Bojadzic: Nihads Game
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Mario Zelenika, former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, said that, after having been captured on July 28, 1993, he was taken, along with other men from Doljani village, to a museum in Jablanica.
As he said, he was taken from the room where he was held, to the toilet, where he was beaten up by Azem Ibrovic, Cadzo and Zeba, whom he knew, for half an hour. He said that Bojadzic and a Hindic, whom he knew as a waiter from Jablanica, came after that.
Nihads game then began. He hit me with his legs and hands. When I fell down on the floor, he would grab me by my hair and hit my head against the wall, the witness said.
Zelenika said that he had not known Bojadzic prior to that night, but the three other men, who beat him up as well, addressed him as Nihad.
Bojadzic is charged with having beaten up, sexually abused and raped Croat prisoners in The Battle of Neretva Museum in Jablanica.
Bojadzics Defence attorney Edina Residovic pointed to differences between a statement this witness gave to the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the investigation and his testimony today. As she said, in his previous statement the witness said that he found Nihads name out later on and not from the guards on the night he was beaten up.
Witness Zelenika said that, after Bojadzic had beaten him up, Hindic did the same, jumping on my back. He said that he then begged Nihad to kill him, but he responded by saying that it would not be that easy, Ustasha.
Cadzo then said that my mother was detained in that building as well. Nihad told him to bring her, so he could rape her in front of me, the witness said, adding that it did not happen.
He said that, on the following day he spoke to a guard who was his former schoolmate, and that the guard told him that Nihad was Zukas Deputy.
This witness was assigned the pseudonym of J during the investigation, but, this morning he said he wanted to testify without any protective measures.
The public was excluded from this hearing twice for the sake protecting the privacy of the witness as he spoke about certain things.
The trial is due to continue on November 8. A.J.
