Dreadful Guards in Doboj Prison

Krdzalic said that he was arrested as a civilian in Grapska village, near Doboj, on May 10, 1992 and that, after having been held in “Vuk Karadzic” school building in Kostajnica and hangars in Bare village, he was transferred to the Central Prison in Doboj, in which he stayed until March 1993.

The witness said that he was brutally beaten up in a building behind the Doboj police station prior to being taken to the Prison.

“Ninkovic met me at the entrance. He took me to room number 4. I was tortured on my way from the entrance to that room. He hit me with a baton and verbally accused me of a riot in Grapska. When I came to the room, other people had already been there. There were blood stains on the walls,” Krdzalic said.

He said that the indictee participated in the beating of other prisoners as well.

He told the Court that more than 20 people, including Avdo Kurtovic, Karlo Grgic and Nijaz Zecevic, who were still considered missing without trace, were taken away from the prison.

Ninkovic is charged with having participated, from May 1992 to March 1993, in the torture and abuse of non-Serb civilian captives, which resulted in big mental and physical suffering, bodily injuries and death of detainees.
Witness Esef Hidic said that, being a member of reserve police, he was captured in Grapska in May 1992. He said that the indictee beat him up in October 1992.

“One day while we were walking, I said something to another detainee. I said one word only. Ninkovic beat me up with his hands and legs because of that. He was very strict. We were afraid of him as well as guards Stanisa and Vukovic from Knin,” Krdzalic said.

He said that, while he was in the prison, he heard that Ninkovic and Vukovic took one person from Jakes village out of a prison cell and that the person died on the following day due to having been beaten.

The trial is due to continue on September 4.