THE COMMITEE FOR COLLECTING DATA ON CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST HUMANITY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
WAR CRIMES AGAINST SERBS ON THE TERRITORY OF THE COUNTY OF GORAzDE (1992 - 1994)
The region of Podrinje, as a border area towards Serbia, and particulary the part of Serbia populated mostly by Moslems (Raska - the area of Ras), had a special strategic importance from the standpoint of realization of program goals of the SDA, as a leading Moslem political organization on the territory of former Yugoslavia. Ever since coming to power in 1991, the activity of this organization was aimed at the destruction of Yugoslavia and the creation of a separate Moslem state on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), with eventual annexation of other areas inhabited mostly by Moslem population.
The SDA and Moslem religious communities were highly active in the region of Podrinje, preparing Moslems for the creation of the Moslem state at all cost, even through armed conflict, while intending to eradicate the Serbs, who were against this plan.
On February 16, 1992 Visegrad was the site of a religious gathering of representatives of all Islamic religious communities fom BiH, Kosovo and Metohija and Raska, with the aim of reaching an agreement on how to create the Moslem state and what methods of struggle to use in order to achieve this goal. At the beginning of April of 1992, a Moslem religious meeting was held in Foca, attended, among others, by the president of the SDA, Alija Izetbegovic. This meeting was also attended by several thousand Moslems from Raska, who, on their way back through Gorazde, made a big noise by honking their car horns, cursing and insulting Serbs. In the precinct of Bacci they caused an incident by provoking Serbs.
When the SDA came to power, relations among the ethnic groups became disturbed. There was a series of separations on national basis, intolerance and various provocations and threats to the Serbs, who represented a minority in the county of Gorazde and in the villages (according to the 1991 census there were 9,844 Serbs, 26,216 Moslems and 83 Croats). The Serbs were openly threatened that they would be no more. They were also insulted in various ways, called "Cetniks" and so on. The Serbs were demoted from all major positions, while in some firms they were fired from their jobs.
With the approach of war activities, the position of Serbs in Gorazde deteriorated, and many of them fled, not waiting for the armed conflict to begin. The Moslems began to arm themselves on a large scale, and in April of 1992 they formed their military unit - "the green berets". They put barricades on the streets and impeded the movement of the Serb population. An Orthodox priest was prevented from going to a cemetery and performing burial rites.
In Gorazde, the Moslem and Serb police forces were separated.
For the creation of an atmosphere of national intolerance and all subsequent misdeeds against Serbs in Gorazde, the greatest responsability lies with the following leaders of the SDA: Hadzo Efendic, Rijad Rascic, Enver Borovina, Hasa Kuljuh, Fehim Pleh, Kemo Celik and Hasan Tafro.
Immediately before the onset of armed conflicts in the county of Gorazde, the Moslems already started committing various misdeeds against Serbs which later, as the conflicts intensified, became quite serious. Many of these crimes, by their nature and motives, had all the characteristics of genocide against the Serb people.
1. CRIMES AGAINST THE CIVILIAN POPULATION
From the very beginning of armed conflicts, the Serbs in Gorazde were exposed to various forms of torture by the Moslem army and the police, such as insults, threats, attacks on physical integrity, inflicting of physical and mental pain, search of flats, confiscation of things, arrests without any foundation, forced eviction from flats, restriction of movement, internment in concentration camps, deprivation of food, destruction of civilian objects, even killings (in houses, streets, camps, by the river Drina, etc.).
An atmosphere of annihilating hatred towards Serbs was created (witness O.): "You leave your building and walk down the street for 20 meters only, and during that short period you are exposed to countless insults and threats by the citizens of Moslem nationality, including spitting and throwing stones at us."
Having in mind that all Serbs in Gorazde were subject to restricted movement, to total insecurity and every kind of torture, including physical annihilation, the whole county of Gorazde can be considered as one big concentration camp for Serbs. According to available data, only about 100 Serbs remain in Gorazde.
In continuation, this paper will deal with actual crimes committed against Serb civilians, on the basis of data and evidence available at this point in time. Killings of civilians and destruction of civilian objects will be dealt with separately.
1.1. Various forms of insults to Serb civilians
1.1.1. When hostilities began, the couple M. from Vitkovic (Gorazde) found themselves in the home of their daughter B. and son-in-law K. in Gorazde. Moslem soldiers used to barge into the house, as well as into the apartments of other Serbs, forced them to get out, held them at the gun point for hours, called them "sons of chetniks" and insulted and abused them in numerous other ways. They threatened to kill them with fire-arms or stab them with knives and to burn the house. They raided the house and took away food, all home appliances, including the telephone, as well as bedding and clothing.
Moslem soldiers threatened the couple M. twice with execution. The third time a Moslem soldier took out the husband M., put him in front of the garage, pushed the gun barrel into his mouth, saying that their way of killing is different than that of the Partisans, so that his head and brain would simply burst out. He asked M. about his relation with Draza Mihajlovic and what he (the witness) had been doing in the Partisan army.
They were taken out of the house and forcibly led to other premises. Together with many other Serbs, they spent some time in a building by the Donji most on the Drina, closely watched by an army guard.
They were subjected to insults and abuse not only by the Moslem authorities and soldiers, but also by civilian Moslems, who threw stones and other objects at them, while children used slings to break their windows.
From an apartment, in which they were forcibly located, the witnesses saw a group of about 15 armed Moslems pour gasoline and burn the house of their daughter B. and son-in-law K., which was in the Marsala Tita street.
Their apartment in Vitkovici was illegally taken over by the Moslem Hasan Hrelja.
As a result of violence to which she was exposed and constant insecurity, the wife M.
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s health was seriously affected - both her heart and nerves were severely damaged.
Evidence: Minutes of the witnesses’ testimony (the couple M.) in the Committee files, under Nos. 594/95-15 and 16.
1.1.2. On june 18, 1992, an armed group of Moslems (Azem Obarcanin, Sejo Kanlic, Edin Pita and Celjo, nick-named Kako) forced the front door and broke into building no. 18 in the Mose Pijade street, and, looking for Serbs, ransacked the apartment of person A., who escaped through the window (the apartment was on the ground floor).
From another apartment they took away the couple H., with hands up, together with P. and R. from another wing.
They told them they were taken to be shot.
Several hours later they were set free at the urging of a Moslem employed by the state police.
Data on the perpetrators:
l. Obarcanin Azem, nicknamed "Caza", from Gorazde (Vranjska Mahala),
2. Kanlic Sejo, from Gorazde, inspector in the township administration,
3. Pita Edin, from Gorazde, a worker in the company "Pobjeda" in Gorazde,
4. Celjo, nick named Kako.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of witnesses M. and H. in the Committee files under no.440/94, 11 and 17.
