Tying of Prisoner

Witness JovoNinkovic said that the Army from Croatia forced him to move out from Trnjakvillage to Novi Grad, Odzak municipality, in March 1992. As he said, the timeswere “inopportune”, so he was escorted, along with other men, to the schoolbuilding in Odzak.

“Members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, were guards in the schoolbuilding. I remember that Ivica Kljajic was there,” Ninkovic said, adding thathe found out, later on, that the other guards’ names were Josip Tolic, AntoGolubovic, Jurica Bozic and Hamo and Ferid, whose last names he did not know.  

Ninkovic said that he was detained in the school gym in Odzak for about twomonths, adding that he saw two prisoners dying due to having been beaten up.The witness said that one of them was prisoner Tomanovic.

“He was brought and hit a lot. He was hit by Ferid, Josip Tolic and AntoGolubovic with their legs, rifles, hands. (…) Later on he was unconscious. Hewas not normal. He was taken out and a scream was heard,” Ninkovic said, addingthat somebody then brought Tomanovic back to the gym and tied to the goal-bar.

The witness said that he thought that Josip Tolic tied him. He recognized himin the courtroom, saying that he was not a good person. Responding to a questionby the Trial Chamber, the witness said that he assumed that it was Tolic,because he stood in the vicinity. When asked by Tolic’s Defence, the witnesssaid that he saw that Tolic tied Tomanovic with a rope.

The Defence of Tolic said that, in his statement given to the Prosecution ofBiH in July 2013, the witness did not say that Tolic tied the man, but he saidthat Tomanovic was beaten up for seven days. Testifying at the trial, thewitness said that Tomanovic was beaten up in one day.

Thewitness also said that he thought that Tomanovic’s name was Dragomir, but theDefence said that his name was Rade.

Tolic, former member of the 102^nd Odzak Brigade of HVO, is chargedwith having participated in the abuse of Serb prisoners in the Odzak andBosanski Brod area from May to October 1992.  

Describing the conditions in the school, Ninkovic said that, while he was inthe detention camp in Odzak, he was afraid and hungry and that a man named TomoDjojic beat him up. The prisoners were transported from the school building to NoviGrad, where the same guards beat them up.  

Ninkovic said that he was then transferred, along with other prisoners, to BosanskiBrod, where they were detained at several locations. He said that they had toperform forced labopur and that he was wounded, while digging trenches.

The trialis due to continue on August 29.