Lazarevic et al: Cruel abuse of detainees

Prosecution witnesses, former detainees, spoke about the role of the four indictees, charged with crimes committed in Zvornik area, in the beating of detainees in the detention camps, established in ‘Novi izvor’ and offence court buildings, where detainees were exposed to cruel abuse every day.

“Sreten once came and took two detainees to the basement, where they were beaten up. When he brought them back later, we could see bruises on their bodies and we saw that Kasim Pedic’s ear was pierced with two staples,” witness Mirsad Omerovic said.

The indictment alleges that Lazarevic was deputy commander of the detention camp, which was situated in the offence court building in Zvornik and then in “Novi izvor” factory premises. Indictees Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic are charged with having participated, as guards, in the abuse of detained civilians.

Omerovic said that the guards did not abuse the detainees in those prisons but they “brought other persons and told them which detainees they should beat.”

“Judging by their accent, one could conclude that those persons came from Serbia. However, nobody could come there and abuse us during Sredoje’s shifts. On one occasion he even yelled at Lazarevic because he ordered us to perform some private jobs, like moving, for other people,” Omerovic said.

The indictment alleges that Lazarevic allowed unauthorized personnel, including some Serbian soldiers known as ‘Gogicevci’, to enter the prison premises several times. He thus enabled them to abuse the detainees.

Omerovic said that the detainees performed those works gladly, because they were not beaten up and they could earn some bread and cigarettes.

“Most often we were taken to work by Stanojevic and Markovic. While we were working outside the detention camp, I got the news that my wife delivered a baby boy. I bought a box of beer to celebrate that with the others. Dragan also became a father at the same time, so he bought another box to celebrate,” Omerovic said.

The second Prosecution witness, who testified under the pseudonym of A, said that he was transferred from a hospital in Belgrade to ‘Novi izvor’ detention camp. He was admitted to that hospital after having been wounded when the conflicts started in Zvornik municipality.

“One day a guard named Dragan, the little, took me to the guards’ room, where Markovic hit me with his legs. Later on he came to the room, asking me why I was still alive. I begged him to kill me so that I would not have to suffer any more. However, he said that his bullet cost 5 marks and I would have to go through some more suffering,” witness A recalled.

Claiming that the conditions were very bad in the detention camp, he said that one detainee “died of hunger”, while another one died after having been beaten by Stanojevic.

“Another detainee told me that Murat Kuduzovic had died. He said that Murat was about to start his prayer, when Stanojevic hit him, telling him that he obviously did not know where he was,” witness A said.

He said that indictee Ostojic participated in beating of one detainee, because Ostojic thought he had some things with him, which he was supposed to return.

The trial of the four indictees from Zvornik is due to continue on May 19, 2008.