‘No Sick or Abused Prisoners’ at Bosnia’s Silos Camp

Prosecution witness Esref Causevic told the Sarajevo court on Thursday that in 1993, he was working as a doctor and was ordered by the authorities to make medical visits to the Silos camp, where Serb and Croat prisoners were detained.

“I went to the prison authorities. I do not remember who was there, because I did not know those people. We agreed that I should go there twice a week, and if it was necessary, more often,” he said.

He said that he then went to see the prisoners.

“I did not know any of those people. Some looked a little skinny to me, and according to their appearance and clothing, some were maybe neglected,” said the witness.

But he said that other people who were not prisoners also looked like that at the time, because there was a famine and various diseases circulating in the area.

Causevic testified that he did not see any seriously ill people at Silos.

“There were no so sick people, they were mostly given analgesics… I was giving a recommendation if someone should be taken for further examinations, I was writing recommendations for better food if someone said that the food was bad,” he said.

When asked whether he saw traces of physical abuse on the prisoners, he replied that he did not, and that none of the prisoners told him that they had been mistreated.

Becir Hujic, Halid Covic, Mustafa Djelilovic, Fadil Covic, Mirsad Sabic, Nezir Kazic, Serif Mesanovic and Nermin Kalember are on trial for alleged crimes against Serb and Croat prisoners at the Silos detention camp, the Krupa barracks and the 9th of May school in Hadzici.

According to the indictment, Hujic was the warden of the Silos camp, as was Halid Covic at a later date. Mesanovic was one of the deputy wardens at the detention centre and also camp warden in the Krupa military barracks, Kalember was a guard, while the others worked for the civilian, military or police authorities.

The next hearing will be scheduled at later date.