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Almin Dautbegovic said that on July 6, 1993 he was arrested in the Duge village near Prozor and taken to the High School centre. Several days later the witness recalled, he was taken to the Dretelj camp, where he was beaten by defendant Jukic.
In Dretelj they placed us in lines and beat whoever they could. My father and I were beaten by Zeljko Jukic. First he hit me unexpectedly and I saw a blur and then he hit me again, said the witness, explaining that he only learned the defendants name later.
Asked by the Prosecution and Defence why he had not said before that it was Zeljko Jukic that hit him in Dretelj, the witness replied he had been unsure before.
”When I first gave a statement in 2011 at the State Prosecution I did not state Jukics name. Now I see him and I am sure he hit me. Before there was circumstantial evidence that he was the one that hit me, but I could not be sure until I saw him, said Dautbegovic.
Zeljko Jukic is charged with having participated, along with other members of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO and Croatian Army, HV, in the persecution of Bosniak civilians, murders and forcible disappearances in Prozor from July to September 1993.
The indictment alleges that, on July 6, 1993 Jukic, who was accompanied by a group of HVO members, participated in an attack against the Bosniak population in Duge village and killed a 73-year old man, whom he saw in front of his family house.
Witness Dautbegovic said Zeljko Jukic was also inside the bus in which he was taken from Duge village to Dretelj.
According to the witness, he was taken to the High School in Prozor with other men from Duga only because they were Muslim.
We were unarmed; there was no objection on our side. The only reason we were forced to leave was because we are Muslim, said the witness.
The next hearing will take place on August 23, when protected witness S3 will testify and expert pathologist Hamza Zujo will present his report.
