Former Batkovic Prisoner Describes Abuse Inflicted by Begovic
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The witness, Avdo Topcic, said a typical beating at the Batkovic detention facility consisted of 20-30 blows and occurred every day.
“Gligor beat me up several times…Once he did it on a piece of arable land. He beat me on all parts of my body with his fists…On one occasion he beat me with a baton. He beat me once and my father twice,” Topcic said.
Topcic said his father was an elderly man. He said Begovic, who was accompanied by a man named Veselin, beat his father three times. According to Topcic, his father died a few days later.
“We put his body on a blanket and carried him out. In the meantime another man, called Zlatar or Mesar, was left dead next to my father,” Topcic said.
Topcic said Begovic and Veselin also beat a prisoner named Zulfo, who also died as a result of his injuries.
The defense said that in previous statements, Topcic didn’t mention that Veselin and Gligor had beaten his father or the prisoner named Zulfo.
“I am trying not to remember…Had I told them everything, they wouldn’t have even been able to write it all down,” Topcic said.
Topcic then identified Begovic in the courtroom.
“I am absolutely sure this is Gligor from 1992,” Topcic said. He said during his detention he didn’t know Begovic’s last name. He described Begovic as “a pretty and pretentious young man with rather long brown hair.”
The defense said that in one of his previous statements, Topcic had said he was talking about a person named “Gligor Gligori Gligorov, who was a Russian.” Topcic said he had heard that from another prisoner.
Topcic was brought to the Batkovic detention facility from Vlasenica. He said that prisoners were beaten every day and were held in inhumane conditions, and were also taken to other locations to perform forced labour.
The trial will continue on Tuesday, April 14.
