Bosnia Opens Batkovic Prisoner Abuse Trial

The prosecution at the state court in Sarajevo on Wednesday set out the charges against Begovic, accusing him of abusing prisoners for ethnic reasons at the detention centre.

The detainees were kept in an atmosphere of terror created by murders, abuse and inhumane living conditions, lack of food, water, medical care and adequate conditions for sleeping, the indictment alleges.

Begovic is charged with forcing two prisoners to have sexual intercourse in agricultural buildings where detainees were hidden during visits to the detention centre by the International Red Cross in the summer of 1992. The indictment also alleges that other detainees were sexually abused in the same building.

He is further accused of participating in beatings, together with other guards, which caused the deaths of several detainees.

The defence argued however that the charges were unfounded because there was not enough evidence against Begovic to convict him, and said that his identification was not conducted according to domestic laws or international standards.

The court must now decide when the first witness will testify.