Witness Heard about Mistreatment and Murders

Prosecution witness Kemal Bobic says, testifying at the trial of four indictees, who are charged with war crimes in a detention camp – concentration centre in Batkovic, Bijeljina municipality, before the District Court in Bijeljina that he heard about several cases of abuse and murder of detainees, but he did not personally witness any of those incidents.

When asked by the Prosecutor whether it was known to him that any detainees were either killed or beaten up during his detention in the detention camp, the witness said that he heard about such cases from other people.

“I know that two men – Fadil Sabanovic and Fuad Islamagic were slaughtered while packing flour in Vanek’s Mill (Bijeljina municipality). They were from Kljuc. I heard, after they had been killed, six soldiers kicked their heads. I was told about it by Nesib Kapetanovic, who was present but he managed to survive,” Bobic said.  

The witness also mentioned an incident, in which five Croats and seven Bosniaks were killed while digging trenches on frontlines in the Teocak surroundings and another one, in which six detainees were beaten up by members of “Guards” after one detainee had managed to flee from a location at which they performed labour.  

Bobic said that he, personally, was never mistreated by anyone and that he did not know who exactly was responsible for those crimes.  

The Bijeljina District Prosecution charges Djoko Pajic, Petar Dmitrovic, Djordje Krstic and Ljubomir Misic with crimes against civilians, the wounded and prisoners of war in Batkovic detention camp in 1992 and 1993. The indictment alleges that the four indictees took detainees from the hangar in order to beat and verbally humiliate them.
 
Witness Bobic mentioned that he was brought to Batkovic in September 1992 and that he stayed there until October 1994. As he said, he was one of the last detainees to leave the detention camp. He said that he knew that Djoko Pajic was Manager of the detention camp as of January 1993, because he served and worked in his office during his detention. He said that he did not know any of the three remaining indictees.

When asked by the Prosecutor whether indictee Djoko Pajic took certain valuable belongings from the witness, Bobic said that he voluntarily gave Pajic 500 German Marks to keep them safe, because he was afraid to have that much money with him. Also, he said that he had never got the money back.  

Pajic said that he did not remember having taken the money from the witness, but he knew that he had some of his belongings, which his wife brought and that those things stayed in the office, when Pajic left the function of the detention camp Manager.  

The trial is due to continue on February 6.