Military Policeman ‘Watched Troops Beat Detainees’ in Buzim

Dzaferovic said some unknown members of the Bosnian Army captured him, together with his brother and neighbour, on March 2, 1995.

They were then taken to the Radoc motel in Buzim, where they were met by a uniformed soldier.
“He lined us up. After that they began interrogating us. All of a sudden between eight and ten soldiers came out and began hitting us with their fists and batons, kicking us and hitting us with broomsticks. It went on for a long time,” Dzaferovic told the court.

He said he found out later on that defendant Mehmed Alesevic, also known as Medica, was the one who questioned them.

“He was present while we were beaten, but I did not see him hit anyone,” the witness said.
He also said he heard Alesevic was the manager of the detention facility.

Alesevic is charged with having treated prisoners of war and civilians detained in the former Radoc hotel in Buzim in an inhumane manner during 1994 and 1995.

According to the charges, Alesevic was an officer with the Military Police Detachment of the 505th Buzimska Brigade of the Bosnian Army’s Fifth Corps.

The witness said that after having been beaten up, he was unable to stand for ten days.
He also said that another man died due to consequences of the beating.

Also on Monday, at the trial of Slobodan Karagic, who is charged with committing a series of crimes in Doboj during wartime, a witness said he saw the defendant while he was in detention in 1992.

Witness Reuf Sarajlic said he was held at a discotheque in Doboj in May 1992 for about ten days, then transferred to military hangars behind the Bosanka factory in the town.

He testified that he saw defendant Karagic inside the hangar once, dressed in a camouflage military uniform.

“He had a notebook in his hand. Everyone was asking him for something. I addressed him, asking him to help, as the conditions were difficult,” the witness said.

Sarajlic explained that Karagic made a list and then left, but did not take anyone away and did not ask him for gold jewellery or money.
Karagic, also known as Karaga, is charged with participating in attacks on the Croat and Bosniak population in the Doboj area from the spring to the autumn of 1992.

The former commander of the Red Berets special police unit is accused of committing murders, depriving people of their liberty, rape and theft.