Bosniaks ‘Beaten by Guards’ at Dretelj Prison Camp

The protected prosecution witness codenamed ‘I’ told the court on Tuesday that on July 17, 1992, he was arrested in Mostar and taken to the military infirmary, where he met one of the defendants in the trial, Ivan Zelenika, who he already knew.

“I gave him my personal data and he typed it all up, while another one beat me and pushed a handful of salt into my mouth. Then I was taken upstairs where some [other] people beat me up,” the witness recalled.

Asked by the prosecutor whether Zelenika ever abused or beat him, the witness said that he only put a baton into his mouth once, when guards lined up the prisoners who were detained at the infirmary and demanded that they sing songs.

“I guess he did not like me not opening my mouth wide enough, so he put a little of baton in it,” he said.

After four days at the military infirmary, the witness said he was moved with other prisoners to the Dretelj camp where he was locked up in a hangar and hit several times, once by someone who he heard later was called Medic.

“Medic burst into the hangar. He hit me twice or three times,” said the witness.

Ivan Medic, along with Zelenika, Srecko Herceg, Edib Buljubasic and Marina Grubisic-Fejzic, are accused of war crimes against several hundred Bosnian Serb civilians imprisoned at Dretelj in 1992.

According to the indictment, Zelenika was an officer with the Croatian Defence Forces, Herceg was the commander of the Dretelj camp, Buljubasic was his deputy, while Medic and Grubisic-Fejzic were camp guards.

All are accused of torturing prisoners and forcing them to do hard labour; several prisoners died as a consequence.

The trial will resume on October 1.