Witness: “I remember you well, Kajtez Danilusko”

Mehmed Mujagic, a former camp inmate in Manjaca, identified on Wednesday the accused Nikola Kovacevic as the person who beat him in Manjaca detention camp.

“When they brought us in front of Manjaca camp on June 11, 1992, Danilusko Kajtez and another soldier stood by the truck and beat those who were coming down,” Mujagic, who appeared as a prosecution witness, told the trial chamber.

“He also kicked me as well as others. Manjaca echoed with our screams,” he said.

“The men whose names were called out were brought into the detention camp. Those who were not on the list stayed on the truck and we never saw them again,” Mujagic said.

He remained in Manjaca camp until the end of 1992, when he was transferred to Croatia by the Red Cross.

The second witness to appear on Wednesday also identified Kovacevic as one of the soldiers who beat the inmates. Nijaz Halilovic spoke about the torture of civilians in Betonirka and Manjaca camps.

He recalled the “horrible” scene in the Betonirka garage when he arrived at the camp.

“I saw people who were beaten. There was not enough room for them to stand and there wasn’t enough air for them to breathe.One man was completely black from the beatings,” Halilovic said.

The witness also described how inmates would eat in front of the garages while the soldiers kept them at gunpoint.

Halilovic confirmed that Kovacevic, who was formerly known as Danilusko Kajtez, was among the uniformed persons who beat the inmates.

“He beat them terribly, kicking them with his legs and using nightsticks. I felt each scream as if it were my own,” Halilovic said. Then he addressed the accused: “I remember you well, Kajtez Daniluško.” Halilovic said that he was glad that he could finally look him in the eye without fear.

Speaking about his time in Betonirka camp,where inmates were kept prior to being taken to Manjaca, Halilovic recalled being questioned by his former neighbour.

“I was questioned by my former neighbour, Mile Dobrijevic. He asked me whether I had illegal weapons. But he didn’t beat me,” Halilovic told the trial chamber.

His neighbour, Dobrijevic, appeared as a prosecution witness on Wednesday. He told the trial chamber about his role in the two detention camps.

“My job was to carry out informative discussions with the inmates in the elementary school called Hasan Kikic, in Betonirka and later in Manjaca,” Dobrijevic said.

“We asked them whether they had any illegal weapons and whether they knew anyone else who did,” he said.

The next hearing in the case Nikola Kovacevic is scheduled for 7 June.