Veselinovic: Shooting in front of House of Culture in Hadzici

Prosecution witness Kemal Sabotic, who appeared at the trial for crimes committed in Hadzici, said that, in 1992, he saw indictee Rade Veselinovic shooting at civilian Pepo Musa “in the street, in front of the House of Culture”.

“While soldiers were taking a few of us to the sports hall in Hadzici, Rade Veselinovic stopped us. I heard him cursing the mother to Pepo Musa and then he started shooting. He shot him three or four times in his right or left arm, I am not sure,” the witness recalled.

Sabotic described Veselinovic, saying that he had “a black overcoat, hat and cross-like pendant”.

The State Prosecution charges Rade Veselinovic with having shot, using automatic gun, at one person and wounded the person, “with no provocation”. This incident allegedly happened in the street in front of the House of Culture in Hadzici on May 16, 1992, when some unlawfully detained civilians were escorted to the sports hall.

The witness said that, following the incident, the civilians, including him, were detained in the sports hall for 48 days.

“There were about 300 detainees in there. Some soldiers, who had stockings pulled over their heads, used to mistreat us. Some detainees were forced to take their clothes off and do inappropriate things. Some had to fight with each other,” Sabotic said.

The witness recalled that they were taken from the sports hall, by buses, to the airport, where some soldiers stopped them and started hitting them.

“They broke my six teeth. And my head was fractured as well, because a soldier shad hot me on my head two times with a revolver,” the witness said, showing scars on the front part of his head.

The detainees were then taken to Lukavica, where 48 of them were selected and taken to another room. He said that they heard “screaming and begging” the entire night, adding that those men were taken away the following day and they never came back.

The witness said that they were then transferred from Lukavica to the Kula Correctional Facility, where they had to perform forced labour. He said that a few detainees were killed or wounded while doing that.

Sabotic claims to have stayed in Kula for a month, adding that he was released during an exchange that took place on February 8, 1993.

The trial is due to continue on December 17, when four Prosecution witnesses will be examined.