1.1.3. After the armed conflicts in Gorazde had begun, Moslem soldiers searched the apartment of H. in Gorazde (Sandzackih brigada str. no. 13) five times, in brief intervals, allegedly looking for arms and a radio station.
On another occasion, a Moslem soldier whose last name is Kule, came to the witness’s apartment and with rifle butt struck the witness’s daughter S. in the back. When H. told him that he had often wined and dined at their home before, he left the apartment.
Data on the perpetrator: Kule, a Moslem solder from Gorazde.
1.1.4. The apartment belonging to S. in Marsala Tita str. no.28 in Gorazde was searched many times by Moslem soldiers, who cursed her and called her "chetnik", threatening to cut her throat and saying that there was no life for Serbs in Gorazde.
One day a Moslem soldier by the name of Bezgrob came to take S. away. He found her at her Moslem neighbour’s, who prevented him taking her away.
Data on the perpetrator: Bezgrob, a Moslem solier.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness S. in the Committee file under no. 440/94,25.
1.1.5. Moslem soldiers and policemen searched the apartment of the couple R. in Gorazde five times and took away all valuable things from it.
At the end of June 1992 Moslems soldiers took away the couple R. from their apartment and together with another 50 Serbs put them in the corridor of hotel "Balkan". There they held them for three days, threatening to slaughter them and telling them they would soon be dead.
Moslem soldiers brought the body of the dead Serb soldier B, the son of the family R., put it in the street and for two days gathered around that body, singing and dancing.
In the second half of July 1992, Moslem soldiers demanded that the witness R. declare in front of TV Sarajevo cameras that the Serbs were to blame for the war. He refused to do so, and several days later was taken away for interrogation by the Moslem policemen. He was interrogated by the agent Sehovic, who made obsene remarks about his mother, and when he (R.) said that he was citizen of Yugoslavia, the agent slapped his face.
In September 1992, when the witness R. went to the Town Council to ask permission to leave Gorazde, the guard Borovac slaped his face two or three times, struck him several times with his fist on the breast and kicked him, forcing him to go back.
The couple R. lived in their apartment as if under house arrest, forbidden to move and communicate with other people and tortured by hunger.
At the time when Moslems from Visegrad came to Gorazde, the apartment of the family R. was broken into by four Moslem soldiers from the unit of Ahmet Sejdic. Among them was Avdo, the son-in-law of Alic. He later moved into the family R
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s apartment. As soon as he entered the apartment, Avdo, cursing, asked for a knife, threatening to kill the witness R. He searched the apartment and took away several watches, one knap-sack, a car battery and several smaller things.
One night in the spring 1994, about 11 p.m., the apartment of the family R. was broken into by four Moslem soldiers, including Alic and his son-in-law Avdo. For several hours they maltreated and beat, both with hands and feet, the witness R., her mother and her husband. They threatened to slaughter them, putting knives under their throats. As a result of this beating the husband had many swellings and bruises all over his body. After beating and torturing them, they locked the family R. in one room, while the wives of some of these soldiers took away from the apartment all valuable things: a TV set, a VCR, a walkman, Hi-Fi, tape deck, etc. Just before dawn, the family R. was thrown out into the street, and Alic and his family moved into their apartment.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Ahmet Sejdic, from Visegrad, a commander of the Moslem military unit,
2. Alic, a Moslem soldier,
3. Avdo, a Moslem soldier,
4. Sehovic, a police agent
5. Borovac, a guard in the Headquarters of the town of Gorazde.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the family R., in the Committee files under Nos. 440/94-8 and 594/94-14.
1.1.6. The witness S., a Serb married to a Moslem called Senad Bujak from Gorazde, from the beginning of armed clashes till her escape to Serb territory (July 1994), was maltreated and beaten by her husband Senad, who became a Moslem soldier. Coming home drunk, he would beat her, usually striking her with his fists in the small of her back and cursed her "vlaska" (Serb) mother. She begged him to kill her and put an end to suffering, but he would beat her even more and finally force her to have sexual intercourse with him.
Data on perpetrator: Senad Bujak, from Gorazde, a Moslem soldier.
Evidence: Minutes of testimony of the witness B., in the Committee files under no. 440/94-10.
1.1.7. In May 1992, Moslem soldiers evicted a group of Serbs from their apartments and homes in the Colony "1 May" in Gorazde and put them in two buildings under guard. Among these Serbs was the witness M. The confinement of these Serbs, in total isolation, lasted 12 days, after which they were allowed to return to their homes, provided that in the meantime, they were not taken by the Moslems.
Since the witness M.’s apartment had been hit by a shell, she approached Hasa, a deputy mayor of the local community of Efendici, but Hasa refused to talk to her.
In addition to this, the family M. was subjected to various insults and humilations (called "chetniks" etc.), and suffered from hunger, since there was no food.
Evidence: Minutes of testimony of the witness M., in the Committee files under no. 205/95-3.
1.1.8. At the beginning of armed clashes, Moslem soldiers forbade Serbs to leave their apartments. The building in which the family of the witness B. lived was controlled by a soldier called Bekto.
On one occasion, when the witness B. went out into the street and met with T., a uniformed soldier called Kustirica approached them and told them that both of them, as well as other Serbs, would be killed if Serb soldiers failed to stop shooting from the nearby hills and that it was the order of Hadze (mayor of Gorazde).
Some twenty days after the beginning of armed clashes, Betko took M. and the witness B. from the apartment, and together with J., I., and Z. put him into the cellar of a building next door, belonging to Bosko Bjelakovic. There they spent two months in isolation, and after that were taken back to their apartments. On April 24, 1994 the apartment belonging to M. and the witness B. was broken into by Anel Berinac from Visegrad, with three more Moslem soldiers. He forced them to leave the apartment in five minutes, so that they went to Z.
Berinac with two other Moslems went later to Z.’s apartment and threatened the witness B. that he would kill her, saying that he had found a pistol and some bombs in her apartment, which was not true.
The witness B. and her mother M. left Gorazde on August 22, 1994, with severely impaired health due to hard life, hunger and mental suffering caused by constant threats and tortures.
The family L., the parents of M., were driven away from their apartment in the Marsala Tita str. no. 13 in Gorazde and together with other Serbs locked up in a building which was the target of artillery shelling. Moslem soldiers prevented them from seeking refuge from the shells in the basement of the building.
