Bosniak Troops ‘Sexually Abused Prisoners at Musala’

The protected witness codenamed ‘S’ told the Sarajevo-based court on Friday that he was arrested in the village of Dusina and taken to an improvised detention centre at the Musala sports centre, where he was immediately assaulted.

“Right after I got off the bus, I was hit by a person I did not know at the time. A-1 and A-2 [two other protected witnesses at the trial] later told me his first and last name, and I just remembered his nickname, Maca,” said witness S, adding that he would never forget the man’s face.

The witness recognised Maca in the prosecution’s photographs and pointed out the accused, Ibra Macic, in the courtroom.

“A-1, A-2, my cousin and I had special treatment, because in the camp we were considered responsible for raping a girl from Dusina. We were beaten because of that in order to make a confession,” said witness S, adding that in the end they agreed to confess to prevent more beatings.

The witness recalled one night at the detention centre when he was taken along with three other prisoners to a room, where, he said, they were beaten and sexually abused.

“Midke Pirkic ordered that everyone should be naked. And the others said that, too. There was Maca and [another guard called] Osmo, and some other soldiers who I don’t know. They requested that we should perform oral sex with each other and rape each other,” recalled witness S, adding that the prisoners were not able to fulfil the order.

He said that Midke then ordered him to lie down, and the others to hold him. He saw that Midke had a burning stick.

“I was screaming while they were burning lower parts of my body. The others were there, but I do not know if they did that to me, I was not looking,” said the witness, adding that the fighters burned the other prisoners too.

According to the indictment, Macic, along with some other Bosnian Army servicemen, ordered sexual assaults on four prisoners in the Musala sports hall. He is also charged with the inhuman treatment of prisoners at the detention centre from April to October 1993.

Medical expert Davorin Kozomara also presented a report about the injuries to witness A-2 at the Macic trial on Friday, saying that the former detainee was severely injured.

Kozomara said that tests from 1993 until 2011 showed that the witness had second-degree burns in the groin and genital area and minor injuries to the chest.

A-2 gave his testimony on December 20 last year, accusing Macic of forcing him to have sex with other prisoners in the sports hall and saying that he was repeatedly physically abused.

The trial is due to continue on January 24.