Dronjak: Hell in Kamenica

Nihad Linic told the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that he was detained in the Kamenica detention camp, Drvar municipality in July 1992, adding that, while he was there he found out that Ratko Dronjak was the Manager.
 
“The Manager used to come to the detention camp by his car. He never hit me. I never saw him hit other people either. (…) Some people said that he had killed a man because of some money, but I only know that he came one evening and took Kalmin Kalic away. Kalic never came back,” witness Linic said.
 
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Ratko Dronjak, former Commander and Manager of the Kamenica detention camp and the “Slavko Rodic” school building prison in Drvar, with having organised the unlawful detention of Bosniak and Croat civilians and prisoners of war from 1992 to 1995.
 
The indictment alleges that civilians and prisoners of war, who were held in those facilities, were subjected to torture, beating, murder and inhumane treatment, while they also had to perform forced labour.
 
Witness Linic told the Court that, during the course of his stay in the Kamenica detention camp he had to perform physical labour, adding that they did not have food and detention camp guards “beat and humiliated” them.
 
“They did not give us any food, although they fed pigs. They beat me twice. They hit me on all parts of my body, except my face, because they knew that the Red Cross would come, so they did not want them to see that. They broke my shoulder, collarbone. I was not able to get up for seven days after that. Seven days later, although the bones were broken, I had to chop fire woods,” said Linic, who was exchanged in November 1992.
 
Second witness Mirsad Hadzic, former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina , ABiH, said that members of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS captured him on November 9, 1994 and took him to Kamenica detention camp, where he stayed for four months.
 
Witness Hadzic told the Court that the situation in the detention camp was the worst during the Manager’s visits, because, as he said, the camp would turn into “hell”.
 
“We recognised the sound of the Manager’s car. Other detainees told me that it was him. (…) One night, after the Manager had come, they took me, Fikret Begic and another man out. They beat me up and returned me to the room in which I was held. I then heard Begic howling and a gunshot,” Hadzic said.
 
Hadzic said that one year later a detainee told him that the detention camp Manager had shot Begic in his head that night.
 
The trial is due to continue on July 7, 2011.

M.T.