When the family L. returned, they found their apartment completely raided (food and all valuable things had been taken away). Isolated, without food, deprived of contacts with their family, they died in 1993. Moslems provoked the witness B. and two other Serbs who buried the dead, throwing stones at them and saying: "One dog less".
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Beko, a Moslem soldier from Visegrad,
2. Kustirica, a MOslem soldier,
3. Anel Berinac, from Visegrad, a Moslem soldier.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness B., in the Committee files under no. 440/94-4.
1.1.9. On June 26 1992, Moslems in uniform drove away the witness S. from her aprtment in the 1. maja street no. 15 in Gorazde, and took her to a former canteen, where about 75 Serbs were already being held in captivity. They were held there for three days and threatened that they would all be killed. When S. returned to her apartment, she found the door forced and all valuable things taken away.
In April 1994, Moslems in uniform drove her out of the apartment again, and until she managed to escape from Gorazde (July 8, 1994) she lived with 16 other persons in the house of a Sebian woman.
As all other Serbs, she also suffered from lack of food, since they received no aid, as opposed to Moslems.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness S., in the Committee file under no. 440/94-6.
1.1.10. In July 1992, armed persons in uniform drove the witness U. out of his apartment in the 1. maja str. no. 34 in Gorazde and took him to another building in the same street, where he was put, together with seven more Serbs, into a room measuring 4 x 4 metres. Apart from a girl aged about twenty, the rest of them were mostly elderly people.
There they kept them for 15 days. They provided no food, but took them occasionally to their own apartments to search for some food, if there was anything left.
When they came home, the witness U. found his apartment robbed. Later on, the Moslem family Isakovic from the village of Gojcevic moved into his apartment. Before moving in, a girl from that family hurried him to vacate the apartment, saying that all "Vlasi" (Serbs) should be killed.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness U. in the Committee files under no. 440/94-7.
1.1.11. In mid-July 1992, members of the Moslem army and police forced a considerable number of Serbs in Gorazde to vacate their apartments, so that Moslem refugees could be accomodated in them. About 75 of them, men, women and children, aged between 7 and 70, were taken to a building in the Mose Pijade str. across the street from the building of the state police. They were squeezed into four apartments, so that there were up to 12 of them in one room. They were guarded by 4-5 policemen, who prohibited them from contacting each other.
While throwing out the witness H. and his family from their apartment, Hodzic Sefko, head of the police patrol, read to H. the decision of the War Presidency, signed by Hadzo Efendic, on the formation of so-called "Center for Isolation of Serbs". The alleged purpose of this was to protect Serbs from Moslem extremists and to prevent Serbs in Gorazde from cooperating with Serb units outside Gorazde.
In this camp the Serbs were held for about three months, in highly inadequate sanitary and other conditions. Once a day they were given boiled unsalted nettle, and every eight days a piece of bread. They slept on the bare floor, since there was no furniture.
The imprisoned Serbs approached Ibro Causevic, president of the Red Cross of Gorazde, asking to be given food as humanitarian aid. He showed them the decree of the War Presidency, signed by Hadzo Efendic, stating that the Red Cross should not give Serbs in islation any food, since food for them was provided from other sources.
The Serbs confined in this camp were exhausted due to severe conditions of life. Their health was seriously damaged and they suffered from excessive lose of weight (for example, the witness H. lost 41 kg while in the camp). Two sisters, aged 55 and 60, one of whom was named Slavka, both died while interned in this camp.
The camp was located about 150 meters from the front line and was, accordingly, exposed to frequent shellings from both sides. The interned Serbs asked one policeman to convey to the chief of the police, Ibro Merkez, their appeal to let them hide in the corridor of the basement of the building during heavy fighting. The policeman came back with Merkez’s message: it is better for them to shut up, or else he would personally come up and tie them all to the window sills.
Cedo Jovanovic, a teacher from Gorazde, was killed by a granade, while five more Serbs were wounded: Vlatko Vojinovic (shrapnel in the leg), Rastko Vukmanovic (neck), Slavko Popovic (neck), Vlado Nedimovic and another man.
When they were let out of the camp, the interned Serbs did not have anywhere to go back to, as their apartments had been occupied by Moslems. They had to manage as well as they could.
On getting out of the camp, H. pleaded with chief of police Merkez to help him get back his apartment, occupied in the meantime by Fadil Fakovic. Merkez told him that the apartment was appropriated by the War Presidency, and that he - Merkez - only implemented the decisions of the Presidency.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Hadzo Efendic, from Gorazde, chairman of the SDA, mayor of Gorazde, president of the War Presidency in Gorazde, main organizer and inspirer of crimes against Serbs,
2. Rijad Rascic, from Gorazde, economist, deputy chairman of the SDA and member of the Moslem War Presidency in Gorazde,
3. Enver Borovina, from Gorazde, born in Ustikolina, veterinarian, member of the War Presidency,
4. Hasa Kuljuh, from Gorazde, economist, chief of Economy Department of the county of Gorazde, member of the War Presidency in Gorazde,
5. Fehim Pleh, from Gorazde, awyer, formerly secretary of the county of Gorazde, member of Moslem War Presidency in Gorazde,
6. Ibro Merkez, chief of police in Gorazde, organizer of the "reserve police force", the person who implemented the decisions of the Moslem War Presidency in Gorazde,
7. Sefko Hodzic, member of the police force in Gorazde,
8. Sasa Dragas, policeman in the Gorazde police force,
9. Izet Klovo, policeman in the Gorazde police force,
10. Nuzur Borcak, policeman in the Gorazde police force,
11. Subasic, policeman in the Gorazde police force.
Evidence: Minutes of testimony in the Committee files under Nrs. 440/94-11, 12, 13, 17, 18 and 42, 36/95 and 462/94.
1.1.12. While the witness Z. was in the camp in the Mosa Pijade street, across the street from the Gorazde Police, her apartment was occupied by a Moslem family. In the fall of 1992 she was allowed to go back to her apartment. Then, in June 1993 three armed Moslems forced the witness Z. to leave her apartment. She found refuge with the family E., where she used to stay overnight before, fearing that she might be assaulted in her own apartment.
Moslems used to assault Serbs frequently, when they would go out in search for some water or food. They called the Serbs "criminals", while women were "wives of chetniks", etc. At night Moslems fired bursts into the windows of apartments inhabited by Serbs.
Evidence: Testimony of the witness Z. in the Committee file under Nr. 462/94.
1.1.13. In April 1994 Moslem police organized a camp for internment of Serbs in the home of the Nedimovic family in Gorazde. There were about 50 interned Serbs, constantly under guard. The living conditions were extremely hard. They had only one meal a day and a piece of bread. The interned Serbs were exposed to all kinds of threats and abuse. They were called "chetniks", while the house in which they were jailed was called "the zoo for Serbs".
