Detained because of Weapons

Testifying at the trial for crimes in the Hadzici area, a State Prosecution witness says that he took statements about weapon possession from detainees in “Silos”.

Mujo Ibrica said that, in his capacity as policeman from Tarcin, he was tasked with taking statements from Serb detainees at the beginning of June 1992.

“I was in an office with a colleague of mine. Those people were brought to the office. We took their statements concerning the circumstances of weapon possession …Vukasin Lausic was one of the persons, whose statement I took. He told me that he had two machine guns,” the witness said.

When asked to describe the individuals, whose statements he took, the witness said that he did not notice any injuries on them. As he said, he performed that task for a few days only.  

After that he was involved in arresting persons from the Tarcin area, who were considered to have weapons.

“Besides that, we visited places, where weapons were buried… Those places were shown to us by some individuals. We found weapons, as well as bags full of money. They told us that they had received those things from the Serbian Democratic Party,” the witness said.

He explained that Becir Hujic, Halid Covic and Serif Mesanovic, who were “professionals in their field of work”, were in charge of “Silos”.

Hujic, Mesanovic and Halid Covic are on trial, along with Mustafa Djelilovic, Fadil Covic, Mirsad Sabic, Nezir Kazic and Nermin Kalember, for having committed crimes in “Silos”, “Krupa” military barracks and “9. maj” school building.

According to the charges, Hujic was Manager and Deputy Manager of “Silos” detention camp. Halic Covic performed the same functions. Mesanovic was one of the deputy managers in “Silos” and Manager of a detention camp in “Krupa” military barracks, Kalember was a guard in “Silos”. The other indictees were members of the civil, military and police authorities.

Witness Ibrica said that he became Commander of the Police Station in Tarcin in November 1992 and Chief of the Public Safety Station in Hadzici in the autumn of 1993. He pointed out that, while performing his job, he found out about some criminal reports, which were supposed to be sent to Sarajevo.

“I managed to transfer those reports to the District Military Prosecution in Sarajevo,” he said, adding that the reports could not be sent earlier, because the area was besieged.  

When asked by the Trial Chamber what the detainees, who were held in “Silos”, were doing, the witness said that he saw them unloading food and that he did not have information about other works.

Ibrica said that Serb forces occupied the Police Stations in Ilidza and Hadzici in 1992, confirming that the Tarcin and Pazaric areas were inhabited by Serbs during the war.   

The trial is due to continue on January 16.