Defense Witness Says Lalicic Didn’t Rape Hrasnica Detainee

Lalicic is a former member of the First Corps with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and served as a guard in a detention facility situated in the basement of an unfinished residential building in Hrasnica, located in the municipality of Ilidza.

Lalicic is charged with having raped and sexually abused a female detainee in 1992 and 1993 at the Hrasnica detention facility, and also with participating in the mental and physical abuse of a detained civilian.

Sead Takac, a former guard at the Hrasnica detention facility, described his time working alongside Lalicic. Takac worked as a guard in the detention unit in Hrasnica as of August 1992.

“I heard about S.M. I knew her…the person in question and I used to work together before…I hadn’t heard that she’d been raped. Such a thing couldn’t have happened, because it would have been strictly sanctioned,” Takac said.

In response to questions by the defense, Takac said he often worked on the same shift as Lalicic. He said Lalicic could have never been alone, as “the manager, deputy manager and secretary were always present.”

“I have never heard or seen Zaim do something like that,” Takac said.

Describing the bathroom in the basement where the rapes allegedly occurred, Takac said it was a completely closed room without windows, light, or doors. He said the bathroom had a brown curtain. He said that they did not have a baseball bat in the detention unit.

“Even the slightest noise would have been heard. There was absolute silence, so anything would have been heard,” Takac said.

Takac said at the time Lalicic was “a real soldier, who performed all tasks professionally.”

In response to questions by prosecutor Vladimir Simovic, Takac said he didn’t know whether someone was beaten to death while in detention or whether the guards had beaten a detainee to death.

The witness also said that there were four women, but he did not know who had detained S.M.

Sead Corbo, the second defense witness to testify, said that he knew S.M., but had never heard that she’d been raped.

“I met her at my cousin’s in 1997 or 1998…they called me to see each other. She asked me to drive her to Visoko. Her behaviour was normal. She didn’t tell me anything,” said Corbo, who also served as a guard in the Hrasnica detention facility.

When asked by prosecutor Simovic how many women were detained in the Hrasnica detention facility, he said seven or eight.

“I’m aware that two men were killed while performing forced labour…I don’t know whether anyone was tried for their death,” Corbo said.

The next hearing will be held on April 2.