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Azem Obrcanin, from Gorazde,
2. Jasko Jusic, from Hubijer (near Gorazde)
3. Ramiz Koso, a Moslem soldier.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimonies of the witnesses M., B., L., R., and z. in the Committee files under Nrs. 440/94-11, 13, 17 and 42, as well as 594/94 and 462/94.
1.1.14. From the beginning of armed clashes the witness S. from Vitkovici ( a suburb of Gorazde), just like other Serbs, lived in constant fear of the Moslems, since he did not enjoy any protection as a citizen. Police searched his apartment twice, and the same was done by members of military units.
Salko Malicevic, a Moslem who worked with the witness S. in the same firm, told him on one occasion that he had been given the order to liquidate him, but that he had no intention of doing that, since he was not capable of murder (he left Gorazde eventually).
During 1993 the witness S. was taken to forced labor together with some other Serbs. They were made to cut wood, to clean streets, kill and bury dogs etc. While performing these tasks, they were subjected to numerous insults and mockings, even by children.
On May 17, 1994, the Moslem police deported the witness S. together with the remaining Serbs in Vitkovici to the village of Sasici near Gorazde. They were allowed to take along only essential things, and were taken in trucks to Sasici, where they were accomodated in Serb houses. They were under constant control of the police and were not allowed to leave the village.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness S., in the Committee files under no. 205/95-1.
1.1.15. On May 5, 1992, the Moslem soldier Murat Popovic broke into the apartment of the witness K. in Vitkovici (a suburb of Gorazde) and immediately started to beat her with his rifle butt all over her body. He hit her on her left arm, earlier broken in the shoulder, after which she fainted. When she recovered, Popovic threatened to kill her and asked about her son’s whereabouts. She pleaded with him to kill her and not torture her any more, but he answered that she would not pull through that easily and hit her again several times with the rifle butt.
The following day the police took the witness from her apartment and put her in the house of Zdravko Nikolic in Vitkovici. The policeman took her often to so-called interrogations, followed by death threats and various insults. She was interrogated by the agent Osman Subasic.
On May 17, 1994, she was deported, together with other Serbs to the village of Sasici, near Gorazde, where they were under constant police control.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Murat Popovic from Vitkovici (Gorazde),
2. Osman Subasic, from Foca.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness K. (2o5/95-2).
1.1.16. On July 14, 1992, Moslem soldiers attacked the Serb village of Bucje and "collected" all Serbs who had not managed to escape - 44 of them. On the way to Trebesko brdo, they let go several women and children, while the rest of the group, consisting of 32 people (12-15 men, the rest women), was taken to Trebesko brdo and incarcerated in the basement of a building. The soldiers of the Moslem unit of Ahmet Sejdic from Visegrad beat the male Serbs, and maltreated and insulted females, slapping their faces or pulling their hair. At night the males were taken out individually and ordered to raise their hands, after which they were beaten with fists, feet, rifle butts and rubber sticks. The Moslems made them lie on their stomachs and "eat" dust, and then beat them again all over their bodies until they fainted. They put knives under their throats and in front of their eyes. They used knives to carve the Moslem emblem (crescent and star) into their bodies and the letters SDA on their backs. They pierced their ears, saying they intended to give them earrings. The Serb P. was nailed by the ear to a wooden beam in the basement.
This torture lasted six days. After that, the Serbs were taken to a prison camp in Gorazde, where they remained for eight months.
There were ten or more of them in one cell, men and women together. They were lying on bare floors and had no covers. Once a day they were given some chowder, sometimes containing hair nad broken glass, and a small piece of bread.
They were interrogated by police inspectors Samir Dzebo and Mensur Dakovic from Gorazde. The witness V. was pulled by the hair during interrogation. After releasing them from the prison camp, the witness V., as well the other Serbs, was not allowed to move freely.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Ahmet Sejdic, from Visegrad, commander of the Moslem military unit,
2. Samir Dzebo, a police inspector from Gorazde,
3. Dakovic Mensur, a police inspector from Gorazde.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness V., V. and B., in the Committee files under Nrs. 440/94-3, 9 and 15.
1.1.17. At the beginning of May 1992, Moslem soldiers raided Serb houses in the village of Crkvine (county of Gorazde), taking all valuable things and physically abusing some of the Serbs. Among the beaten was Anda Sekara, born Delic, from Crkvine.
On May 12, 1992, a group of Moslem soldiers, among them the sons of Omer Erak from Kalac, deported from the vilage of Crkvine to the village of Kalac four women of Serb nationality: Anda and Stana Delic, and Anda Sekara, born Delic, and incarcerated them in a house. A Moslem soldier, Mujo Pestek, demanded that they inform the men from their village about their whereabouts, saying that he would not set them free until the men came to get them. One of the women informed by phone a relative of hers, and soon after that the following Serbs came to the village of Kalac: Novica, Niko, Jovo, Radivoje and Dragan Delic, Ugljesa and Nikola zmukic, Milutin Pejovic, Pero Sekara and Ljubo Martovic - all from the village of Crkvine. They were taken to Mravince and interrogated by Osman Subasic in the Moslem army headquarters. During interogation he beat Niko Delic in front of all the others. After that the women were released and the men kept in custody (their further fate will be dealt with in the second part of this paper).
The Moslem soldiers continued to raid the Serb houses in the village of Crkvine. Dino Dzambegovic and another Moslem soldier, on August 10, 1992, broke into the house of S. and for three days, with short intervals, beat and maltreated the four above-mentioned women and S. On August 13, 1992, Anda Sekara hanged herself, since she cold not tolerate the torture any longer. The remainimg three women and S. were taken to the village of Sasici.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. "Mido" , the son of Omer Erak from Kalac, a Moslem soldier
2. "Liko", the second son of Osman Erak from Kalac, a Moslem soldier,
3. Mujo Pestek, from the village of Lokarica, a Moslem soldier,
4. Osman Subasic, a Moslem army officer
5. Dino Dzambegovic, from the village of Milijan, by Cajnice.
Evidence: Testimony of the witness D., in the Committe files under no. 694/94-13.
1.1.18. In April 1994, a group of seven Moslem soldiers, led by Jasko Jusic, broke down the entrance door and forcibly entered the apartment belonging to D. and M. in the Mose Pijade str. no. 18 in Gorazde. The time was 11.30 p.m. They jumped all over the place, shouting and asking the tennants to move out immediately, but finally consented to wait until morning.
