Rape and Shame

Testifying for the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, witness RV-9 said that, in 1992 she was taken, along with five other women, from Bikavac to Crnca, where she was raped by an unknown man. As she said, a person, whose name, as she found out later on, was Vito Rackovic, brought her to that place.
 
“I would now like him to bring that man, whom he brought to that place, the man who raped me, the man who destroyed my life… I want him to tell me who that soldier was,” the witness said, adding that the man, who raped her, was black-haired and tall.
 
She said that, when all the women had left the houses, Rackovic took them back to Bikavac, where RV-4 told her what his name was.
 
“He looked yellow and fat. His lip was cut. He was dressed in camouflage trousers and a white shirt,” she said.
 
The witness said that, upon their return to Bikavac, all of them were crying, but she did not discuss what had happened to them with the other women. She said that she spoke about her experiences for the first time in a victims association premises in 2013, adding that she had not spoken about it sooner, because she was ashamed.
 
Vitomir Rackovic, former member of the Republika Srpska Armty, is charged with having participated in attacks on Bosniak villages, detention, torture, forced disappearances of persons from the Visegrad area and rape in the period from May to the end of August 1992.
 
Protected witness RV-8 said that he fled from his village to Bikavac due to the wartime happenings in 1992, adding that he and his family lived in Bikavac for a certain period of time. He said that two or three soldiers came to that village one day.
 
“RV-9 was taken away on that occasion. We saw her being taken away, but we did not dare do anything… They did not say why they were taking her away. It was not clear to us why they did it,” said the witness, who was a minor at the time.
 
He mentioned that, besides RV-9, two other women were taken away on that day.
 
“All of them cried when they came back. They looked traumatized. They did not say anything,” the witness said.
 
He said that he heard, later on, that the women were taken away by a car driven by Rackovic.
 
When asked by the Defence whether it was possible that he had not known Rackovic’s name until last year, the witness explained that he knew his name in 1992 as well but a person reminded him of his name later on.
 
The trial is due to continue on May 14, when four Prosecution witnesses will be examined.