State Prosecution Witness Describes Prisoner Abuse Inflicted by Andabak and Velagic

Zdenko Andabak, Muamir Jasarevic and Sead Velagic have been charged with the detention, torture and murder of Serb civilians who were detained in the Ivan Goran Kovacic school building in Livno in 1992. The indictment charges them with 29 counts of detention, torture and murder.

Andabak was the commander of military police with the Croatian Defense Council for the operational zone of North-Western Herzegovina. Jasarevic was Andabak’s deputy. Velagic was a member the Croatian Defense Council’s military police in Livno.

State prosecution witness Vojko Jagodic said he used to live in the village of Veliki Guber, near Livno. He said he was arrested by the police as a civilian on May 16, 1992. After having been released and ordered to report to a police station regularly, on August 10, 1992, he was told he would be taken to the Ivan Goran Kovacic school.

According to Jagodic, 70 or 80 other people were detained in the school’s gym.

“They took me out the first evening. Mistreatment happened. Dalibor Perkovic took me to the teachers’ room. Ibrahimagic, Jan Karl Varberg, a man with a bayonet and a man named Duvnjak were sitting there. They questioned me regarding some weapons and vehicles. Duvnjak hit me with a rifle. Somebody hit me with a chair,” Jagodic said.

Responding to questions from the defense, Jagodic said he had injuries on his hands, neck and legs and had blood pouring out of his mouth. The defense said that in an earlier statement, Jagodic said Sejo Velagic and Andabak had also been present. At today’s hearing, Jagodic said he met Velagic three days after having arrived to the school gym and not on the first evening of his detainment.

“At the time I didn’t know it was Velagic,” Jagodic said.

Jagodic said he was mistreated and beaten on several occasions during his detention.

“On one occasion, when we were registered by the Red Cross, Velagic brought me a piece of paper and singled me out…Then he hit me,” Jagodic said.

Jagodic said he used to see Jasarevic, whom he hadn’t known earlier, in the school building. He said he once hit him in the plexus and did the same to a prisoner named Momo Pajcin.

The defense said that in statements he gave in 2006 and 2014, Jagodic failed to mention this incident. Jagodic said he didn’t remember it at the time.

Jagodic said he was taken out to a prisoner exchange in September 1992. He said Zdenko Andabak was in charge of that trip. He said he saw him in the school building several times, but hadn’t heard that he’d beaten anyone. Jagodic recognized the defendants in the courtroom. He said he heard some people got killed in the school building.

At today’s hearing, the prosecution asked the court to place Andabak in custody for having contacted witnesses. Prosecutor Lejla Konjic said Andabak had violated his prohibitive measures by contacting witnesses from this case and another case he has been charged in, involving war crimes in Livno.

“I shall take the liberty of saying that he has influenced witnesses, so much so that some of the witnesses acted like defense witnesses rather than prosecution witnesses. This happened in the case of witness Djordje Kovacic, who changed his statement. We have gotten information that he met the defendant in the Marineta Cafe in Livno,” Konjic said.

She presented the court with a list of calls from Andabak’s cellphone and landline, which indicated he called some of the witnesses as many as 58 times.

“Such behaviour shows how much the court’s decisions mean to the defendant,” Konjic said.

Andabak’s defense objected to the proposal for custody measures, claiming some of the prosecution witnesses from the Livno case actually appeared as defense witnesses in this case. Andabak denied having influenced the witnesses, saying he only responded to greetings when he met them accidentally.

Police handcuffed Andabak in the courtroom. The court is due to render its decision during the day.

The trial will continue on October 28.