Klickovic et al: Access to free medical care

Prosecution witness Sabid Alijagic, who testified at the trial of the three indictees charged with crimes committed in Bosanska Krupa, shared an harrowing story on what he lived through in Jasenica and “Petar Kocic” school building in 1992.

“As soon as I was brought to Jasenica, on July 22, 1992, a guard named Luka started hitting me with a baseball stick and motor saw chain. When I started bleeding, he forced me to lick my blood, which was dripping on his shoes,” the witness said. 

The State Prosecution charges Gojko Klickovic, Jovan Ostojic and Mladen Drljaca with the happenings in Jasenica and “Petar Kocic” school, as well as other crimes in Bosanska Krupa.

The indictment alleges that, from May to late August 1992, at least 79 persons were detained in “Petar Kocic” school building, where they “did not have adequate food or hygienic conditions”. They were allegedly physically and mentally abused.

The witness said that he was mistreated by Mile Drljaca and Petar Semic, who did not “beat” him, but they “mistreated him mentally, by examining” him.

After having spent four days in Jasenica, Alijagic was among a group of prisoners, who were transferred to “Petar Kocic” school. The worst recollection from that time was associated with a visit by a person named Joja Plavanjac, who was looking for some prisoner, but could not find him. The witness said that Plavanjac then vented his anger on other detainees. Tofik Sejdic and members of “Joks” group, composed mostly of young men, were killed on that occasion.

“Joja Plavanjac first went to “Joks” room. For the next hour or so we could hear people screaming, crying and begging him to kill them. After that he came to our room, accompanied by guard Zdravko Narincic, and ordered Tofik Sejdic to come out. After a short conversation, we heard shooting,” Alijagic recalled, adding that Plavanjac, Narincic and Mico Plavanjac then went back to “Joks” room. He then heard “ten shots” and someone saying: “This one is still moving, he is alive”. He then heard the eleventh shot.

“Blood started pouring in corridors. They tried to stop it from flowing into our room. We heard a terrifying sound, which made us freeze. Those were the bodies of the killed detainees, which were dragged through the corridor,” the witness said. 

Among other things, detainees were forced to fight with each other while they were in “Petar Kocic” school. 

“We were taken to play football with detainees. When we scored, they beat us up. Later on we had to run about one hundred times around the hall, carrying a prisoner on our back,” the witness said. 

In the course of cross-examination the Defence asked Prosecutor Philip Alcock why the direct perpetrators of this crime, “such as Joja Planjanin, whose name is mentioned by the witness”, were not indicted.

The Prosecutor responded by saying that he would wish Planjanin was indicted, but “this person is in another country”.

Alijagic concluded his testimony crying. He said that, despite the fact that he was disabled due to what he had survived, he does not have the right to free medical care and he could not ask for help.

The trial is due to continue on November 11.