots at the ceiling and then at me, wounding me in the right
shoulder and left leg. On account of heavy bleeding I lost consciousness and
when I came to I was still in the military police building. There I recognized
members of the police Babic, Luka Sunjic and Jura. They started to beat me
with a copper cable while I was handcuffed. They hit me mostly on the arms
breaking them above my wrists. I fainted from the pain. When I regained
consciousness I was smeared with blood.
The next day the doctor established fractures on both arms. They took me
to "celovina" prison again and kept me in solitary confinement there for a
full 90 days. The prison doctor came to see me every two or three days and he
established that 6 of my ribs were broken, the back of my skull injured and
both my arms fractured.
... While I was in prison my wife and my two minor children were in our
apartment in Mostar, practically in house detention, they were not allowed, in
fact they were prohibited to leave the flat. During that period HVO and HOS
members came to the flat 6 times and searched it and took away our valuables,
e.g. the TV set, the VCR, the tape recorder, gold jewelry and money and ripped
gold chains off my children's necks.
... Apart from military police members, the prisoners were also
maltreated by the security staff in prison Ivan Skender, Jure Skender, Helmut
Puce, Ante Peko, Nikola Puce, Ante Bukovac and others.
10. The witness 295/94-9, stated, inter alia:
... I was born in the village of Bogodol, the local community of Goranci,
the commune of Mostar where I lived until the outbreak of the war. There were
about 40 Serb households in the entire community.
... In World War II, more precisely on St. Vitus' Day, June 28, 1941, 90
villagers were taken to Listica and put in the school. Four women went after
them to carry them food. However, these four women and 6 of the 90 men were
killed in Gradac near Listica. These four women and six men were killed by the
local Ustashi. The remaining 84 were saved by the local friar named Damnjan.
After that all the Serbs from our village were called to come to Goranci to
receive the Catholic faith. Many did not respond to this call. According to my
mother, during mass at the church in Goranci the Ustashi came and took away 45
Serbs and no one knows to this day where they were killed.
... On April 3 or 4, 1992 a tank truck exploded in Mostar demolishing the
YPA barracks. Tensions began to mount in the village, but no one touched us
until April 18, 1992. Around 4 a.m. 6 armed Ustashi entered my house and they
took me to Mostar to the former "West Camp" barracks. They took me to the HVO
headquarters there, the commander of the Military Police of which was a man
named Dzida. He ordered them to take me down to the basement, where were
another 20 men from my village, all of them beaten up and covered with blood.
Then one Ustashi asked who had organized the arming of the village and they
said that it had been me. I was immediately taken to an upper floor where
there were 5 or 6 men, Dzida among them, who fell upon me and beat me so hard
that I was bruised all over. They returned me to the cellar and there they
beat us incessantly for three days and three nights, all on the orders of this
Dzida chap. After that we were all taken to Central Prison in Mostar on Alekse
Santica street.
... In addition to myself, another 18 villagers from Bogodol were taken
to prison. Here they beat me and a neighbour of mine particularly viciously.
We were beaten the most by Dzido, Nikola Puce and one Viktor. The warden of
this prison was Pero Nikolic, called "Pepa", and his deputy was Ante Peko. Ten
days after our arrival to Central Prison another group of 10 Serbs was brought
in.
... Once they took me and two more Serbs to the airport and beat us so
hard that they broke the arm of one man. One member of the IV battalion from
Krusevo hit him with a metal rod.
... I remained in Mostar prison until October 30, 1992. There was an
exchange before that, on August 3, 1992. All the Serbs in the village of
Bogodol were told to assemble by the church and to take their personal
belongings with them. They were transferred by bus to the military camp in
Mostar where 6 adult men and one girl were kept in prison. The others were
taken by bus to the front line towards Nevesinje, given white flags and
crossed over to Serb territory. Thus the village of Bogodol remained without a
single Serb - Serbs were simply banished from this village.
... We were taken in groups of twenty to work in the Serb village of
Rastane which had been evicted. We removed roof tiles, dismantled the roof
structure and stripped the joinery from Serb houses and all that was taken to
Citluk, Listica, Mostar and other places.
... I know some women who have been raped. Many women in the prison, from
Mostar and the surrounding villages, have been raped, but dared not say so.
... In the second half of September 1992, Jure Sunjic, Dzevad Babic and
Skender Puce of the Military Police came and asked for 10 labourers. Without
telling us where they were taking us they took me and another four Serbs to
the Military Police Headquarters at the university building, in the compound
of which a shell had fallen before that killing two Croat soldiers. There were
speculations as to who had fired the shell, that it had been the Serbs was a
variant, but there were also some who claimed that the Croats had fired it
themselves. They ordered us to collect the dismembered body parts. When we
started to do it, the 50 or 60 soldiers present at the scene started pounding
us viciously with wooden sticks and rifle butts, breaking the arm of one Serb
and beating me unconscious. They took me unconscious to the camp where the
then deputy warden Ante Peko did not allow any medical assistance. The next
morning, when I came to, my head was so swollen that I could not recognize
myself.
... The chief of the military police was Zeljko Dzidic from Cim, a suburb
of Mostar. He himself beat and tortured people. He was an ardent Ustashi and
whatever went on was on his orders, with his approval and knowledge. In
addition to him, Zoran Martinovic was a particularly cruel torturer.
11. The witness 295/94-14 stated:
Before the conflict broke out the witness had lived at Goranci. Together
with his father he was deprived of freedom as a civilian on May 18, 1992 by
the HVO and taken to Mostar. On that occasion they rounded up all men above
the age of 18, without giving any reasons.
