Indictee Beating the Most

Suvada Simic said that, on June 13, 1992 she was in her family house in Ohridska Street, when a group of men came and took her father away. As she said, indictee Sladoje was in that group of people.

“Bogdanovic came at 6.15 pm that day and told my father that he would be taken for an informative interview. They took my father away,” she said.

After that the witness went back home. As she said, her mother told her the following day that “the same group of men” took her brother Suad away.

Slobodan Bogdanovic and Sladoje are charged with having come to Besic’s house on June 13, 1992. They allegedly took Bajro and Suad Besic to a garage, where they hit them, and then to the Jewish cemetery, where they used them as human shields. Suad was killed on that occasion.

According to the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecution’s charges, Bogdanovic and Sladoje, former “members of military-police forces”, arrested, detained and caused bodily injuries to civilians from mid-June to the end of 1992.

Simic said that she met her father, when she left Sarajevo, and that he told her that he and Suad were taken to the garage, where they were beaten. As her father told her, they were then taken to the Jewish cemetery, where Suad was killed.

At the beginning of the hearing she said that Sladoje beat her husband Rajko, because he did not want to join the Army and because he was “with Muslims”. The witness said that she saw that Sladoje once came to her husband, who was sitting in front of their house, began hitting him and pushed him down the stairs.

“They took Rajko to a minivan and told my father and brother to come. Goran invited them to see Rajko for the last time. Bajro and Suad came. Goran then threatened Suad and told him to stay close, because he would need him,” she said.

As she said, a few days later she saw Rajko going along a path.

“All of a sudden Goran and the Bogdanovic guy came as well. We went out of the house, but we were lined against the wall. They were beating Rajko, but we were not allowed to look,” Simic said.

She said that Sladoje was taking things out of her house and that he took her husband’s and brother’s cars.

When asked by the Defence why she said, at the hearing today, that indictee Bogdanovic was beating her husband, given the fact that she failed to mention that in her four previous statements, the witness said that, at that time she only mentioned “the one, who beat them the most”, and that was Sladoje.

At the beginning of her testimony Simic was upset, when she began talking about the mistreatment of her husband. She was crying and addressed one of the indictees in a raised voice, telling him not to look at her. After that the Trial Chamber ordered a break in the hearing.

The next hearing is due to be held on December 25.