Murders in Kotor-Varos

Testifying at the trial for crimes in Kotor-Varos, a State Prosecution witness says that indictee Dusko Vujicic, who forced detainees to sing “Chetnik” songs, used to beat him during his detention in 1992.

Ahmet Cirkic told the Court that he was detained, along with other persons, including Stipo Puskaric, Azem Bitic, KV-7 and KV-14, in the Territorial Defence building in Kotor-Varos as of June 1992.  
 
He said that men named Zdravko Pejic and Dusko Vujicic, who told him that he had killed his brother and then hit him on his head with his leg several times, used to come to the prison often.
 
“He announced his arrival pompously. He ordered us to sing Chetnik songs, like ‘Duke, Come Back’ and requested that we address him as ‘the Duke’,” said Cirkic, responding to Prosecution’s questions about indictee Vujicic.
 
According to Cirkic’s testimony, the conditions in the prison were inhumane, there was either no food at all or detainees got leftovers from soldiers, in which we frequently found cigarette stubs. Cirkic said that abused detainees were hidden, so they would not be registered by the Red Cross.
 
Cirkic said that he remembered several cases of death in the prison, adding that one of them was the death of Avdo Vilic, whose screams kept coming from the corridor the whole evening. He said that he body was found on a bench on the following morning.
 
“The body of Avdo Vilic was carried out by KV-13 with some guards and probably some other prisoners,” said Cirkic, whose examination began on August 18.
 
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina presented, as evidence, several documents and previous statements by this witness. One of the presented pieces of evidence was a photo album in which the witness recognised “Dusko Vujicic, Radenko Keverovic and Dusko Maksimovic”.
 
Dusko Vujicic, Dusko Maksimovic and Radojko Keverovic are charged, along with Savo Tepic, Dragoslav Bojic, Rade Skoric and Ilija Kurusic, with having participated in the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats from their houses, as well as the detention, torture and other inhumane acts in 1992.  
 
According to the charges, Tepic was former Chief of the Public Safety Station in Kotor-Varos, Bojic was Commander of the Police Station, Vujicic, Maksimovic, Skoric and Keverovic were policemen, while Kurusic was member of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS.  
 
Responding to questions by the Defence of indictee Vujicic, witness Cirkic denied having ever possessed weapons, as indicated in one of his previous statements.
 
During the cross-examination Cirkic explained that many people, not only Vujicic, had the nickname “Vojvoda” (the Duke) at that time.
 
Indictee Radojko Keverovic asked the witness if he had ever hit him during his detention. The witness answered negatively.
 
The trial is due to continue on September 15.