Father Killed While Used as Human Shield

Hazim Durmo was taken from Gornja Bioca to Podlugovi in late May or at the beginning of June 1992, where, as he said, he was detained for about two months. After that he was transferred to “Planjina Kuca” in Semizovac.

“Vlaco met us and said: ‘Welcome. God helps.’ [a Serbian greeting], and we replied,” the witness said, adding that Vlaco was the Manager of the detention camp in which he was held until 1994.

According to the witness’ testimony, Vlaco issued an order to take the detainees to a nearby river in order to take a bath. Durmo said that Vlaco used to line the detainees in front of “Planjina Kuca” every morning and decided which ones of them would perform labour or be used as human shields.

Witness Durmo was used as a human shield seven times, but, as he said, one of those occasions was more painful than all the others. It happened on Zuc Hill.

“My father was tied to me with a belt. We were used as human shields. We were walking next to each other. A Serb soldier, mercenary from Serbia, held a machine gun on our shoulders,” Durmo said, visibly upset. He said that his father was shot. After that they just assigned another detainee to walk with him.

He said that he was wounded, while digging trenches on Zuc and that he still had 11 shrapnel pieces in his arm. The witness said that he used to see Vlaco on Zuc hill.

Branko Vlaco, former Manager of “Bunker”, “Planjina Kuca”, “Kod Sonje” and “Nakina Garaza” detention camps, is charged with having established a system for punishment of detained civilians, who were abused, forced to perform hard labour and used as human shields. Many of them got killed at those locations, while tens of them are still missing. 

Second State Prosecution witness Asim Sehic arrived at “Planjina Kuca” detention camp in the same way as witness Durmo.

Sehic said that he was taken to other locations in order to perform labour each and every day of his detention in Semizovac. As he said, the guards decided who would be used for performing labour.

“Digging trenches in Rajlovac and on Zuc, being used as a human shield, it was a disaster. (…) I saw three dead people on Zuc. There were many wounded as well,” Sehic said, describing one of the occasions when he was used as a human shield.
 
He said that he saw Vlaco next to the ditch, where detainees, who were used as human shields, were held.

“I saw that Vlaco hit Avdo Durmic and my cousin in front of ‘Planjina Kuca’. He did not allow anyone to speak to him,” Sehic said. He was exchanged in October 1992.

The trial is due to continue on Monday, December 16.