While they were still in the village they were beaten with sticks and
rifle butts. They put them in the cellars of the faculty building under Bijeli
Breg where they were detained for three days. There were other prisoners there
from other villages but exclusively Serbs. They beat them without any
explanation. Elderly people, women and children had all been banished from
Bogodol and Goranci so that these villages remained completely deserted.
12. The witness 473/94-31, in the minutes dated September 30,1994,
stated, inter alia:
When armed conflicts broke out the witness and her husband and daughter
remained in Mostar, as their Croat an Moslem neighbours had guaranteed them
security.
However, at night on July 10,1992, she was arrested with her husband and
taken to HOS headquarters in Mostar and interrogated by Ivo Zelenika. During
the interrogation he hit her twice on the back with a stick. He accused her of
having a Chetnik for a brother. They were detained for three days in HOS
prison. There were 16 women of Serb nationality in a small room. She remembers
the name of some of the imprisoned women. The prison commander was Vinko
Martinovic, called "Stela".
13. The witness 440/94-41 stated the following:
Until the outbreak of war the witness lived with his wife and daughter in
Mostar - until August 1, 1992. Tensions were mounting and there were
manifestations of hatred, especially on the part of Moslems towards the Serbs,
and they kept saying that the Serbs should be banished and driven across the
Drina river. He says:
"When the tank truck was blown up in front of the YPA barracks,
large-scale arrests of Serbs in Mostar began, with the arrests being made by
Croat HVO units and the Moslem "Green Berets". I was arrested on June 15 or
16, 1992 by HVO soldiers and taken to the cellar of the Faculty of Law in
Mostar. When arresting me, the HVO soldiers tied me up and then hit me and
kicked me and lashed me with some rubber covered cables. They hit me in
various parts of the body, especially in the chest. They punched me with their
fists and kicked me with their feet in the head so that my face swelled up so
much that I could not see at all. In the premises of the Faculty of Law they
handcuffed me and then suspended me on come central heating pipes and I spent
the whole night suspended in that position. The other detainees were strung up
in the same way.
... I saw a young man whose both hands were broken and hung limply over
the handcuffs that he was shackled with. There were about 30 people in the
other rooms, all Serbs. They beat me as well as the others as we hung there,
with rubber cables 60- 70 cm. long. We hung like that all night and the next
morning they took us for interrogation. After the interrogation I was returned
to the cellar and spent another 2 days there. While we were in that room HVO
soldiers came and hit me and kicked me and lashed me with a rubber cable. They
broke my right collarbone and knocked out four of my upper teeth.
... In September 1992 I went to Hodbina to help in the transport of hay.
In a house I saw three bodies, two women and a man, which were decaying. I
don't know who these people were but I know that they were Serbs because it
was a Serb settlement. In the same village, in front of the house of the Serb
family Glavas I saw the bodies of a mother and her two daughters which had
been cut up and massacred. I learned from the Croats in that village that
these women had first been raped and then killed and massacred by the Moslem
family Demirovic. The Croats told me that in July Martin Boskovic from the
settlement of Buna had thrown Stana Knezevic, a Serb woman from Hodbina, into
the fire alive and that on the same day he had set fire to about ten Serb
houses. Martin Boskovic is a member of Paraga's party. The HVO arrested him on
several occasions but he is still at Buna.
14. The witness 445/94-4 literally stated the following:
... I was arrested in Mostar on August 2, 1992 and together with my wife
taken to prison in the former military infirmary. They took me to the prison
warden Ivo Zelenika, who immediately started shouting at me and hitting me. He
asked me to tell him where my children were. In vain, I tried to explain to
him that I had no children at all and that he could check that, but he would
not listen to me and kept beating me. Then they took me to another room and
continued to pound me there with nightsticks and to kick me with their booted
feet in the back and I screamed in pain. A guard beat me there. Then Zelenika
came carrying a syringe filled with some liquid. He started threatening me
that he would stick the syringe into my eyes and in the end squirted the
liquid from it in my face. Then they beat me again and handcuffed me to a man
named Kovacevic."
15. The witness 445/95-5, stated, inter alia:
On May 8, 1992 his flat in Mostar was searched. HVO members forbade him
to leave the house until further notice and ordered him to answer their
telephone calls. This situation lasted until July 5, 1992 when a patrol came
and searched the flat again, took all valuables, and took the witness to the
military infirmary which had been turned into a prison which was run by one
"Stela".
As regards the torture he was subjected to in prison the witness
concretely said:
... They fell upon me the moment they took me in, right there on the
stairs. Two girls beat me especially hard, and then I was beaten in a room by
about ten of them, all wearing black uniforms. Thereafter they took me to a
cellar where there were about 10 imprisoned Serbs. There they beat us too.
They would come in, give you a beating, take you out into the corridor, beat
you there...
16. The witness 445/94-9 stated:
... On August 2, 1992, the day when they set fire to the church in
Mostar, they arrested me and my husband on Krpica street in Mostar. Four of
them with black bands on their heads and wearing black came along. They seized
all our valuables - all our gold worth DM 6,000, DM 2,800 in cash and they
took our car keys. Right there in the flat they started hitting us with sticks
on the head.
... They took us to prison in the military infirmary and to the warden,
Zelenika, who attacked me immediately saying that I was a "Chetnik harlot" and
started hitting me. He ordered me to take off my two golden wedding rings. He
clobbered me on the head with a nightstick and I fell. He told me that I was
not to get out of Mostar alive. I spent only one night in that prison and I
was taken to a detention camp.
17. The witness 445/94-11, inter alia, stated the following:
... I lived in Mostar since 1960. On April 13,1992 I tried to get out of
the city, but I was prevented from doing so and returned home. Two days later
some men in uniform came and ransacked the flat.
