Mirsad Tahirovic Trial Begins

Tahirovic, also known as Deba, a former member of the Zulfikar Squad of the Bosnian Army, has been charged with participating in the physical abuse of detained Croat civilians and prisoners held at the Battle of Neretva Museum and the Rogica Houses in Jablanica in 1993.

At today’s trial hearing, prosecution witness Karlo Maric said members of the Bosnian Army captured and beat him in May 1993. Maric said he spent two months in a war hospital in Jablanica before being transferred to the Battle of Neretva Museum, where he was beaten again. He described the incident to the trial chamber.

“When the door opened, a soldier appeared and told me to come out and lie down in the corridor, facing the ground and holding my hands up. Then he started kicking me in the groin and ribcage. Then he started jumping on me. At some point I loosened up, because I felt sick. He bent down and looked at me to see if I was dead. Then he continued jumping on me,” Maric recalled.

Maric said he didn’t know the soldier who beat him, but heard later on that his last name was Tahirovic. He identified the defendant in the courtroom as the soldier who beat him.

The second prosecution witness to testify at the hearing, Franjo Ramljak, also said he was taken to the Battle of Neretva Museum in Jablanica after having been captured in May 1993.

He said he heard Karlo Maric moaning in pain after a soldier nicknamed Deba ordered him to lie down facing the ground with his hands held straight. He said the soldier kicked his ribcage and kidneys and jumped on his back.

Ramljak was unable to confirm whether Tahirovic was the soldier who beat him.

“Twenty two years have passed. Everybody changes. Do you expect me to point at him with certainty and say it was him? The best thing to do would be to give a mid-range mark. I’m not sure, but I think this is that man,” Ramljak said.

Prosecution witness Mile Ravlic said he heard Maric and Ramljak being beaten during his detention in the museum in Jablanica, but didn’t see who beat them.

“At first I heard hits and cries of pain, as well as long beatings with kicks, coming from the part [of the museum] where Karlo was detained. When it was over, we heard a voice asking someone to bring them Franjo Ramljak. The same thing happened again – hits and yelling. Later on I saw Franjo in the bathroom. I asked him how he was feeling. He said it was better that I didn’t ask him, and that every part of his body ached. I also saw Karlo. He wasn’t able to get up. Other detainees told me later on that the soldier who hit them was nicknamed Deba,” Ravlic said.

Prosecution witness Ivica Azinovic said he remembered the beating of Karlo Maric, because they were held in the same cell in the museum in Jablanica.

“The door opened and a uniformed soldier appeared. He asked Karlo to come out. He locked the door. Then we heard him telling Karlo to lie down on the floor. After that we heard yelling and blows,” Azinovic said.

Court expert Abdulah Kucukalic presented his findings on Tahirovic’s health condition. Kucukalic said Tahirovic was able to follow the trial provided he regularly took his methadone treatment. Kucukalic said Tahirovic had been hospitalized in 1992, so his mental soundness was reduced in the period covered by the indictment.

The trial will continue on July 6.