Witness Describes Prisoner Beatings and Torture in Bileca

Vujovic and Duka have been charged with enabling and organizing the detention of Bosniak and Croat civilians at the public safety station and student dormitory in Bileca, where detainees were killed, tortured and abused. Ilic has been charged with participating in the physical abuse, mental abuse, torture and murder of detainees.

According to the state prosecution’s charges, at the time Vujovic was the chief of the public safety station in Bileca, Duka was a police commander, and Ilic was a policeman.

Nedzad Bajramovic said he was arrested in June 1992 and taken to the police station in Bileca. He said during his detainment Rade Stolica had taken him out of his cell for questioning. Vujovic, as well as a policeman with the last name Delic, were present.

“Goran asked questions. Whenever I said I didn’t know an answer, Delic and Stolica would hit me,” Bajramovic said.

According to Bajramovic, Miroslav Duka, who he described as “armed to the teeth,” stopped the examination when he entered the room. Duka allegedly told Vujovic that nothing should happen to Bajramovic without his knowledge. Bajramovic said Miroslav Duka had been his physical education teacher and basketball coach during secondary school.

Bajramovic said it was common practice for detainees to be taken away for questioning late at night. He said “we heard cries, beatings, and curses the whole time.”

Bajramovic was held at the police station in Bileca for seven days prior to being transferred, along with twenty other men, to a building in the vicinity of the Bileca secondary school.

“People were taken out and examined…People were mistreated both physically and mentally. Some of them even received electric shocks,” Bajramovic said.

He said on June 10, 1992, he was taken back to the police station in Bileca, where he had a brief conversation with Duka.

“Duka told me that I would only be released if I signed a document, which confirmed that he had treated me correctly and that I had waived [the rights to] my movable and immovable assets…I highly respected Duka as a professor. We had a correct relationship,” Bajramovic said.

Vujovic’s defense attorney asked Bajramovic which prisoner had been tortured with electric shocks. Bajramovic said it was Samir Bajramovic, but he didn’t know which room he had been taken to.

A portion of Bajramovic’s testimony was closed to the public in order to protect the identity of one of the protected witnesses.

The trial will continue on April 7.