Azem Obarcanin and a certain Pozder, accompanied by another Moslem soldier, broke into the apartment in the early morning hours. D. and M. fled to seek refuge with some neighbours, while the Moslem soldiers fired shots in the apartment, eventually causing a fire.
When D. and M. went the police to ask for help, they were detained in jail "as a protection measure" against enraged Moslems. The following day they were advised to file a private complaint with the court, while some Moslems who lived in the same building declared they themselves had put the apartment on fire. In the meantime, Jasko Jusic moved into the apartment.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Jasko Jusic, from Hubijer, near Gorazde, a bodyguard of the Moslem commander Ramiz Durakovic.
2. Azem Obarcanin, from Gorazde,
3. Pozder, from the hamlet of Vranje near Gorazde, son of Naila Pozder.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of m. and D., in the Committee files under Nrs. 440/94-11 and 18.
1.1.19. Two armed Moslems, Ramiz Koso and Apko Hasanagic, in the night between April 20 and 21, 1994, tried to set fire to the house of the Nedimovic family in Gorazde, turned into a prison camp for Serbs. They fired from their arms and threatened to kill all Serbs.
The following morning Apko Hasanagic took the witness H. from his son’s apartment and asked him to give a statement to Radio Gorazde, declaring that the Serbs in Gorazde were well and unmolested by anyone. When the witness H. refused to go with Hasanagic and make a statement, the Moslem started to scold and insult him, and then put the rifle against the witness’s head lenghtwise and fired four shots, singeing his hair.
After that Hasanagic took the witness H. to the house of the Nedimovic family and tried to make him and all other Serbs interned in that house go to the bridge leading to the left bank of the river Drina, where Radio Gorazde was located. Fearing that they would be killed on the bridge, the Serbs resisted. Two of them, D. and V., started toward the bridge and were wounded. In the ensuing commotion, R. and N. tried to go back to the building and Hasanagic fired in their direction, but missed. When the Serbs resisted going to the bridge, Hasanagic said that he had to make them go because the witness H. refused to give a statement to Radio Gorazde. The witness H. then said that he would be willing to make a statement only if all other Serbs were released. Hasanagic then took only the witness H. toward the bridge. H. persistently resisted, saying that the police department also had a
radio station and that he could make his statement there. Finally Hasanagic changed his mind and told the witness H. that he would make the statement some other time.
According to what the witness H. learned later, D. and V. were shot at from the position held by Moslem soldiers (from the Workers center and the courthouse). The idea was to kill the Serbs on the bridge by Moslem fire, and to blame the Serb soldiers, whose most forward position was some 300 meters from the bridge, for this crime.
Immidiately after this event, S., together with his wife G. and their children swam across the Drina and fled to Serb territory. On April 24, 1994, Cazim Obarcanin, Apko Hasanagic and another Moslem soldier, looking for the witness H., broke into his son’s apartment. The witness H. managed to escape across the balcony into the adjacent apartment. Then these soldiers set fire to his son’s apartment and to the family houses of E. and the witness Z., which were located in the immediate vicinity of the witness H.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Ramiz Koso , a Moslem soldier
2. Apko Hasanagic, from Gorazde, a Moslem soldier,
3. Cazim Obarcanin, from Gorazde, a Mosle sldier,
4. Sefko Hodzic, a policeman from Gorazde.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of witness H. and G., in the Committee files under Nos. 36/95 and 440/94-17.
1.2. Killing of civilians
From the very onset of armed conflicts in the county of Gorazde, the Moslem army and police committed massive crimes against Serbs, including the cruellest ones - killing civilians.
Killings were carried out in the places where Serbs were found or taken to, in their own houses, in streets, in jails or prison camps. Many were killed on the banks of the river Drina and their bodies subsequently were thrown into the river.
Murat Sabanovic, from Visegrad, who opened the sluices of the Visegrad dam, adressed the Moslem soldiers before starting for Gorazde with the following words: "We are going on from here, let those who are not able to slaughter and kill Serbs step out of the file", Nobody left the file. On arriving in Gorazde, Sabanovic used a bullhorn to call on Moslems to kill Serbs (the witness M.).
In the newly created climate of annihilation of Serbs, civilians, even children could kill, without being prevented in this by anyone.
The Serbs who succeded in escaping from Gorazde estimate that the Moslem army and police killed about 200 Serbs - civilians in the region of the county of Gorazde. Moslems themselves were heard to say that in the first months of the war they killed 250 Serb civilians.
On the basis of data collected and available evidence, the following killings were carried out:
1.2.1. Memsudin Rascic, a Moslem soldier from Gorazde, made a search of the apartment of Dusan Nikolic in Gorazde at the beginning of May of 1992. Dusan’s brother Brano was also there, so Rascic took them both to Vitkovici, a suburb of Gorazde, where he slaughtered them and threw their bodies into the Drina.
Data on the perpetrator: Masmudin Rascic, from Gorazde, nick-named "Mese", son of father Ibrahim and mother Hasna.
Evidence: Testimonies of witness E. and C. in the Committee files under no. 370/94, as well as the minutes of the testimony of the witness B. (205/95-3).
1.2.2. In mid-May of 1992, a group of Moslem soldiers killed Ilija Vlaski from Bacak in the hamlet of Rascici near Gorazde. In the village of Brda near Gorazde the same group killed three Serb civilians: Budo Uljar, Pero Pantovic and Milos Drekalo, all from the village Brda. Vlaski and Uljar, found in their houses, were slaughtered and their bodies thrown into a near-by creek, while Pantovic and Drekalo were shot on the thresholds of their homes.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Salko Rogo, born in 1952, from father Mujo and mother Hadzira, permanently resident in Gorazde, precinct of Bacci,
2. Aljo Rogo, born in 1956, from father Mujo and mother Hadzira, permanently resident in Bacci,
3. Rasim Rogo, born in 1961, from father Mujo and mother Hadzira, permanently resident in Bacci,
4. Sevko Rogo, from father Suljo, permanently resident in Bacci,
5. Murat Rogo, from father Suljo, permanently resident in Bacci,
6. Halim Rogo, born 1952, from father Suljo, permanently resident in Bacci, and
7. Enes Rogo, born 1971, from father Murat, permanently resident in Bacci.
Evidence: Testimony of the witness K., in the Committee files under no. 370/94.
