Muderizovic at al: A Good Man

Protected witness A said that on July 13, 1992, he was taken to the Central Prison in Sarajevo, where he spent two or three days, after which he was taken to the Viktor Bubanj army barracks. Upon arriving, the witness had to walk the gauntlet of policemen who were beating the prisoners.

“When they took us into the barracks hall, a policeman started yelling: ‘Chetnik gang, up against the wall, hands up!’ He told us to spread our legs and went from one to another and kicked us all in the groin. I passed out from the blow,” said the witness.

Witness A explained that after that he was taken to his cell, and that no one was beating him for the next six months that he spent in the barracks.

The prosecution charges Besim Muderizovic, Ramiz Avdovic and Iliuan-Nicolae Vintila, with taking part, between late June and late November 1992, in the establishing and maintaining of an abuse system of Serb civilians in the Viktor Bubanj army barracks in Sarajevo.

According to the indictment, Muderizovic was deputy manager on the fifth floor of the Central Prison in Sarajevo and the commander of the military prison in the Viktor Bubanj barracks, Ardovic was commander of the guard in both prisons, while Iulian-Nicolae Vintila, a Romanian national, was a cook and guard at the barracks.

Witness A confirmed that Besim Muderizovic was warden, but that he was not seeing him much.

“A colleague from the cell told me that he worked with the warden and that he was a good man, but that he was surprised he did not want to help him now,” said the witness.

Asked by the prosecution whether he saw Ramiz Avdovic, the witness said that one could see him only in the corridor, but that he heard that Avdovic repeatedly took “camp prisoners from Foca to his office and severely beat them.”

“I know the name Vintila, he was a cook. Later I heard from prisoners that he switched to the police and that he beat prisoners severely there,” said the witness.

Witness A said that in September 1992 he was sentenced for possession of weapons and transferred to the Central Prison, where conditions were better. “They told me I was sentenced because of the weapons, but it wasn’t that, it was because I was a Serb,” said A.

At the start of the trial, the Trial Chamber announced that the main hearing must begin anew, because more than 30 days had passed since its last session. On proposal of the parties, the evidence heard so far was not to be presented again, but the Chamber failed to explain why there had been no hearing since April 5 this year.

The trial will resume on November 2, when the defence should cross-examine witness A.