Analysis – Josip Tolic: Claims to be innocent of severe civilian abuse

On March 6, Bosnia’s state court will hand down a verdict in the case of Josip Tolic, a former Croatian Defence Council (HVO) soldier accused of committing war crimes in Bosanski Brod and Odzak. The trial took over a year to complete.

Bosnia’s state prosecution requested that Tolic be found guilty. The defense has called for an acquittal, on the basis that the charges against him haven’t been proven.

According to the indictment, Tolic, a former member of the 102 Odzak Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, participated in the abuse of civilians detained at an elementary school and the Strolit factory in Odzak. He is also charged with participating in the abuse of civilians detained at a construction warehouse and the Fric Pavlik secondary school in Bosanski Brod.

Tolic allegedly committed these crimes between May-October 1992.

Bosnia’s state prosecution has charged Tolic with the assault, murder, sexual assault, and forced labor of detainees – some of whom were killed while performing tasks like digging trenches.

During the evidentiary proceedings, 28 witnesses testified for the prosecution, and eighty pieces of material evidence were submitted. The defense presented five witnesses. Tolic also testified in his own defense, and said that he felt apologetic over the fate of the victims.

Some detainees beaten to death, witnesses say

Several witnesses described how they fled from villages in the municipality of Ozdak (Trnjak, Donja Dubica, and others) to Novi Grad, because of shelling that was taking place and the fear of more violence.

“There was an agreement between the crisis staffs to get us to the free Serb territory and surrender our weapons,” witness Slavko Cajic said. Cajic said the agreement was not respected, and that inhabitants from the area were taken to the elementary school in Odzak for detainment.

According to witnesses, conditions at the Odzak elementary school and other facilities where prisoners were held, were inhumane.

“The conditions were bad, inhumane, the food was bad, not good even for two bites,” witness Mirko Harambasic said.

According to witnesses, there were 500-700 Serb men detained in the hall of the elementary school in Odzak.

Several state prosecution witnesses were able to identify Tolic in the courtroom. The defense said that the witnesses couldn’t have found it difficult to guess the identity of the defendant, as he was the only one in the courtroom accompanied by the police and dressed in civilian clothing.

During the prosecution’s evidentiary proceedings, witnesses described the murder of detainee Rade Tomanovic at the elementary school in Odzak, as well as the murder of detainee Rade Dervenic.

A protected witness known as AB–1 said he saw Tolic, Ante Golubovic, and Jurica Bozic kicking Rade Tomanovic. Ferid Halilovic had brought Tomanovic to the hall and had tied him to a volleyball pole.

“Tolic kicked him on the chest and stomach. In the morning, Tomanovic was dead,” AB-1 said.
Witness Marko Grasarevic said he saw Bozic, Golubovic, and Tolic beating detainee Rade Dervenic in the hall of the elementary school in Odzak, while on his way to the toilet.

The defense said that in previous statements Grasarevic had given in 2007 and 2013, he hadn’t mentioned Tolic in relation to Dervenic’s death.

Witnesses gave differing testimony on where Dervenic was killed. Some said he died at the elementary school in Odzak, and others said he died in the Strolit factory.

Jovo Dragic said he saw Dervenic being taken out of the elementary school hall in Odzak. According to one rumour, Dervenic was driven through villages in Odzak. Dervenic’s body was allegedly but into a meat drier and set alight – and allegedly was castrated as well.

“They took out Svetozar, who is called Ceto, out of the locker room while we slept, and the next day we were taken to Strolit. After few days, they brought Ceto there, too. He was beaten. He said,‘There were seven of them,’” witness Zlatko Borojevic recalled.

The defense claimed that the majority of the testimony was untrue, and that the trial chamber should not give credence to them.

Witnesses describe daily instances of assault

The prisoners from Odzak were transferred to Novi Grad, where their beatings and abuse continued. They were then transferred to several locations in Bosanski Brod, where they were ordered to perform forced labor.

Some witnesses said they were beaten by Tolic, with closed fists and slaps to their ears.

“Tolic and Golubovic were two of the worst. They decided who would stay alive, and who would be liquidated,” said witness Miro Pavic. Pavic said Tolic had beaten him while he was detained at the elementary school in Odzak.

Pavic said he couldn’t specify how many time he’d been beaten by Tolic, but said that he had been beaten daily. When asked whether Tolic had beaten him daily, Pavic said he couldn’t say. According to Pavic, Tolic primarily kicked him.

State prosecution witness Vojin Milojevic said that while he was detained at an elementary school in Novi Grad, Tolic ordered him to fight with another detainee.

Milojevic said Tolic also ordered him to jump headfirst into the ground from a chair.

“We had to jump headfirst, to show them how to swim. There were other prisoners with me, too. I fell unconscious from the blow because I had to jump headfirst,” Milojevic said.

Milojevic was asked why he hadn’t mentioned that Tolic had ordered detainees to jump headfirst into the ground in a statement he had given last year. In his previous statement, Milojevic had said that two other guards gave the order.

“This gentleman [Tolic] is in the [legal] process now, and when the others come, then I’ll speak about them,” Milojevic said.

“It’s characteristic, that 19 out of the 28 prosecution witnesses mentioned the name Josip Tolic during the trial, and that wasn’t the case during the investigation,” said Rifat Konjic, Tolic’s defense attorney.

Detainees raped and forced to work, say witnesses

According to the indictment, Tolic forced a woman to have sexual intercourse with members of the HVO at the elementary school in Odzak.

A protected witness known as AB-2 said he’d heard that certain detainees were forced to rape a mentally ill woman named Stoja. Stoja was brought to the elementary school in Odzak, along with other women from Modrica. AB-2 was ordered to rape Stoja.

“I couldn’t…and they laughed. Then Tolic kicked me because they weren’t satisfied with the outcome,” AB-2 said.

According to the AB-2, Stoja was naked and lying down. He had heard from others that she was mentally ill.

“They said, ‘Let’s see how you Serbs do it.’ Golubovic and Tolic forced me to lick Stoja’s genitals. I had no other way,” AB-2 said.

After he was brought to Brod, witness Stevo Grasarevic said women were detained in close proximity to the men. Grasarevic said he believed the women were raped, based on screams he had heard, witnessing their difficulty walking, and stories he had heard from other prisoners.

“They were in a room across from ours. When HVO soldiers came in the evening, windows were shut and screams could be heard. And they told us to sing ‘Here comes the dawn, here comes the day, here comes Jure and Boban.’ While we were singing, they raped women, who were screaming,” witness Miro Pavic said.

During their detention in Brod, some prisoners were forced to dig trenches. One of the detainees, Drago (Boze) Ninkovic, was wounded while performing forced labor. Some detainees lost their lives while performing forced labor.

“Then we were transferred to Brod, where we went to dig trenches. Tolic was the one who chose us. There, I lost my health, I was wounded in the head by a sniper. I have epilepsy and I have nothing more out of life,” Ninkovic said.

Tolic said he helped evacuate Ninkovic with a helicopter to get him treatment, and that he also assisted other prisoners. Some defense witnesses confirmed those allegations.

Defense witness Sveto Mitrovic said Tolic had brought him three painkillers after he was beaten.

“His attitude towards me was correct. During my stay in the hall I didn’t witness any negative attributes of Tolic’s. I didn’t see him beat anyone in my presence,” defense witness Ljubo Djakovic said.

Addressing the trial chamber, Tolic said that he felt sorry for all the victims in the case.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t kill or rape anyone. I tried to help,” he said.

Tolic has been in custody since July 4, 2013. The trial began five months later.