Macic: Unbearable Pain

Velimir Kuljanin, former detainee in Celebici detention camp, said that the “massive beating” took place on August 12, 1992, adding that all guards participated in it. He said he assumed that indictee Macic was among them, but he could not see him while he was being hit because he had to keep his head down..

“I did not see Macic hitting me, but he certainly did not miss me. They kicked us with military boots on. The beating lasted between 30 and 40 minutes. The pain was unbearable. I begged Hazim Delic to kill me, but he did not want to do it, telling me that I should suffer,” Kuljanin said, adding that members of the International Red Cross registered the Serb detainees prior to the beating.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Macic, former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with war crimes committed against Serb prisoners of war and civilians who were held in Celebici detention camp and the Musala sports hall in Konjic municipality.

The indictment alleges that Macic participated in the murder of two Serb civilians in Celebici detention camp in 1992 and caused severe bodily injuries to civilian detainees and prisoners of war who were held in Musala.

The Hague Tribunal sentenced Hazim Delic, who was first Deputy and the Manager of Celebici detention camp, to 18 years in prison.

Witness Kuljanin identified Macic in the courtroom, saying he was a guard in Celebici detention camp. He said that he knew what Macic looked like before the war, because he used to see him in the town.

The indictment alleges that Macic was a guard in Celebici detention camp.

Kuljanin, who was held in Celebici from the end of May to the beginning of December 1992, said that he saw Macic hit prisoner Sreten Zelenovic. The witness confirmed that he was locked in a shaft in the vicinity of Celebici detention camp, together with Zelenovic and 17 other detainees, in June 1992.

“They told us to come out of the detention camp. They took us to a meadow, next to the shaft. When I arrived to the meadow, I noticed that people started disappearing. I got closer to the shaft. I saw distraught faces, pipes and valves. In front of the shaft, I saw guards, who hit us. Macic was among them. I do not know if Macic hit me, but I saw him hit Zelenovic,” the witness explained.

Responding to Defence’s questions during the course of cross-examination, the witness said that he was transferred to Musala sports hall in December 1992, adding that he did not see indictee Macic in the hall.

The trial is due to continue on May 17.

A.S.