Kujundzic: Infiltrated element

Protected Prosecution witness 32, who testified at the trial of the former commander of “Predini vukovi” (“Predo’s Wolves”) Unit, accused Predrag Kujundzic of beating and mistreating him in Bukovacke Civcije village on June 12, 1992.

“All men from the village, who were between 16 and 60 years of age, had to gather at one location. First we had to form two lines and then they started mistreating and threatening us. Predrag Kujundzic ordered me to lie down and raise my hands up. Then he started hitting me. He said I was an infiltrated element,” witness 32 said.

Among other things, the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Predrag Kujundzic, as commander of “Predini vukovi” Unit, with having participated, in the course of 1992 and 1993, in the attack on Bukovacke Civcije village, as well as in the capture, detention and abuse of village residents in the “Percin disko” and use of those civilians as human shields.

Witness 32 explained that he attended the Military Academy in Serbia before the war. When asked by Predrag Kujundzic did anyone have any weapons or uniforms, the witness said that he had a uniform and his friend, who was in his house at the moment, said he had a revolver.

The witness said that they ordered his friend to bring the weapons and uniform. At the same time Predrag singled him out and hit him before the eyes of other residents. The witness said that he stopped hitting him when a soldier, known as Japanac (Japanese) said: “I know that he completed military school”.

The witness said he did not know brothers Nenad and Predrag Kujundzic, whom he blames for what happened in Civcije. However, he said that “those who knew the two of them told me what their names were”. Testifying in the courtroom the witness pointed to the indictee but he was not able to confirm if he was the person who had beaten him, “because so many years have passed since then”.

The witness said that the residents of Bukovacke Civcije were mistreated for about two hours. After that they were transferred to the “Percin disco.”

“They first searched us. Then they took about 160 of us to the former disco. As we were entering the disco, they hit us. Each of us got at least one slap in the face. In the course of the first night we had to kneal, holding our hands above our heads. Whoever would put his arms down would be hit with a rifle butt or slapped in the face,” the witness said, adding that he did not know any soldiers who were in the disco.

The men were taken from the “Percin disco” to military depot hangars in Doboj.

“If you wanted to go to the toilet, they would beat you up. We did our needs in the hangar. We used to receive three or four buckets of water per day. About 200 people were detained in there,” the witness recalled, adding that they spent five or six days in the hangars, before being returned to the “Percin disco”. He said he was taken from the disco to other locations in order to perform forced works.

The witness stayed in “Percin disco” until July 18, 1992, when two inspectors told him that they had received an order for him to go back to the Yugoslav National Army in Belgrade. He was with the Army for the next five years.

The trial is due to continue on August 22.