Musala Prisoners Correctly Treated, Says Witness at Gakic and Zilic Trial

Testifying in his own defense, former military policeman Esad Gakic said he worked as a guard at the Musala detention camp but didn’t enter locker rooms where Serb prisoners were detained.

Esad Gakic and Ramo Zilic have been charged with the inhumane treatment of Croat and Serb civilians who were detained on the premises of Musala school in Konjic. They allegedly caused severe suffering and injury to the detainees in 1993 and 1994.

Gakic told the cantonal court of Mostar that he was first deployed to Musala in June or July 1993, when Edo Zilic was the manager of the prison.

“I kept watch with Ibrahim Halebic in front of the locker rooms where Serbs were detained. I never entered the locker room. Our task was to report if a prisoner needed to see a doctor or if they needed food. Although I was a military policeman, I didn’t carry a baton. I was never assigned a weapon. I had a pistol that belonged to my late father,” Gakic said.

According to Gakic, there was water and electricity in Musala at the time. He said many people would come to Musala to shower or for training. They played matches which, Gakic said, prisoners could watch if they wanted.

Gakic said there were no Croats in Musala at that time. About 15 days after his deployment, he was transferred to the court martial, but was sent back to Musala in September or October 1994. Gakic said he served in Musala for a month and a half.

“I was deployed to Musala again. Esad Muhibic was the manager. He brought me back. During that time I would sometimes perform other tasks elsewhere depending on the orders I received,” Gakic said.

Gakic said he was present during an exchange of Serb prisoners in Sarajevo, but didn’t notice that they’d suffered any injuries.

Gakic said he’d known Ramo Zilic from before the war, and described him as “a good and skilled worker.” He said they didn’t have chance to serve together during the war.

“I don’t know which formations Ramo [Zilic] belonged to. I don’t even know when he arrived. They called them ‘spatial structures.’ They were mainly composed of elderly people, who weren’t uniformed. Ramo wore a camouflage shirt and a pair of jeans,” Gakic said.

Testifying as a defense witness, Bersoni Pandza said he was brought to the Musala detention camp in May 1993.

“They left us in the courtyard. It started to rain. Ramo Zilic approached us and took us inside so that we wouldn’t have to stand in the rain. I remember that, I know nothing else. Ramo treated me correctly,” Pandza said.

Pandza said he’d never seen Gakic.

The trial will continue on June 19.