Silos: Interviews with Most Dangerous Ones

Vinko Beslic told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that he was informed, in 1992, that Serbs were detained in Silos building, adding that he informed his superior officer about it and that he ordered him to go to Tarcin and check what was going on.

“While I was standing on the Silos platform, I saw people, civilians. According to my estimates there were about 300 of them. As my visit happened around a month and a half after they had been brought to Silos, they were unshaved and shabby,” the witness said, adding that Becir Hujic was the Manager of Silos.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Mustafa Djelilovic, Fadil Covic, Nezir Kazic, Becir Hujic, Halid Covic, Serif Mesanovic and Nermin Kalember with crimes committed in Silos detention camp, Krupa military barracks and the 9. maj school.

According to the charges, Becir Hujic and Halid Covic were Manager and Deputy Manager of Silos detention camp, while Kalember was a guard.

Witness Beslic said that he visited Silos on several occasions and spoke to about 15 prisoners over the course of around one month.

“I wanted to conduct interviews with prisoners who were considered most dangerous in terms of weapons acquisition. They recommended three people, who, they considered most dangerous. I told them to bring Mile Bratic first. When I looked at him, I noticed that he had dry blood stains on his body and that he had difficulties breathing,” the witness said.

The witness said that, due to the injuries he noticed on prisoner Mile Bratic, the witness told the Silos Manager that “the war would end one day and that somebody would be prosecuted because of that”.

“During the interview Mile told me that several prisoners had to share one plate of soup and that they were given a little bit of bread too. After that I asked them to bring him some food and told him to go and eat it. He did not want to take the food into the cell, because other prisoners would take it away from him,” Beslic said.

The witness said that he had an opportunity to meet families of prisoners in the Tarcin area and that they asked him to take some food to their family members, who were held in Silos.

“I had to ask Becir to let me take the food into Silos. He allowed me to do it,” the witness said.

When asked by Dusko Tomic, Defence attorney of indictee Kalember, whether the prisoners mentioned who beat them up in Silos, the witness said that the beaten individuals did not dare speak about it.

Beslic said that, while he was present in the Tarcin area, Silos was referred to as prison and detention camp.

According to the official schedule of hearings before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the next hearing in this case is due to be held on September 13.
S.U.