Local Justice – Guso and Suljagic: Visiting a Prisoner
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“Branko Radenkovic is married to my sister. We found out that he had been captured by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH ten days after it had happened. My husband and I visited him in that summer house in Maoca, where he was held, a short time later. We briefly spoke to him during the visit,” witness Muranovic said.
The witness said that, when they arrived to the summer house, they did not see any guards in its vicinity. She said that the door was open and Radenkovic was there alone.
“We spoke to him briefly about the usual family issues and exchanged information about the whereabouts of family members and the situation in Brcko,” the witness said, adding that a guard came and interrupted their conversation, telling them that they had to follow the procedure and register with the Military Police.
Muranovic testified at the trial of Nusret Guso and Mirsad Suljagic, former members of the 108th Motorized Brigade with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are charged with having subjected prisoner of war Branko Radenkovic, former member of VRS, to questioning several times on August 3, 1994 in order to obtain information about the VRS military positions and the murder of Muslims in Brcko.
According to the charges, Guso was Assistant Commander for Morale with the Military Police Company and Suljagic was Security Officer. The Brcko District Prosecution alleges that the indictees subjected Radenkovic to humiliation and physical abuse on several occasions by hitting him with legs and sticks and depriving him of water and hygiene conditions for several days.
Muranovic said that, while talking to Radenkovic, she did not notice any visible injuries on his body, adding that he did not complain about anything, but she noticed that he looked absent minded.
“Later on my husband tried to visit him again and take him some tobacco, but they did not let him see him. A short time later Branko was transferred to a prison in Tuzla. We tried to visit him in that prison too, but they did not let us in,” the witness said.
The trial is due to continue on October 18, 2011.
M.A.
