Muderizovic et al: Sentenced for Being Serb
This post is also available in: Bosnian
The protected witness A, said that the verdict against him specified he was tried for weapons. However, the witness said that he believed he was convicted for being a Serb.
The verdict specified I was convicted for the possession of weapons, but that is not true. I was convicted because I was a Serb. Muslim neighbours had weapons too… I was sentenced to a prison then, said witness A, who started his testimony on October 12.
The witness emphasised that the trial was not fair, because he learnt from his wife that a daily newspaper published the verdict a day before he was actually sentenced.
The prosecution filed an indictment against Besim Muderizovic, Ramiz Avdovic and Iliuan-Nicolae Vintila for the crimes committed in the Viktor Bubanj army barracks.
They are charged, as members of the joint criminal enterprise, with taking part in the establishment and maintenance of the system of abuse of Serb civilians between June and late November 1992.
According to the indictment, Muderizovic was a deputy warden at the 5th floor of the District Prison in Sarajevo and the commander of the military prison in the Viktor Bubanj barracks, Avdovic in charge of all the guards in all the facilities, while Vintila a cook and a guard in the barracks.
The witness A said that he signed for weapons in 1992, but that he turned them over when it was asked of him.
I signed for the weapons in order to defend lives. I took it because the neighbours took it, said A, in response to the question from the defendant Muderizovic.
The witness said that during his stay in the Central Prison he did not see Muderizovic at all and when transferred to the Viktor Bubanj barracks he saw him only occasionally.
Asked by Muderizovic whether he remembered him, the witness said that he remembered him, although he had changed a lot.
The witness A also said he remembered the defendant Avdovic, adding that he never saw him abuse anyone.
Speaking about the conditions in the Viktor Bubanj barracks, the witness said that only two guards treated the prisoners humanely.
We were happy when Dario and Mirso were on guard duty, especially Mirso. He did not prevent us from going to the toilet, said the witness A.
The next trial is scheduled for November 9, when the prosecution would examine another protected witness.
