Witness Statement Describes Detainee Assault in Bileca

Goran Vujovic, Miroslav Duka and Zeljko Ilic are on trial for war crimes in Bileca. Vujovic and Duka have been charged with enabling and organizing the detention of Bosniak and Croat civilians in the public safety station and student dormitory in Bileca, where detainees were abused, tortured and killed. Ilic has been charged with participating in acts of physical and mental abuse, torture, and murder.

According to the indictment, at the time Vujovic was the chief of the public safety station in Bileca, Duka was the commander of the police station and Ilic was a police officer.

Statements by a witness named Munib Ovcina was read at today’s hearing. The chamber decided that Ovcina was unable to appear in court due to his poor health. Prosecutor Behaija Krnjic read statements which the witness had previously given to the state prosecution and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).

In one of his statements, Ovcina said he was brought to the public safety station in Bileca in mid-June 1992. He said other Bosniaks were already held in detention on those premises. He said he spent most of his detention in a building next to the police station.

Ovcina said he was beaten in the evening on August 25, 1992, after being taken to the police station from the detention building. He said he was beaten by Duka and other police officers.

“Duka beat me more than the others. His blows were particularly precise and strong,” Ovcina said in his statement.
During the investigation, Ovcina described how his jaw and three teeth were broken by Duka. He said he also thought his ankle was broken. According to his statement, Ovcina was then transferred to an improvised isolation cell, where he was held with several other detainees.

Ovcina said he was transported to the Bileca hospital, where he received an infusion for seven days before being transferred to a hospital in Podgorica.

Dejan Bogdanovic, Duka’s defense attorney, said he would have asked many questions if the witness had been in the courtroom. He said he would have asked Ovcina whether the part of his statement given to SIPA which referred to Duka was written in bold at his request.

He said he would have also presented Ovcina with a discharge letter issued by the hospital in Podgorica, which, according to Bogdanovic, did not mention the injuries he had described.

“If this was a mistake, has he done anything to correct it?” Bogdanovic said. He said Ovcina’s statements contained many contradictory allegations, which he would point out in his closing statement.

The trial will continue on November 23.