Describing his arrest and the physical torture he had been subjected to
in prison the witness said:
... On May 18, 1992, they took me from my flat and to their Command at
the foot of Bijeli Brijeg. It was a large ground floor building. As soon as
they took me in they seized my house and car keys.
Three or four rooms in this building served as a prison. There they beat
me viciously. On May 19, after having been beaten with a rifle I fainted and
regained consciousness only the next day.
I was transferred to hospital in Mostar, the surgery ward. I had a triple
fracture of the lower left leg, injuries to my right eye and two broken ribs.
When I was discharged from hospital on June 9,1992 they transferred me to
Celovina prison.
In the prison at Bijeli Brijeg I was beaten by Hasan Dilic, around 25,
and a Moslem by the surname Trnavac, whose first name I don't know. There were
two brothers and the younger one beat me. They lived by the tobacco factory
and were employed with the "Hercegovina" company.
... At Celovina prison Ante Peko, an "HVO HQ officer" and Nikola Puljic
ruled the roost.
18. The witness 445/94-14 described in the first part of his statement
the political circumstances prevailing in Mostar before the outbreak of the
conflict and up to the time of his arrest.
He was employed with the police station in Mostar.
At the end of 1989 and the beginning of 1990 inter-ethnic tensions began
clearly to mount. Emigres known to be members of the Ustashi movement flocked
in from abroad. People were removed from various positions and persons of
Croat nationality were appointed to the majority of important posts. Earlier
the Croats had set up a training centre on the island of Pag where they
prepared personnel not only for police work but also for all other state
administration agencies.
In January 1992 they started blowing up Serb-owned businesses. They blew
up the cafes of Milan Kovacevic, Jovan Kukavac and of many others.
On April 3 or 4, 1992, a tank truck full of explosives was placed in
front of the "North Camp" barracks and remotely activated. The blast
demolished the barracks and all the buildings in the settlement of Zaluk. One
soldier and three civilians were killed. Immediately afterwards, on April 6,
Croats started shelling the barracks and the entire neighbourhood from the
area of Listica, having previously evicted all Croats from the area.
This operation was organized by Dragan Nikolic, until then a crime
technician in the Secretariat of the Interior of Mostar and his brother Pero,
director of the "Plastika" enterprise in Mostar. Also participating were Miro
Krtalic, a trucker from Mostar, Branko Jedvaj, a driver at "Autoprevoz" and
others. The tank truck filled with explosives was the property of the
"Novogradnja" enterprise from Listica.
When the army withdrew, the persecution of the Serbs began. They were
mostly arrested by Croats, some were killed, and the Moslems played a
secondary role in all that.
In connection with his arrest, the treatment of prisoners, the physical
and mental torture they were subjected to, the persons who took the lead in
torturing and inhumanely treating prisoners, the witness stated the following:
... I was arrested on May 4, 1992 and tied and taken to the building of
the Faculty of Economics. They asked me to work for their police, which I
refused. The chief of their police was Stipe Petrovic, formerly a traffic
policeman. There were also Andjelko Lakic, Josip Marcinko, Marko Buhac, Ilija
Pervan, Jure Kraljevic from the vicinity of Imotsko, and others.
As of May 14, 1992 I was at Celovina, detained in the District Prison
building. I would occasionally be taken and detained in prisons in Listica,
Duvno, Grude, Ljubusko and "Lora" in Split.
People were taken to do hard labour from this prison and many of them
would be beaten while working because the guards allowed their soldiers to
beat the prisoners. Every day men totally black and blue from the beating
returned from work.
I remember well how once they beat up Slavko Milosevic viciously, then
poured oil on him and set him on fire.
Until July 5,1992 they often interrogated me, punching me with their
fists, kicking me with boots and hitting me with baseball bats all the while
and I often fell down. The first time they took me out of prison they
blindfolded me and took me to Listica. On the way they stopped the vehicle
every now and then and showed me to the public as a Chetnik duke. The people
would spit on me, insult me and hit me. I could not see a thing because I was
blindfolded.
In Listica they locked me up in a room at the police station and took the
blindfold off. A Squipetar who had been told that I had been in Pristina and
that I had beaten and maltreated Squipetars presently came into the room. He
beat me with a cable thicker than a police rubber club. He hit me on the head
and all over the body.
I fainted from the blows and when I came to I saw that I was lying on a
large table in the cellar of the police station. A doctor and a lady doctor,
allegedly from Germany, were standing by the table and they gave me injections
in both shoulders and the pain soon abated. I have visible scars to remind me
of this beating. The man who beat me was about 30, and about 180 cm. tall. I
found out that he had an ice-cream parlor in Split and that he was the
bodyguard of Ivica Pusic - the man in charge of the HVO police for western
Herzegovina. Ivica Pusic was the chief instructor for the training of
policemen on the island of Pag. He was strabismic in the right eye. He
interrogated me in the building of the former Communal Committee. During the
interrogation he called in two or three persons every now and then who
mercilessly beat me and trampled me underfoot as I lay crumpled on the floor.
In addition to the beating, he forced me to swallow lit cigarettes. It
was even worse when Ivica tied my bare feet and hands to some chairs and
lashed my upturned palms and the soles of my feet viciously with a cable. The
soles of my feet were swollen so badly that I could not stand.
During these interrogations Ivica and his helpers would handcuff me to a
central heating installation pipe under the ceiling. There were two pipes
running parallel and he would handcuff each of my wrists to one of the pipes
and I hung there crucified. Before that he would strip me naked and suspend
some iron object from my penis; the object forked out two ways at an angle of
90 degrees and kept my legs spread apart and its weight pulled me downwards.
