Visible Injuries on Detainees

Enver Avdic said that he was arrested in the vicinity of his house in Seliste village, Bileca municipality, on June 10, 1992 and that he was held in detention in the Police Station for seven days before being transferred to the Students’ Dormitory in Bileca.

“A group of men arrested us. I did not know any of them. Some were dressed in plain military uniforms, others in camouflage uniforms, while two or three men had police uniforms. They took us out, one by one, during the first evening. I do not know whether it was an examination or brutal torture,” Avdic said.

He pointed out that he was not beaten up at the Police Station or the Dormitory, but he saw the beating of one person in the Police Station and injuries on several detainees in the Dormitory.

When asked who the police chiefs were, the witness said that Goran Vujovic was the Chief and that he thought that Miroslav Duka was the Commander.

Vujovic and Duka are charged with having enabled and organised the detention of Bosniak and Croat civilians in the Public Safety Station and Students’ Dormitory in Bileca, where detainees were killed, tortured and abused.

According to the charges, Vujovic was Chief of the Public Safety Station and Duka was Commander of the Police Station.

They are on trial along with Zeljko Ilic, former policeman, who is charged with having participated in physical and mental abuse, torture and murder of Bosniaks and Croats.

The witness said that Duka came to the police premises in the evening on the day, when people from Seliste were arrested, and spoke to the prisoners and then beat Mehmed Murguz.

“Duka was talking to us, but this man interrupted him. Duka kicked him on his head. There were injuries. Later on Murguz was transferred with me to the Dormitory,” Avdic said.

According to the witness’ testimony, a few prisoners were taken out from the Dormitory in order to be examined. As he said, they had bruises and contusions, when they came back.

“The guards called their names out. They took some of them to the Police Station and the others to the Dormitory basement. Those people were beaten up,” Avdic said, pointing out that most of them had bruises on their heads and hands.

The witness said that a tear gas was thrown into the Dormitory in late August and that detainees were suffocating.

“All of a sudden, they threw tear gas into the room. Some things began burning. It was thrown through the door, one or two cans of tear gas. We were suffocating,” Avdic said, adding that people said that policemen threw the tear gas in and that its smell could be sensed for a few days.

He said that he left the Dormitory on October 5, 1992, along with about 70 or 80 other people. As he said, about 30 or 40 people stayed in the building.

The trial is due to continue on January 27.