Known from Kicking People

Ibrakovic said that he was brought to the Doboj prison in mid-June 1992 and that a guard, whom he did not know, took him to one of the rooms.

“Later on I found out that his last name was Vukovic. He began abusing me immediately. He hit me with a cable. At that moment I heard Vukovic saying: ‘Vojin, what are you waiting for?’ I do not know whether Lukic beat me on that occasion. After they had abused me, prison guard Miroslav took me over and dragged me into a room, where I saw 25 people from Dragalovci village,” said Ibrakovic, who worked with Doboj police before the war.

The witness told the Court that, given the fact that he worked with the Internal Affairs Service, SUP, before the war, he knew the indictee, as well as his brother and other family members, very well. He then described how Lukic beat him up.

“Vojin came and took me out of the room. I think he was drunk. He hit me with some object straight away. I fell down. He was specialiSed in kicking people. He hit me with his legs on my neck, shoulders, legs… Also, he held an object in his hands, but I do not know what it was. I grabbed him by his leg on that occasion,” Ibrakovic said.

Ibrakovic told the Court that Lukic beat him up again later on.

“He was really drunk on that day. He was accompanied by another guard, who hit me only lightly. I cannot even call it a slap. He then entered into conflict with Lukic and left the place. Vojin beat me up. I remember having told the other prisoners: ‘My God, the Lukic guys are so nice. I do not know why he did this to me.’ I think that Vojin was influenced by the Vukovic guy,” Ibrakovic said.

Lukic, former guard at the District Prison in Doboj, is charged with having abused Saban Ibrakovic in the prison premises on several occasions. He allegedly hit him with a thick electric cable, as well as his legs and hands, making Ibrakovic faint several times.

Prosecution witness Mustafa Kovacevic said that, while he was held in the Doboj Prison, he did not stay in the same prison cell as Ibrakovic, but he used to see him, while prisoners performed forced labour in Osjecani and Rudanci.

“Lukic beat Saban up brutally. We were not able to see it, but we could hear screams coming from the corridor. Also, we heard when prisoners’ names were called out, because they did it loudly. Other prisoners told me about those events as well. They wondered how Saban survived at all,” Kovacevic said.

The trial is due to continue on September 10.