Soldier in Black Uniform

Smajo Ugarak said that he would never forget June 15, 1993, because HVO soldiers and military policemen came on that day and took all able-bodied men to a detention camp.

The witness said that he recognised Nikola Maric, known as Nidzo, whom he had known by sight from before the war, among the soldiers. He said that he used to see the indictee during the war and that he was dressed in black uniform and had a black kerchief on his head.

The witness said that Maric was in black uniform with a kerchief on his head as well, when the men from the village were taken to the detention camp.

“I shall never forget those bright eyes staring at us…” Ugarak said.

The witness said that more than 70 men were taken by bus to the Secondary School Centre in Prozor. According to his testimony, the women, who stayed in the village after the men had been taken away, were forced to leave.

“I heard that a grandmother stayed and that she was burnt. I think that her name was Hanka Bektas,” the witness said.

Nikola Maric, known as Nidzo, a former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, is charged with having participated in murders, persecution, torture and other inhumane acts in the Prozor area from November 1992 to October 1993.

Testifying at this hearing, second witness Semir Ugarak too said that, on June 15, 1993 the male residents of Varvara village were taken to the Secondary School Centre, where he was held for five-and-a-half months.

“HVO soldiers and military policemen came. They gathered all able-bodied men in front of the mosque and took us to the Secondary School Centre, (…) because we were Muslims,” witness Semir Ugarak said.

Responding to a question on whether he knew any of those Army members, the witness said that, while he was in the Secondary School Centre, he heard that “Nikola, Nidzo from Lug” was there. The witness said that he did not know Nikola Maric.

Third witness Halil Manjusak said that a group of soldiers came to his village Varvara on June 15, 1993 and that one of them was dressed in black uniform, while the others had camouflage uniforms. The witness said that the man in black uniform with a black shawl took him to a stable, where he looked for weapons.

“The man in black uniform searched the stable. He found nothing,” the witness said, recalling that he had to get on a bus, in which the other male residents had been, while the soldier in black uniform stayed next to his house.

The witness said that Smajo Ugarak told him after the war that the soldier in black uniform was Nidzo, Nikola.

The trial is due to continue on January 29.