1.2.3. In the first half of May 1992, a group of Moslem soldiers barged into the house of Miso Jevdevic, in the Ksenija Tanaskovic str. no. 1. They looted the house, then burned it, while Misa and his son Milenko Jevdevic were taken to the hamlet of Mahala near Gorazde and shot to death.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Abdulselam Sijercic, nick-named "Pelam", born in 1952 in Gorazde, from father Sadik,
2. Memsudim Rascic, nick-named "Memse", from father Ibrahim and mother Hasna, owner of the games parlour in Gorazde,
3. Samir Terovic, from Gorazde, nick-named "Tera",
4. Admir Klovo, from Gorazde, nick-named "Tyson", from father Sulejman,
5. Sakib Islamagic, from Gorazde, nick-named "Kime", and
6. Ibrisim Imsirovic, from Gorazde.
Evidence: Committee files under no. 370/94.
1.2.4. On May 22, 1992, members of the Moslem army group called "the green berets", broke into the house of Milan and Mila Spaic in Gorazde, in the presinct of Obarak, searched and looted the house and then shot to death Mila Spaic, born Droca, who was visiting. After that, they burned the house together with the victim
‘
s body.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Izudin Celjo, from Gorazde, nick-named "Beli",
2. Sabahudin Celjo, from Gorazde, nick-named "Crni",
3. Muris zivojevic, from Gorazde,
4. Memso Ramovic, from Gorazde.
Evidence: Testimony - the Committee files under no. 370/94.
1.2.5. The members of the Moslem army and police killed in 1992 in Vitkovici (a suburb of Gorazde) about 30 Serbs. The Serbs were first incarcerated in the nitrogen factory and shot to death, or they were killed in their apartments or by the river, after having been taken from their homes.
On May 5, 1992, a Moslem soldier took out of their apartments Rajko Kucic, Mirko Labus and Jovanka Labus, all from Vitkovici. Two days later, the witness Staka Kucic heard from her neighbour Azemina Vukovic that her husband and the Labus couple, by order of the Moslem command, had been shot to death on the same day they were taken from their homes and that their bodies had been thrown into the Drina. Then, and on another occasion, the witness heard the killing had been carried out by Omer Lukavica, from Vitkovici.
The whole family of Petko Stajanovic from Vitkovici perished. First Petko’s son was killed, then his daughter-in-law was raped, and when Petko protested, he was killed on the spot. After that Petko’s daughter-in-law and grandson fled to Gorazde and were killed by shells, while his sick wife died at home.
Data on the perpetrator:
1. Omer Lukavica, from Vitkovici, a Moslem soldier.
Evidence: Testimonies of witnesses in the Committee files under Nos. 295/95-2 and 1, 36/95-1 and 281/95-5.
1.2.6. In mid-1992, the Moslem army, while capturing Serb villages on the territory of the county of Gorazde, robbed, looted and burned houses and other objects and killed Serbs who failed to escape. The victims were:
1. Stojan Vukovic, from Bigovici,
2. zivko Markovic, from Mirosici
3-14. Twelve members of the Vukasinovic family from the village of Bukvica, including women and children.
15-17. Sava, Nikola and Buda Vukadin from the village of Osjecani (hamlet of Smreke).
18-19. Vukosava Neskovic and Milka Vukadin (wife of Budo Vukadin), burned alive in the house of Vukosava Neskovic in the village of Osjecani,
20. Milanko Neskovic, from Osjecani,
21-22. Lazar Gavrilovic, aged 92 and his son Jovan, from the village of Crvljice,
23. Ranka Pajovic from the village of Pijevac,
24. a woman whose last name was Pesic, from the village of Pijevac,
25-29. Ljuboje and Nedeljko Jovovic and three elderly women, all from the village of Glamoc.
Evidence: Committee files no. 36/95.
1.2.7. In mid-1992, Moslem soldiers captured Serb villages Borak Brdo and Grabovica and killed six Serbs who failed to escape. The old man Ilija Gladanac was cut into pieces with a knife, in front of his house in the village of Borak Brdo. Before burial, the parts of his body had to be collected in a tent sheet.
Andelka Terzic from Grabovica was also among the Serbs murdered.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Meho Drljevic, from the village of Kopaca, the hamlet of Zidine, and
2. Enes Turkovic, from Gorazde, both batallion commanders in the Gorazde Moslem brigade.
Evidence: Minutes of testimonies of witnesses, Committee files under nos. 440/94-21 and 36/95.
1.2.8. In mid-1992, at least 20 Serbs from the group imprisoned in the prison camp in Mravinjac were killed (county of Gorazde). Among them were:
1-5. Novica, Niko, Jovo, Radivoja and Dragana Delic, from Crkvine,
6-7. Ugljesa and Nikola zmukic, from Crkvine,
8. Milutin Pejovic, from Crkvine,
9. Ljubo Matovic, from Crkvine.
Moslem soldiers captured these Serbs (also Pero Sekara, who died of a heart attack), by using four women from Crkvine as hostages (described under 1.1.17.). They were held in the concentration camp in Mravinjac for a while, and when they were taken in trucks to Gorazde, the driver was killed in Vitkovici. The dead driver’s brother then fired at the Serbs, killing Radivoje Delic and wounding Novica Delic. The families of those Serbs who survived this shooting never learned anything about them, and according to what one of the witnesses (H.) heard, they were all killed.
The following Serbs incarcerated in the camp of Mravinjac were killed:
10-11. Dejan Jagodic and his wife, from Mravinjac,
12. Milja Vukadin, who was taken from the village of Osjecani.
The commanding officers of the Moslem military unit who imprisoned Serbs in the concentration camp in Mravinjac were Mustafa Zlatic and Osman Subasic.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Mustafa Zlatic, from Gorazde, commanding officer of a Moslem military unit, age about 40, occupation teamster,
2. Osman Subasic, from Foca, a Moslem army officer.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of the witness H., in the Committee files under nos. 594/94-13 and 36/95.
1.2.9. Moslem soldiers under arms, commanded by Osman Subasic, in August 1992 captured Gojko Simovic, from Sarajevo, an officer in the Yugoslav National Army, who happened to be in the village of Sasici when the war started. Nobody ever learned anything about his fate, so that he is presumed dead, i.e. killed.
Data on the perpetrator:
Osman Subasic, nick-named "Osmo", from Zubina Suma, who before the war had been employed in the Foca prison.
Evidence: Committee files no. 594/94-17.
