Vlahovic: ‘Batko’s Operation’

“Batko and my husband went to the living room. I heard my husband telling him he had no money and begging him not to beat him. After that Batko ordered him to go out. I followed them. He said he was taking us to the police station,” witness S36 said.

The State Prosecution charges Veselin Vlahovic, known as Batko, with having killed or participated in the murder of more than 30 people in Grbavica, Vraca and Kovacici from May to August 1992. He is also charged with having abused, beaten and taken money and other valuables from Croat and Bosniak citizens, acting alone or together with other armed persons.

On May 25, 2011 the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed another indictment against Vlahovic, charging him, under 14 counts, with murder or taking people in an unknown direction and the forcible disappearances of 14 people, as well as rape, torture, beating and abuse of civilians.

The witness said that she and her husband, as well as Vlahovic and the two other soldiers, drove to Vraca in two cars. She said that during the trip Batko started touching her leg, asking her “how I wanted him to rape me”.

“We stopped in front of a building. Batko asked the other soldiers, who accompanied my husband in the other car, if they had got ransom for our heads. They said they had. (…) We went back to our building. Upon our arrival, Batko ordered the soldiers to go to our apartment with my husband. He told me that we must not tell anyone about it,” S36 said.

When asked by State Prosecutor Behaija Krnjic how much money Vlahovic took from the witness’ husband, S36 said: “about 14 thousand German marks” and her jewelry.

The witness told the Court that, after the incident, her husband told her that Vlahovic had hit him on his chest, adding that they spent most of the time in the basement, until her husband was taken to “Kula”, where he “stayed for about 30 days”.

“A soldier then looked for me. He told me that I could go for an exchange on that day, if I wanted to. I said I would like to go. I saw my husband and I could hardly recognise him. All of a sudden, he had gray hair. He seemed scared,” witness S36 said.

The witness said that her neighbour told her that Vlahovic bragged to other soldiers about having taken the money from her and her husband, adding that it was “his operation”. S36 said that she wanted the indictee to get “the sentence he deserves”.

The trial is due to continue on June 6.