Every move caused me excruciating pain in my genitals and stomach. I would be
suspended thus for three to four hours and he would come later and interrogate
me again.
My left shoulder was dislocated because of the weight of my body as I
hung there, and I cannot move it normally to this day. In this period also
Ivica in person sent me flying into a corner with a classic karate chop,
turning and kicking me with his foot in the chest twice and breaking my ribs.
The deformation in my chest is still clearly visible and also the scars
on my left arm above the elbow. The middle finger of my left hand, its first
phalanx was broken.
Ivica and his team knocked out all of my upper teeth with their blows and
of others only fragments were left and I had to have them extracted later, and
am now wearing a denture. They knocked out four teeth in the left side of my
lower jaw, and the entire lower jaw shifted rightward in relation to the upper
one so that I could not close my mouth properly and even today I am unable to
articulate a number of words.
They took me to Duvno to a room where they showed me 9 disfigured people.
They were all wearing military uniforms, they were bloody, their faces
deformed. They were maimed to such an extent that their arms and legs could
not be made out, as if they were not human beings at all. They told me that
they were all YPA officers. They demanded from me to see whether I knew anyone
of them. I could not recognize any and I told them so.
I saw many incarcerated Serbs in this building in Duvno, which, judging
by the desks was a school, and I realized that they were being beaten for I
could hear them screaming and crying out in pain all the time.
The next day they took me to the "Lora" military prison in Split where
they interrogated me; they also interrogated me in Mostar, in the wine cellar
at Ljubuski and then I was returned to prison in Mostar.
At the beginning of August, as I was cleaning the prison cells, they
brought a young man, cut off both his ears before my very eyes and then
viciously kicked him and pounded him with baseball bats and smashed in his
skull spilling his brains. They trampled on him for at least half an hour as
he lay there, already dead. The lad was killed by members of their police
wearing uniforms, and the surname of one of them was Krtalic, from Dracevica
near Mostar.I do not know his name, he was about 25, of medium height, well
built. I remember him well because he always brought a dog, an Alsatian to the
prison.
Many times when I went cleaning the cells I found dead bodies and the
fresh blood in the cells indicated that it had happened overnight.
When I was released from prison, people by the surname of Ljepava from
Trebinje came to visit me and showed me the picture of their son, a lad about
twenty, who they knew had been in Celovina prison and they asked me if I knew
anything about him. I believe that the youth who had been killed before my
very eyes could have been their son.
In my estimate there could have been some 650 Serbs incarcerated at
Celovina. There were also women there.
After the ordeal that I have gone through my physical and mental health
have been gravely impaired. I lost over 30 kilograms in weight in prison. I
also got diabetes.
When I was in Celovina they took me to watch the demolishing of the
Serbian Orthodox Church at Bjelusine near Mostar.
19. The witness 445/94-16, stated:
Before the outbreak of war she lived in Mostar with her husband.
"On May 9, 1992 members of the Moslem TD and Hilmo Salcin, the brother of
Jasmin Jaganjac named Sacir I believe, and another one whom I did not know
came to our flat. They demanded that we give them our new "Golf" car which was
in the yard. My husband would not give it to them." Fearing retaliation, the
witness took the keys and gave them to Hilmo Salcin.
On the same day three HVO policemen came, ransacked her flat and took
away her husband, and shortly thereafter they took her herself to the Faculty
of Law building for interrogation. There she saw her husband all beaten up and
with bruises on his face. There Zeljko Dzidic attacked her verbally calling
her a "Chetnik harlot" but he let her go home. The next morning Senad Tufek,
formerly a taxi driver, and a member of the 16th Croat battalion from Imotski
at the time, came to her flat and informed her that the Ustashi from Cim were
demanding DM 100,000 in exchange for her husband's life. They repeated this
demand the next day promising that her husband would be set free. She agreed
to collect some marks and gold and for them to come one night to take it and
afterwards fulfil their promise.
In the night of May 18,1992 Tufek and Drazen, the driver of Jasmin
Jaganjac, came in two cars. They demanded that she take along the money and
gold and told her that her husband would join them on the way and that they
both would be taken to Zenica. She took with her DM 50,000 and one kilogram of
various gold jewelry. Near Imotski they took the road turn to Split and left
her there with her mother and children.
They took the money and the gold and they went back.
20. The witness 445/94-18 stated:
"Before the outbreak of inter-ethnic clashes I worked at the
Hydroelectric Power Plant in Mostar.
I was captured on June 16,1992 in the capacity of officer of the reserve
corps, in Podvelezje near Mostar.
They took me to the store in the village of Svinjarine, Podvelezje. There
I found other prisoners. There were 18 soldiers and a girl among them. We were
kept one night there. They called us names and threatened that they would
torture and kill us all.
From that place they took us to Mostar, to the former "West Camp" at the
Faculty of Economics. They led us into the auditorium where an HOS police
battalion was stationed. They ordered us to strip stark naked and then the
physical maltreatment began.
First they had us raise our hands and salute "Ready for the Fatherland".
Then they beat us with nightsticks, wooden bats, a large rubber hammer the
kind of which I then saw for the first time in my life. We had to place our
hands on the desks and they hit us on the hands and fingers with sticks. Then
they broke some bottles on the floor and forced us to walk on the broken glass
barefoot until our feet bled. They brought in grass, strewed it on the floor
and forced us to eat it making sure that we swallowed it. This barbaric orgy
lasted some four to five hours. I was taken back to Celovina prison alone.
I do not know who our torturers in the auditorium were. They were all
young and wore uniforms. I only know Bert Pusic who took me out and to
Celovina prison. He did not take part in the torturing.