1.2.10. The following Serbs were also killed in Gorazde:
1. Todor Apostolov, who lived in Sandzackih brigada str. no. 12, taken from home in July 1992 and killed in the hamlet of Mahale, near the mosque,
2. Milan Vajagic, lived in the same building, was taken away in July 1992 and killed in the hamlet of Mahale, near the mosque,
3. Steva Vajagic, lived in the same building, was taken away in July 1992 and killed in Mahale, near the mosque,
4. Rastko Vukomanovic, from Gorazde, killed by Jasko Jusic in April 1994. Jusic was furious because the apartment he intended to move into had been set on fire, and he was told that it had been done by the former owner (although it was done by Moslem soldiers). Enraged, he went to the Nedimovic house in Mose Pijade str. no. 62 and fired a series of shots at Serbs who either lied down on the floor or tried to escape.
5. Koviljka Vukovic, aged 65, who lived in the 1. maja str., was taken out of her apartment at night and killed with a blunt object. Her body was thrown into the Drina river (her handbag was put on the bank, with the idea of simulating a suicide),
6. Krsta Vukovic, who lived in Sandzackih brigada str. no. 12, was taken away in July 1992 and killed in the hamlet of Mahale, near the mosque,
7. Zora Danilovic, aged 50, was thrown down from the fifth floor balcony in a house in Mira Sekarica street in the first half of 1994,
8. Milisav Dokic, from the village of Ilovaca, hamlet Nekopi, killed by armed Moslems in April 1992,
9. Branislav Dokovic, aged 40, killed in the first half of 1994 in a garage by the river Drina by soldiers from Ahmet Sejdic’s unit (his body was found in the river),
10. Ivo Dokovic, aged 65, from Marsala Tita str., killed in the first half of 1994 in a garage by the Drina, by soldiers from Ahmet Sejdic’s unit. His body was found in the Drina,
11. Milan Zdjelar and his wife, who lived in Marsala Tita str. no. 36,
12. Boja Zdjelar, who lived in marsala Tita str. no. 36. In May 1992 her body was found, with nine gunshot wounds and a knife stab in the neck. A Moslem policeman who attended her funeral said that Boja’s husband Milan "swam down the Drina".
13. Desanka Ignjatovic, seriously wounded in the night between April 17 and 18, 1994, when the house of the Carapic family was broken into by two Moslem soldiers under arms, who fired shots at the group of Serbs gathered there. Desanka eventually succumbed to injuries sustained.
14. Srecko Ivanovic, aged 65, killed in his apartment in 1. maja str. in Gorazde on December 1, 1994. His head was broken with some heavy, blunt object.
15-16. Trifun Ivetic and his wife Bogdanka, from 1. maja str., killed in the first half of 1994, found dead in their apartment,
17. Milja Jaksic, who lived in Sandzackih brigada str., taken away in July 1992 and killed in the hamlet of Mahala, near the mosque,
19. Stjepan Jaksic, who lived in Sandzackih brigada str. no. 12, taken away in July 1992 and killed in the hamlet of Mahala, near the mosque.
20. Stojan Jankovic, from Gorazde, killed in mid-1992 in Gorazde by an unknown sniper, while crossing an open space to get some water,
21-22. Toma Jevtovic and his wife Bogdanka, klled in the first half of 1994, in front of the building in which they lived, in 1. maja str.,
23. Dragan Komlenovic, aged about 40, taken away in mid-1992 and killed later,
24. Savo Komlenovic, aged about 45, taken away in mid-1992 and killed in the village of Mahala, near the mosque,
25. Zdravko Kovac, after his apartment in Sandzackih brigada str. no. 18 was searched on May 26, 1992, he was seized by a group of Moslem soldiers and policemen under arms - Zija Hodzic, Safet Subasic, Sefko Hodzic, Mirko Dedovic and "Milo" and taken away in an unknown direction. Later there were rumors that he was strangled with a piece of wire and his body thrown into the river,
26. Milan Lazovic, from Sandzackih brigada str. no. 12; on July 13 1992 he was taken away by Moslem militiamen. His wife did not know anything about him, so she presumed him killed, as well as many others, in the village of Mahala, near the mosque.
27. Branko Lackovic, from Gorazde, in mid-April of 1994, Moslem soldiers expelled him and his wife Ljubica from their apartment and made them cross the bridge leading to the left bank of the river Drina. They fired shots at them, wounding him and later throwing his body into the river, while his wife managed to run across the bridge to the other bank,
28. Dusan Leovac, aged 53, from Ksenija Tanaskovic str., was taken away in July 1992 and killed in the village of Mahala, near the mosque,
29. Branko Ljujic, age about 53, a teacher, who lived in Omladinska str. in Gorazde, taken away by Sefko Hodzic, a Moslem policeman, and killed after being tortured in the police department,
30-31. Rade Marinkovic and his wife Anda, who lived in Rasadnik str. in Gorazde,
32. Desa Markovic, from Gorazde, aged 60, killed in the night between April 17 and 18, 1994, when the house of the Carapic family, where a number of Serbs had taken refuge, was broken into by two armed Moslem soldiers who shot her,
33. Milan Mihajlovic, age about 30, was taken away from the settlement called "1. maj"; he is supposed to have been killed and thrown into the Drina,
34. Danilo Milovic, from Gorazde, taken away in July 1992 and killed in the village of Mahala, near the mosque,
35. Slobodanka Mitranovic, age 83, who lived in Marsala Tita str., was killed in the first half of 1994; her body was found in the Drina,
36. Milos Mutlak, from Gorazde, killed in mid-1992; his body was found in the Drina,
37. Kova Neric, from Gorazde; in 1993 (date unknown) Moslem policemen strangled her in her apartment in the settlement "1. Maj" and her body was found in the river,
38. Novica Neskovic, aged 90, paralyzed, burned alive in his home in Gorazde,
39. Brana Nikolic, an old woman; on July 17, 1992 was shot to death on the stairs of her house in the Sandzackih brigada str. by Moslem soldiers, among them the son of Sefko Selimovic, a teacher,
40. Ranko Pajovic, from Gorazde, killed by a group of Moslem children, who beat him on the head with stones, like a snake,
41. Zora Perovic, pushed from the fourth floor,
42. Zoran Sorak, who lived in the Sandzackih brigada str. no. 12., was taken away in July 1992 and killed in the village of Mahala, near the mosque,
43-44. Marjan Stojanovic and his mother Koviljka were shot to death on July 17, 1992 in their apartment in Sandzackih brigada str., no. 18, by a group of Moslem soldiers, among them the son of teacher Sefko Selimovic,
45. Ugljesa Stojanovic, who lived in the 1. maja str., no. 15, was taken away on July 13, 1992; it is presumed that he was killed and thrown into the river (a corpse resembling him was found on the bank),
