Basic and Sijak: Guards as Good as Gold
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“The policeman, who was detained with me, was visited by his sister. I did not personally know her, but I remember she used to bring meat and other pies and cakes,” said Borislav Pasalic, adding that she saw her visiting her brother two or three times.
Prosecution witness Pasalic, former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, was held in the “Autotrans” and “Sumarstvo” premises from December 24, 1993 to March 7, 1994.
He confirmed, before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that guards used to physically mistreat detainees in those buildings, but he was not “beaten often”.
“When they were not drunk, they were as good as gold. When they were drunk, they did all sorts of things to us,” Pasalic said.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Muhidin Basic and Mirsad Sijak with having forced a Croat female to have sexual intercourse with them in an Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH prison, which was located in the basement of “Sumarstvo” building in Vares, on January 25, 1994.
According to the charges, witness A visited her brother on that day. After that two unknown persons, one of whom had a knife and the other one had military blankets, and the two indictees entered the office.
The indictment alleges that the indictees and two unknown persons then raped her.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina alleges that Basic was Chief of the State Security Service Section in Olovo and Sijak was military policeman with the 122nd Light Brigade of ABiH at the time.
During the cross-examination witness Pasalic confirmed that he had known indictee Mirsad Sijak his whole life, adding that he saw him in prison often.
“I had an impression that he was an officer, but I never asked him anything. We last saw each other in Vares a couple of days ago. We shook hands and greeted each other,” Pasalic explained.
The trial is due to continue on Monday, May 21, 2012, when two State Prosecution witnesses will be examined.