In Celovina I was interrogated by "Pepa" Nikolic, previously employed
with the Secretariat of the Interior in Mostar. His brother Pero Nikolic was
the prison warden at the time. From there, together with other prisoners I was
taken to the camp set up in the shelter of the Tobacco Station in Metkovic.
21. The witness 445/94-29, inter alia, stated the following:
... Before armed conflicts broke out in Mostar divisions on national
grounds were already in evidence. Provocations of Serbs by Croats and Moslems
started. Little by little the Croats established their police force and then
direct persecutions of individuals began. At the time I was the director of a
branch office of the Health Insurance Administration.
On April 25,1992 I stopped going to work because my theretofore deputy
Zoran Kazazic, a Moslem, had been appointed to my post. Replacing Serbs and
appointing Moslems and Croats to their positions had already become
large-scale practice and in fact many Serbs were dismissed from their
workplaces altogether.
HOS members repeatedly raided my flat which was near their command,
searched it and took away valuables. Later, when I was in prison, a Croat
family moved into my flat. While I was still free they interrogated me at the
police station twice.
On July 28,1992, together with about 40 other men they took me to the
auditorium of the Faculty of Economics where the HQ of the HVO police was.
They brought our wives there too. They separated those who were in mixed
marriages and let them go and to us they delivered lectures about the history
of the HVO and the Independent State of Croatia.
Four days later we were transferred to Celovina prison. I was put in a
cell with another 10 prisoners.
A group of us prisoners was assigned to dismantle the roofs of Serb
houses in the village of Rastani, the houses of Serb families which had been
expelled from the village. In several days we completely dismantled five or
six houses. The building material was hauled away by lorries, to, as I found
out later, the villages of Krusevo and Dracevine, both Croat villages.
While I was in prison we were subjected to mental torture all the time
and maltreated, insulted and called all sorts of names.
Every day I could hear people screaming as they were being beaten up in
the rooms above us, as well as the screams of the wretched people being
tortured in the basement.
Of the prison staff I know the warden Pero Nikolic, who used to be the
director of "Plastika" in Mostar and Anto Peko, one of the administrators.
In Mostar I had a fully furnished flat and I also had a house in Malo
Polje near Buna which was set to fire.
My stay in prison seriously impaired my health, especially my mental
health on account of the maltreatment I was subjected to, and in that short
time I lost 20 kilograms.
22. The witness 445/94-30, stated:
... After April 4, 1992, when the tank truck exploded in front of the YPA
"North Camp" barracks, the HOS members raided my flat on Omladinska street in
Mostar every day, they searched it and took things away - clothing, the VCR, a
colour TV, the music deck and other things of value.
On May 29, 1992 HVO police arrested me and took me to their headquarters
at Celovina. Nikola Puce, then the prison warden, talked to me. He asked that
I join the Croat army, which I refused. They put me in solitary confinement
right away and held me there for 7 days. Afterwards they transferred me to a
room with one Serb from Bogodol, another 10 Serbs from Mostar and some others.
They started taking us out to do hard labour.
They took us to the front line at Podvelezje where we dug trenches and
fortified bunkers in the midst of fighting.
They physically maltreated and beat us as we worked. The following HVO
members beat us: Buhovac from Jasenica, around 30, three or four members of
the family Kordic from Sretnice near Mostar, whose first names I do not
remember. They were prison guards. Other soldiers also came. The guards
presented us as dangerous Chetniks to them and they beat us too. They would
hit as with a hose on the naked body seeking to make bruises in the form of a
cross. One day one of them who they called "Mad Max", about 40, from Listica,
made exactly 67 such crosses on me. I had blood swellings on all those places,
my skin burst and I bled.
Immediately after that they forced me to lie down and to put my head in
some dirty water into which they had urinated, which I had seen them do with
my own eyes, and then they trampled on my back and neck with their boots.I
suffocated for lack of air and I opened my mouth and that dirty water came
into my mouth and I had to swallow it.
After that I had to kneel on some gravel while two of them jumped on my
back and two others punched me with their fists on the head. After that they
forced me to stand in the sun with my arms raised and it was 40 degrees
Centigrade outside. Blood streamed down my face but I dared not wipe it off. I
stood thus for around 2 hours.
Then they ordered me to lie down and poured oil on me and repeatedly
brought a lighter close to me as if to set me on fire so that I was terrified
and waited to become a living torch and burn to death any minute.
Then they started hitting me with a hoe handle on the shoulders and back
until the handle broke from the blows. This lasted for about two and a half
hours and after all this I had to work.
In the days that followed they also insulted us and maltreated us every
day as we worked. They placed pistol barrels in our mouths threatening to kill
us.
During my time in prison my physical and mental health was gravely
impaired. I lost 35 kilograms in prison.
23. The witness 445/94-31 stated:
... I was arrested on May 6, 1992 in my cafe in Mostar by six armed
persons wearing black uniforms. They put me in a van and took me to the
Faculty of Economics in Mostar. Zeljko Dzidic, formerly a driver at the
"Vodovod" (Water Supply Administration) was there. He was the chief of the HVO
military police in Mostar then. There were also Stipo Petrovic, an
ex-policeman, then Zeljko Dzidic's deputy, Dragan Barbaric, who initially was
the warden of Celovina prison and was later transferred to HVO headquarters as
a jurist, Branko Conkic-Marinovic, born in 1960 in Ilici - Mostar, Habibija
whose first name I do not know, who lived at Zalik near the railway station,
Irenko Coric, who lived at No. 38 Rudarska street in Mostar, and Mate Ancic, a
neighbour of mine and a known criminal from Mostar born in 1958, Ivan
Marincic, born in 1959 in Mostar, who, as I heard later was killed, and
Predrag Maric, born in 1957 in Mostar. There were other persons there also
whom I did not know.
