Local Justice – Koler: Beaten in Prison

Prosecution witness Branislav Kulisic recognised Ivan Koler in the courtroom and said he used to beat him up during his detention.“He used to hit me with his fists, a stick and a plunger in the room, corridor and WC. No other prisoner was mistreated as much as I was,” Kulisic said.Ivan Koler, former member of the Military Police Company with the District Headquarters of the Tuzla Territorial Defence, is charged with having been a guard at the District Military Prison in that town from the beginning of June to the end of August 1992. The Prosecution charges him with inhumane treatment that caused severe bodily and psychological pain and suffering to prisoners of war- members of the Yugoslav People’s Army, JNA.Nenad Dragic was brought to the District Military Prison after having been wounded in Brcanska Malta on May 15, 1992. He spent some time at a hospital before being taken to the prison. Dragic said that the indictee once hit him so hard with a stick on his stomach “that the world around me grew dark”.“When I saw him, I didn’t not know what my day would be like,” witness Radovan Krstic said, adding that Ivan Koler did not beat him.Brothers Vojislav and Danko Mihajlovic also testified at this hearing. They spoke about having been mistreated as prisoners at the District Military Prison in Tuzla in 1992.The next hearing is due to take place on March 31, 2011.A.H.———————————————————————————————–This article is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID.) The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of Balkan investigative reporting network (BIRN) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.