Witnesses Describe Abuse of Civilians in Sanski Most

Witness Esma Pasic said she lived in the hamlet of Pasici, in the municipality of Sanski Most. She said Jusuf Cehic was in her house when soldiers came.

“I turned on a flashlight. They probably came because they saw the light. They began beating Jusuf, demanding money,” Pasic said.

According to Pasic, she took her mother-in-law’s ring and gave it to the soldiers. Afterwards they found money on Cehic. She said the soldiers asked her who Jusuf was and where the other men were. She said she responded by saying that she didn’t know who Cehic was and that the other men had fled into the woods.

“They didn’t beat me,” Pasic said.

She said she’d heard that prior to coming to her house, the soldiers had visited the home of Mesud and Hasan Pasic.

When asked to describe Cehic, Pasic said she saw him in the morning and he looked badly beaten. She said she didn’t look at the soldiers who came to her house and wasn’t able to see them anyway, because it was dark.

Pasic testified at the trial of Goran Mrdja, Milorad Mrdja, Ranko Mrdja and Mile Kokot, who’ve been accused by Bosnia’s state prosecution of participating in war crimes against Bosniak civilians, which included acts of murder, rape, assault, robbery and other types of mental and physical abuse in the Sanski Most area. The defendants are former members of the Sixth Sanska Infantry Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army.

Witness Hasnija Cehic described the invasion of the hamlet of Cehici and said weapons were confiscated from the inhabitants. She said locals were invited via a radio broadcast to report to the police station in Palanka, in the municipality of Sanski Most.

“There was shooting, which mainly came from the hamlet of Lipnik…While we were running away one night, we found ourselves in the village of Pasici. This happened in April 1993. We stayed at Mesud Pasic’s…[that night] we heard voices in front of the house. Somebody went out of the house and then they entered…I’m not sure how many there were. One was standing at the door. They knew Hasan had money, so they asked him to give them money,” Cehic said.

According to Cehic, one of the soldiers said, “Throw a bomb among them.”

Cehic then gave the soldiers her ring and earrings. She said a soldier returned her jewelry to her before they left.

“When they left, after a while we heard a gunshot. Then we ran away towards the water mill. Hasan and Mesud returned to the village later to see if the situation had calmed down. I heard that the soldiers went from Mesud’s house to Esma Pasic’s house. They wounded Sefer and beat Jusuf,” Cehic recalled.

Witness Sulejman Pasic described how the soldiers entered Mesud Pasic’s house. He said they were looking for Hasan Pasic, because they knew he had money.

“I kept my head down, I didn’t even dare look at them…I could only see human silhouettes. When they asked for money and golden jewelry, my younger daughter said, ‘Don’t kill us. I have earrings and my mother has a ring.’ One of the soldiers then said, ‘This is a honest woman. Give her jewelry back to her.’ Then they left and told us not to leave the house,” Pasic said.

Pasic said following the shooting, they ran to the river and stayed there until the situation calmed down. Upon his return to the village he met his father and Jusuf Cehic.

“Jusuf was badly beaten, very much so…I went to my sister Esma Pasic’s house. She was out of her mind, because she didn’t know where her children were,” he said.

The next hearing will be held on May 25, when three prosecution witnesses will be examined.