Beating People Like Animals

Former Bosnian Croat army member Goran Blazevic said that after surrendering he was detained in several facilities, but he spent the longest time in Musala – about 10 months.

According to him, Macic was the worst of the guards, although he never beat him.

“Each prisoner will remember Ibro Macic. He was the worst… He beat people like animals. I saw that three times”, said Blazevic.

The witness spoke about how Macic beat Zdenko Ljolja.

“I heard cries and hits, someone said ‘admit and it will be easier’… Then I saw with my own eyes how he hit him in the back, and once he fell, Macic hit him with his foot. I am one hundred percent sure that Ibro Macic did this. The man was bleeding and Macic made him lick the blood”, said Blazevic.

He added he saw similar events twice more, when prisoners were ordered to put their hands on the wall and Macic hit them in the back.
 
“He never beat me personally”, said Blazevic.
 
Ibro Macic is charged with torturing and sexually abusing prisoners in the Musala School in Konjic in 1993.
 
Witness Ivan Knezevic, another member of the Bosnian Croat forces, said that Macic never beat him the Musala school, but he verbally assaulted him once.
 
“A guard opened the door for us to get some air. I got up to so some exercise to get my blood pumping. He said: ‘What’s going on Ustasa, are you getting ready to run’. Then another man came and told him to relax”, said Knezevic.
 
Knezevic said he didn’t see Macic abuse anyone, but heard about it from other prisoners.
 
“I heard he beat a man up for no reason, for nothing. When they took us to work, we whispered that someone got beaten up in the night”, said Knezevic.
 
The trial resumes on March 28.