The moment I entered the room and sat down in a chair they handcuffed my
left arm to a radiator pipe. Dzidic interrogated me and was generally in
charge. Right away they started hitting me with rifle butts, punching me,
kicking me, burning my beard and this lasted for a full three hours. I fainted
a number of times. They broke my nose, loosened three of my upper teeth, broke
both of my supraorbital arches and pierced my ears. Zeljko Dzidic and
Conkic-Marinovic beat us the most.
After this torture they transferred me to the newly-set up prison at
Celovina. There were five or six prisoners there, all from Mostar. I remained
there until mid-September 1992.
They kept insulting us and showering us with abusive language. Worst of
all they forced us to do hard labour. Occasionally we had to work on the front
line. Once we were working near Sutina, at the outskirts of town where we dug
up 11 bodies. They showed us on that occasion to the press and TV as Chetniks
who had killed those people who were buried there. We were all in YPA uniforms
which they had us put on when we were brought to prison. The local people
swore at us and maltreated us. Women poured hot water on us and some hit us.
All this was being filmed by a camera crew.
During work the guards allowed their soldiers to beat us as we worked
near their positions. Various persons hit me as they pleased. I remember well
how once in Gnojanice a soldier stabbed with a knife a man by the surname
Popara, I do not know his given name.
The worst incident happened early in September 1992 when some 10
prisoners had been sent to collect the remains of two HVO policemen whose car
had been hit by a shell which blew them up. In the evening we had to carry
these 10 men out of the van, all of them were badly beaten up, disfigured and
unable to get out by themselves. They told us how they had been beaten and how
the viscera of the killed men had been smeared on their faces.
I knew many of the guards and of the prison staff from before. The prison
warden was Petar Nikolic, his deputy was Ante Peko, and the guards were: Adem
Hajdan, shift c.o., Ramic, also shift c.o., Zijo Toljaga, ex-goalkeeper of the
"Velez" soccer team, Adne Zarkusic, Milenko Zubor and others.
We were forced to work in the villages, dismantling Serb houses and
taking the building material to Croat villages.
I went to work in the villages of Rastani, Vrapcici, Hodbina, Buna, all
Serb villages and thus we tore down hundreds of Serb houses. We worked in
groups of 10 prisoners each and our daily assigned quota was to pull down 2
houses and transfer the material to Croat villages. When we came to the same
village on the next day we could see that the remnants of the houses had been
set to fire or demolished by explosives. I remember that in Rastani we
dismantled the houses of families which I knew, and one of the prisoners had
to dismantle his own house and carry the material to a Croat village. In
Vrapcici we dismantled the houses of the families Antelj and Miskin. In the
village of Ortijes we dismantled one house for the needs of Vlada, the son of
the soccer player Blaz Sliskovic.
The stay in prison and the torture I was subjected to seriously impaired
my health. I was treated at the Medical Centre in Sremska Mitrovica and
documentation attesting to the state of my health can be obtained from it.
24. The witness 445/94-38 stated:
... On July 14, 1992 I and my common-law wife were arrested in our flat
in Mostar by five HOS members and taken to prison in the former military
infirmary. There they separated us. I spent 7 days there. They searched us,
looking for money, German marks in particular. They took about DM 1,000 and a
wrist watch from me. I was interrogated on several occasions by the prison
warden Ivan Zelenika. He kicked me and punched me with his fists during these
interrogations. He poured salt in my mouth and forced me to swallow it. He
took me to a filthy crouching toilet, pushed my head into the faeces and held
it there until I became green in the face and then poured water on me.
A certain Dziko, a large and fat man, occasionally took me out from the
office in which I was being interrogated into another room where he lashed me
on the back with a whip and kicked me with his feet. Sergej Belovic was also
with him, who being the offspring of a mixed marriage took particular pains to
prove himself a good Ustashi by beating up the prisoners especially hard.
Apart from beating us during interrogations they also barged into our
cells at night to beat us or terrorize us in other ways.
Once after a beating I had to stand in a solitary confinement cell all
night so that my blood spilled all over my body and on the concrete. When they
took us out they forced us to pluck and eat grass. We were constantly
subjected to insults and various forms of humiliation. Around July 21, 1992
they transferred us to another detention camp.
25. The witness 445/94-41 stated:
On May 9, 1992 HVO Military Police took me from my house in Mostar to a
room at the Faculty of Economics, where I was interrogated by Zeljko Dzidic,
Chief of the HVO MIlitary Police for the entire west Herzegovina. He swore at
me and hit me several times as he interrogated me. They immediately
transferred me to Celovina prison and put me in a cell.
We prisoners would be taken to Podvelezje where fighting went on where we
had to make and fortify bunkers for them.
As we worked the locals threw stones at us, spat on us and humiliated us
in other ways.
One day I saw in the prison an elderly man who was a retired policeman.
He was disfigured and there were cigarette burns on his chest. One of his ears
was nicked. He told me how they had led him through the town wearing a sign on
his chest that he was a Chetnik and that the citizens threw objects at him,
spat on him and insulted him.
Every day I could hear the prisoners on the floor above us singing
Ustashi songs, and if they did not sing properly they would hit them and I
could hear that too.
The food was extremely poor until we were registered by the Red Cross.
Each prisoner lost about 30 kilograms, and when I left this prison I was skin
and bones.
