Legs Covered with Bruises

Witness Vitomir Ilic said that he was brought to Stupari with his wife and seven-year old daughter in 1992, adding that he was then beaten up and detained in the educational workers’ building in that place.
 
“When we arrived in front of the Station, the man, who liked to mistreat people, grabbed me and stepped on me. My whole legs were covered with bruises,” Ilic said, adding that the name of the person, who beat him up, was not known to him.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, read a statement given by Ilic in February 2011 in which he said that he was beaten up by a man named Kahro. In the same statement he said that his wife and daughter stood next to him during the beating, but, testifying at the trial, he said that he did not know where they were at that moment.
 
According to Ilic’s testimony, his wife was once sent from the educational workers’ building with a letter about an exchange and told to take it to Serb authorities. After that a Red Cross employee told him that she was slaughtered and dumped into River Suha.  

Ilic said that he then requested to speak to Safet, who assured him that it was not true. His words proved to be true, given the fact that he met his wife in Zvornik after having been exchanged.
 
Crimes committed in the Kladanj area are charged upon Safet Mujcinovic, Selman Busnov, Nusret Muhic, Zijad Hamzic, Ramiz Halilovic, Nedzad Hodzic, Hariz Habibovic, Osman Gogic and Kahro Vejzovic, former members of the Territorial Defence and military and civil police.

As he continued testifying, Ilic said that he could not remember the names of those people and that others told him the names of the persons, whom he mentioned at the trial.

He said that the detainees, who were held in the educational workers’ building, had electricity, water, a stove and toilette and that they could sometimes receive visitors as well.

The witness told the Court that the men, who were held in that building, were sentenced to between three and ten years in prison, but he was sentenced to four months. He said that a man named Ramiz escorted him to the trial, but he did not want to say what he was sentenced for. The Defence claimed that he was sentenced for illegal possession of weapons.

Responding to Defence’s questions on what Nedzad, known as Sugo, did, the witness said that he treated him in a correct manner.  

“He stood at the door. He did not harass me or my child in any way. (…) As far as I am concerned, I do not consider him guilty of anything before this Court,” the witness said.  

The trial is due to continue on May 9.