Macic: Badge Stuck into Skull

Witness Zoran Djordjic said that he was brought to Celebici detention camp, along with about 12 Serb men, at the beginning of June 1992. He said that they were detained in a hangar called “number six”.

“Hazim Delic came with Zenga. Delic said that Scepo Gotovac killed five Muslims during the Second World War, but that was not true. Delic said that he wanted Scepo’s skull to be perforated. Zenga started beating him with a baseball bat. He hit him on his forehead until blood started pouring. He found a Serbian Democratic Party, SDS badge and stuck it into his skull,” witness Djordjic said.

The witness said that detainee Milorad Kuljanin was killed in Celebici detention camp as well, but he did not see who did it.

As he said, the witness used to see indictee Macic, who was a guard, from his arrival to the detention camp until Kuljanin’s murder. He said that detainees were beaten all the time, adding that a group of guards “enjoyed torturing us”, but Macic was not among them.

However, the witness said that Macic, whom he knew very well, was in a group of guards, who beat him up in front of the hangar in which he was held.

“Kravar, who had a cable with a knot, and Zenga beat me up most brutally. Eso, who had a rifle, hit me as well,” the witness said, adding that he had a scar on his head caused by a gun butt.

During the cross-examination the witness said that he thought that Macic hit him with a gun butt on his head, but he was not completely sure.

The State Prosecution charges Macic, former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH, with having committed crimes against Serb prisoners of war and civilians in Celebici detention camp and Musala sports hall in the vicinity of Konjic.

According to the charges, in 1992 Macic participated in the murder of two Serb civilians in Celebici detention camp and caused severe injuries to civilians and prisoners of war, who were detained in Musala.

The Hague Tribunal sentenced Hazim Delic, former Deputy and then also Manager of Celebici detention camp, to 18 and Esad Landzo, former guard, to 15 years in prison.

State Prosecutor Sanja Jukic read a part of a statement the witness gave during the investigation. In that statement he said that the indictee hit him on his back with a rifle and then on his head with a gun butt. The witness said that he “said approximately the same thing” at this hearing too.

During the course of his testimony Zoran Djordjic said that Dragan Djordjic did not personally see the murder of Kuljanin, although, during his testimony on April 5 last year he said he did. On that occasion Dragan Djordjic said that he saw that Macic killed Kuljanin.

“He ordered Kuljanin, who was wounded, to lie in a puddle of urine in a sink hole, where detainees usually urinated. He kicked him, with his boots on, on his ribs and head. Also, he hit him with a rifle butt. He then fired a short burst of bullets at him,” said Dragan Djordjic at that time.

Zoran Djordjic said that he did not tell the official institutions that he thought that Dragan Djordjic gave a false statement.

When asked by Prosecutor Jukic if he ever asked or took money in relation to information about war crimes, Zoran Djordjic answered negatively.

“We shall invite 11 witnesses in order to discredit this witness,” Prosecutor Jukic said.
A.J.