26. The witness 532/94-3, inter alia, stated:
- The witness was arrested on October 12, 1992 by the HVO police and
taken to the Military Police HQ where Josip Marcinko, a neighbour of his and
formerly a police officer in Mostar, interrogated him. The police beat him,
spat on him and pulled his hair;
- He was transferred to the Central detention camp for Serbs at Rodoc
within the compound of the Military High School and placed in a room with 44
Serbs. Among them were a former public prosecutor from Mostar, the
administrator of a students' hostel, an inspector of the Secretariat of the
Interior, a house painter from Mostar, a professor at the Teacher Training
College, a worker from Jablanica, a retired Secretariat of the Interior
officer, a retired lt.colonel from Mostar, a retired colonel from Mostar, a
dairy worker from Mostar, an engineer who had worked for the Mostar Mines, a
major, a worker from Nevesinje;
All of them told him they they hed been subjected to appalling torture
and that the guards beat them.
27. The witness 295/94-12, stated, inter alia, the following, on
September 16,1994:
She lived in Mostar on Matije Gupca street. One day in August 1992, a
women neighbour came and told her that their neighbour Slobodan Ivanisevic had
been taken away for interrogation by Huso Begovic, Ferid Belja and another
unknown man. Half an hour later she saw Huso Begovic in front of her flat
holding a large kitchen knife in his hand. He said that they had taken Slobo
away and that he had admitted having a radio station. That same evening Radio
Mostar broadcast the news that an unknown man who was still showing signs of
life had been found on Bijeli Brijeg, that he had been transferred to hospital
and died there. Avdo Avdic and Dusan Bonca went to identify him the next day.
Bonca said that it was Slobo Ivanisevic and that his skull had been smashed
in.
28. The witness 295/94-5 stated:
- Before the war the witness worked at the department store in Mostar;
- On August 8, 1992 two HOS members came to his flat and demanded gold
and money, and when he told them that he had none, they searched the flat.
They took him away and locked him up in the cellar of the Military Hospital
building where there were 12 Serb civilians. Later that number rose to around
30. The prison warden was Ivan Zelenika. The prisoners were beaten and
maltreated in various ways. Zelenika ordered him to strip naked and then
kicked him in various parts of the body. After that they put a winter Yugoslav
army uniform on him and a Serbian cap on his head.
- One night they took him out into the yard where some 20 HOS members
encircled him and kicked him and punched him. After that they forced him to
wash the toilet and to push his arm to the elbow into the toilet bowl and then
to lick off the faeces from it.
From this place he was transferred to Dretelj prison.
29. The witness 496/94-159, inter alia, stated:
- He, a retired military, lived in Mostar on 37th Street, he declared
himself as a Yugoslav of the Catholic faith.
- He was arrested on May 9, 1992 by two uniformed persons with lily
insignias on their sleeves who took him to their HQ where a certain Stipe
interrogated him. From there he was taken to Celovina prison. The reason for
it was that he had a Serb son-in- law. He shared a cell with a Serb from
Mostar whom he knew.
- Younger prisoners were taken to forced labour and when they returned
they were beaten up;
- For a time he shared a cell in Celovina with a man who had been a
policeman before the war, who was tortured and beaten, once they beat him up
so hard that he was unable to talk;
- They brought Serbs whom they rounded up in the near-by villages to the
prison and beat them and forced them to sing Ustashi songs. The warden was a
certain Nikolic, a Croat and his deputy a certain Ante. The commander beat one
Mucibabic during forced labour.
30. The witness 31/94 stated:
... In Mostar I lived on Mustafe Golubica street and I worked in "Hepok".
On July 21, 1992 three men wearing black HOS uniforms came into my flat.
The leader of the group was Mario Milicevic, a Croat. The second member of the
group was Haris Fazlagic, a Moslem. I do not know the name of the third man,
who was a Croat. They entered the flat without a written warrant, searched it
and took a heavy gold chain which I had on my neck, a wedding ring, and two
other gold rings and a gold-plated Seiko watch from my hands. They took all my
gold jewelry from the jewel box. There were golden rings, pendants, chains.
There were about 10 gold rings, 5 or 6 pendants and 1 chain. They also found
and seized DM 3,000 in cash. They gave me no receipt whatsoever for the things
seized.
Then they took me to the military infirmary, which was near my flat, and
placed me in a room in the cellar of the building.
There were five or six other women in the room.
Around 2 a.m. the door opened and a man ordered me to come with him and
he took me to a room on the upper floor. In the room were sitting Mario
Milicevic and another man whose name as I later found out was Sead
Kapetanovic. Kapetanovic, who had a pistol and a knife at the waist walked up
to me with a furious expression on his face and swore at me cursing my Chetnik
mother. He took out the knife and waved it in front of my throat. He said that
an exchange operation on a spot called "Grebak" had fallen through that day
because my son Jovo demanded exclusively me to be returned for the exchange to
be carried out. I told him that my son was in Uzice. Kapetanovic came up to me
again, took out the knife and waved it near my right cheek saying that he
would slice off a portion of my cheek with a mole on it and that he would show
that to my son for the exchange. As I found out later, Sead Kapetanovic was
the commander of the HOS police at the time.
The following night, at the same time, I was taken to Sead Kapetanovic's
room. He was alone in the room. The tone of the conversation was different. He
asked whether anyone was maltreating me. He told me that I would be set free
on the condition that I became his mistress. When I refused he said that I had
decided my fate myself and that I would remain in prison.
On the third day I was transferred by a van driven by Sergije Belovic to
the camp at Dretelj.
The commander of the HOS in Mostar was Vinko Martinovic called "Stela", a
taxi driver in Mostar before the war, a Moslem.
