Bosnian Croat Fighter ‘Beat Prisoners in School Gym’

The first witness on Thursday at Tolic’s war crimes trial in Sarajevo, Drago Ninkovic, told the court that he was taken, along with about 500 or 600 other civilian prisoners, from Novi Grad to the school gym in Odzak at the beginning of May 1992.

He said that conditions in the gym were bad, but said that Tolic, who he recognised in the courtroom, “did not beat me”.

Prosecutor Miroslav Janjic said that in an earlier statement, Ninkovic had said that Tolic hit him twice, because he did not want to obey an order to hit his neighbour.

“I am confused today,” Ninkovic said, adding that Tolic also beat his father up.

He told the court that people were killed in the school gym in Odzak.

“Rade Tomanovic, who was beaten with a rifle butt, died in the school gym. I was four metres away. I was not able to see everything, because other people were standing in front of me, but others told me that Josip Tolic and the other [unnamed] guy killed him,” Ninkovic said.

The defence pointed out however that in a previous statement, Ninkovic said that he did not personally see the incident.

Ninkovic said that the prisoners were taken from Odzak to Novi Grad, where Tolic, Anto Golubovic and Jurica Bozic were the guards.

“Golubovic and Tolic beat me on my head with a baton twice. They hit me seven or eight times on the first occasion and three or four times on the second,” Ninkovic said.

Defence attorney Rifat Konjic said that in his previous statement Ninkovic did not say that Tolic beat him in Novi Grad, but the witness said that he was confused and so physically damaged that he did not know what he was saying any more.

“We were then transferred to Brod, where we had to dig trenches. Tolic sent us to work. I lost my health at that place. I was shot in my head with a sniper bullet. I suffer from epilepsy. My life is totally ruined,” Ninkovic said.

Tolic, a former member of the 102nd Odzak Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, is charged with having participated in the abuse of Serb prisoners in the Odzak and Bosanski Brod area of northern Bosnia from May to October 1992.

After Ninkovic’s testimony, Tolic thanked the witness, adding that he helped Ninkovic to be evacuated to Zagreb by helicopter after he was wounded.

The second prosecution witness, Drago Ninkovic, who was also detained in the school building in Odzak, identified indictee Tolic in the courtroom as well.

“I was personally beaten by Josip Tolic, Anto Golubovic, Jurica Bozic. I could tell when Tolic hit me, because he used to practice karate. He forced us to imagine that the floor was made of water and jump head-first [onto the ground]. When blood began pouring, he forced us to lick our blood,” Ninkovic said.

Ninkovic said that prisoner Rade Tomanovic was killed by Tolic and Golubovic.

The trial is due to continue on January 30.