Bruises Caused by Being Beaten by Neighbours

Ahmed Satara, former Commander of the Fourth Company with the Tenth Mountain Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, said that he took Bajro Besic, who was beaten up, from the Jewish Cemetery to his house in June 1992. He said that he and Besic had been working colleagues for 16 years before the war. As he said, Besic was calling his name, while being hidden behind a tomb.

“He continuously repeated: my Suad, my Suad…that was his son’s name. He was barefoot. He was dressed in trousers and short sleeves shirt. (…) Two of us took him between us, because it was visible that the man had been beaten up. I examined his injuries in detail when I brought him to my house. I was surprised to see that a man’s body could look like this screen here,” Satara said, pointing towards a black screen in front of him.

Satara said that Besic had injuries on his back, knees and arms as well.

The witness said that Besic told him that they were taken out from their houses during the most intensive shooting and taken to some garage, where he was beaten up, adding that they were then taken to the Jewish Cemetery, where they were used as human shields.

Bogdanovic and Sladoje are charged with having taken Bajro and Suad Besic out of their house and having beat them inside a garage on June 13, 1992. Later on they allegedly used them as human shields at the Jewish Cemetery. On that occasion Suad was killed.

According to the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecution’s charges, Bogdanovic and Sladoje arrested and detained civilians and caused bodily injuries to them from mid-June to the end of 1992.

Witness Satara said that Besic stayed at his place for half an hour and that his brothers and sister-in-law took him away afterwards. He said that he found out, later on, that Besic died, adding that he did not know what had happened to Suad Besic.

“The man went missing without any trace,” Satara said.

The witness said that he did not know indictees Bogdanovic and Sladoje, adding that he had heard nothing about Bogdanovic and that some people told him that Goran Sladoje was the most brutal of all in beating and mistreating people.

When asked by Sladoje’s Defence whether this was true, the witness said: “How could I know that”.

The trial is due to continue on April 14.