The commander of the HOS Police was Sead Kapetanovic, also a taxi driver
in Mostar before the war, a Moslem.
Ivan Zelenika, a Croat, was the warden of the HOS prison in Mostar. Mario
Milicevic was the leader of the subversive operations group called "the silent
liquidation squad". They liquidated Serbs at night and later continued this
practice only the victims were Moslems. He was born in Cim near Mostar. His
mother is a Serb from Slovenia. He is a Croat by nationality. He is currently
living in Mostar with his mistress Mirjana. He moved into my flat immediately
after my arrest.
Dugalic, called "Luster", born in Mostar.
Serdarevic, called "Borke", a trucker from Rodosce.
Sergije Belovic, from Mostar, the son of a Serb father and Moslem mother.
He was killed by Rihar Dumport, a HOS member from Rastani, when they were
splitting some spoils of war.
Goran Vlajinic, a Serb from Mostar.
The HOS members Boris Borovina, a civil engineer, Lulic called "Sesta",
Haris Fazlagic from Fazlagica Kula near Gacko, were also torturers of Serbs.
In my opinion and in the opinion of other prisoners, all the mentioned
were the worst torturers of Serbs in Mostar. They liquidated a number of Serbs
and beat up and raped an even larger number of them.
31. The witness 595/94 stated that in prison she had been repeatedly
raped by members of Paraga's armed formations - the blackshirts, and
specifically said:
I lived in Mostar for 33 years and worked at the Factory... I had a
one-room flat on Splitska street. I never married.
After the outbreak of war the blackshirts paid me daily visits. Day after
day patrols came and searched my flat and inquired about my brother. I was
forbidden to keep contacts with anyone irrespective of nationality.
In the first half of July 1992 four blackshirts came to my flat. One of
them hit me in the face twice and swore at me cursing my Chetnik mother. Then
the four of them pinned me to the bed holding me by the arms and legs, one of
them tore my clothes and underwear and raped me. I tried to resist but I could
not as three of them held me by the arms and legs. Then the second one raped
me.
... They took me to the former military infirmary where Ivo Zelenika, a
Croat whom I knew from before, was among those in charge. This hospital had
been turned into a detention camp. Ivo Zelenika searched me and took away from
me DM 20,000 without giving me a receipt. He then put me in solitary
confinement.
While in solitary confinement I was physically maltreated and
interrogated about my brother every day. At night Ivo Zelenika came and raped
me. He came armed and he forced me to sexual intercourse once or several times
during the night. First he would hit me some. I had to succumb to him for
there was the danger of his physically liquidating me, and he could have
easily done that being one of the top men in charge of the blackshirts, and
answering to no one for his conduct...
I spent about 20 days in this camp. My sister-in-law and another two
women from Nevesinje were with me. I personally know that my sister-in-law and
these two women were repeatedly raped by men from the blackshirts formation. I
saw it with my own eyes.
Mrmo Omer, a Moslem from Mostar, was also among the blackshirts. I knew
him from before. He had been convicted of the murder of his wife and daughter.
When he was on guard duty at night he came for me, took me out of the room and
raped me. Before intercourse he beat me up with a rifle butt. When I was no
longer able to offer any resistance he raped me.
During my stay in this prison I was repeatedly raped by members of the
Croat blackshirts whom I did not know. This happened at night when they were
on guard duty.
From this place I was transferred to Capljina.
32. The witness 460/94 also stated that she had been raped:
... On June 7,1994 I had the most harrowing experience in my life, one
that I will never be able to forget. That evening I went to the cistern to get
some water.
As I was returning I saw a yellow van parked near the building in which I
lived and several men standing around it. They were all in mufti. A group of
them walked up to us women. One of them, whom I later heard them call Sajo,
told us that an exchange was to be organized and asked whether we wished to be
exchanged. He demanded money for that.
When we agreed six of us joined four of their group. They took us to a
house on the way to Rastani near an optician's. They led us all into the
house. They separated me from the others and put me in a small room. The
moment I entered Sajo pounced on me, slapped me in the face a few times and
then one of them called Mirso tore all my clothes and pinned me to the floor.
I started to scream. Mirso gagged my mouth with one hand and held me to the
floor with the other.
When he subdued me Sajo undid his zipper and lay on top of me and managed
to have intercourse with me even though I resisted. When Sajo was through the
second guy, who had a tattoo on his arms, did the same, and then also the
third...
During the raping they swore at me and insulted me in the most
vituperative language. Mirso, who held me said that he was disgusted of a
Vlach (infidel Serb) and that he would not have intercourse with me. All this
lasted about 2 hours.
The man they called Sajo was about 30, slightly on the stocky side, of
dark complexion and hair. Judging by his nickname he was a Moslem. I believe
that I would recognize him if I saw him.
The second one who raped me was tattooed on his arms all the way to his
shoulders, he was quite short and fat.
I did not see well the third one who raped me.
Mirso, who held me, was quite tall, his head was shaven and he was much
younger than the others. He held me and slapped me in the face several times
for me to stop screaming and resisting the rapists.
I crossed over to Serb territory on September 26, 1994, came to Belgrade
on October 6 and was admitted to the Gynecology & Obstetrics Clinic where it
was established that I was in the fifth month of pregnancy. I applied for an
abortion.
This experience has had a shattering effect on my mental state.
_____________________
* According to the 1991 population census (results concerning B&H were
published in the second half of 1991 by the then authorities - due to the
outbreak of the civil war, it was not verified at the federal level), national
composition was as follows: 69 per cent were Moslems, 30 per cent were Serbs
and 1 per cent were Yugoslavs (in 1981, Serbs constituted an insignificant
majority in this municipality).
.