46-47. Milko and Miladin Heleta, killed on May 4, 1992 in front of the house they lived in, in the village of Povrsnica near Gorazde,
48. Anda Carapic, from Bucje, born in 1939, father’s name Milovan, died from exhaustion and hunger in the police prison in Gorazde,
49. Darinka Carapic, aged 83, burned in the house in Sandzackih brigada street,
50. Drago Carapic, from Bucje, age about 68, father’s name Mico, died from exhaustion and hunger in the police prison in Gorazde,
51. Dusan Carapic, from Bucje, born in 1932, father’s name Ostoja, died from exhaustion and hunger in the police prison in Gorazde,
52. Jovan Carapic, from Bucje; in July 1992 Moslem soldiers from Ahmet Sejdic’s unit tormented him atrociously in Trebesko brdo; he died later from his injuries,
53. Radoje Carapic, from Bucje, father’s name Milan, aged 21; in the first half of 1994 Moslem soldiers from Ahmet Sejdic’s unit slaughtered him and his body was found in the Drina.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Hadzo Efendic, chairman of the SDA and mayor of Gorazde, later head of the War Presidency in Gorazde, aged about 45, M.A. in economics, born in the village of Zaborak (Cajnice), main organizer and perpetrator of crimes against Serbs,
2. Rijad Rascic, from Gorazde, economist, before the war employed at a cable factory in Gorazde, deputy chairman of the SDA and member of the Moslem War Presidency in Gorazde,
3. Enver Borovina, from Gorazde, born in Ustikolina, age about 35, veterinarian, member of the Moslem War Presidency,
4. Hasa Kuljuh, from Gorazde, economist, chief of the Economy Department in the county of Gorazde, member of the Moslem War Presidency,
5. Fehim Pleh, from Gorazde, lawyer, secretary of the Town Council of Gorazde, member of the Moslem War Presidency,
6. Kemal Duliman, from Gorazde, head of the so-called civilian summary court in Gorazde,
7. Ibro Merkez, chief of police in Gorazde, organizer of the "reserve police force",
8. Dzevad Begovic, from Gorazde, head of the Public Security Service in Gorazde,
9. "Hoso", police inspector in Gorazde,
10. Kamenica, police inspector in Gorazde,
11. Samir Dzebo, police inspector in Gorazde,
12. Mensur Dakovic, police inspector in Gorazde,
13. Irfan Celjo, police inspector in Gorazde,
14. Ahmet Sejdic, officer in charge of a Moslem military unit,
15. Zijo Hodzic, a Moslem soldier,
16. Safet Subasic, a Moslem soldier,
17. Sefko Dedovic, from Gorazde, a Moslem policeman,
18. Mirzo Dedovic, a Moslem soldier,
19. "Mile", a Moslem soldier,
20. the son of Sefko Selimovic, teacher from Gorazde, a Moslem soldier,
21. Kemo Celik, one of the leading members of the SDA, perpetrator of crimes against Serbs,
22. Murat Sabanovic, from Visegrad, an instigator (used bullhorn to urge Moslems to kill serbs),
23. Jasko Jusic, from Hubijeri near Gorazde, bodyguard of the Moslem commander of the right bank of the Drina.
Evidence: Minutes of witnesses testimonies and other proof - in Committee files under numbers: 440/91-11, 12, 16, 18, 25, 42, 8, 13, 10, 14, 15, 4, 3, 9 and 6; 594/94-14; 36/95; 205/95-3, 462/94 and 281/95-1 through 6.
1.2.11. The War Presidency in Gorazde, formed at the beginning of May 1992, and taking over the functions of the Town Council under war conditions, decided on killing the Serbs in Gorazde and on their internment in camps ("isolation centers"). As the mayor of Gorazde, Hadzo Efendic headed the War Presidency, while the leading members of the SDA party became its members.
According to the testimony of a witness (36/95) the War Presidency, at the suggestion of Hadzo Efendic, made a decision to liquidate him, but the execution was prevented by a former captain of the JNA - commander of a Moslem unit in the region of Gorazde, who threatened Efendic with his gun.
Some other Moslem commanders - former officers of the JNA also protested against killing Serb civilians without any trial. Hadzo Efendic therefore decided to establish a so-called civilian summary court, the purpose of which was to bring in "verdicts" which would subsequently cover murders of Serbs already committed by Moslem police and soldiers. Efendic suggested to Sejo Imamovic, former judge of the lower court in Gorazde to accept the position of the chairman of the "summary court", but Imamovic refused, stating that civilians cannot be subjected to summary trial, and that in trials a regular and established procedure should be respected.
On the insistence of Efendic, Kemo Duliman, a former judge of the Misdemeanor court, accepted the role of the chairman of the "summary court" and wrote "verdicts" for about 100 murdered Serbs.
Hadzo Efendic held the position of the head of the War Presidency until February 1993, when he went to Sarajevo to a new post. At the moment he is ambassador to Vienna.
One of the most dangerous and the most zealous executors of Efendic’s orders and of the decisions of the War Presidency was Ibro Merkez, chief of police in Gorazde. Immediately before the onset of armed conflicts, Merkez organized the separation of Moslem and Serb police forces, and after the war began he established the so-called "reserve police force", consisting of Moslem extremists and well-known criminals.
In some cases, murders of Serbs were investigated by so-called commissions, made up of representatives of the police and military or civilian courts. They would come out with false minutes, attempting to prove that these were not murder cases, only suicides.
1.3. Destruction of civilian objects and other property.
In addition to the already mentioned individual destruction of houses and apartments beonging to Serbs, Moslem soldiers, from the beginning of May to October 1992, massively destroyed Serb houses and other property in the villages of the county of Gorazde, without apparent military reason, killing those Serbs who did not succeded in escaping.
Houses were first looted and then, together with other buildings in rural households, burned to the ground. All livestock and cattle were stolen, while the land was given to Moslems, either refugees or citizens of Gorazde.
Out of 33 villages populated exclusively by Serbs, only one was not burned down (Sasici). The following villages were burned down:
Borak Brdo, Grabovica, Donja Sopotnica, Jelah, Jabuka, Crvljivac, Pijevac, Gornje Selo, Ustanovici, Konjibaba, Ostruzno, Ilino, Hranjen, Tresnjica, Gornja Brda, Zavrsje, Mirlici, Tupacici, Markovici, Bkvica, Bogovici, Mirusici, Ropovici, Crnci, Nekopi, Basabulici, Podkozara, Bucje, Vucetici, Orahovica and Kolijevke.
Serb houses were also set on fire in villages with mixed populations. According to some estimates, about 1,500 Serb houses and apartments were burned down in the villages and the town of Gorazde.
Other property belonging to Serbs, such as orchards and woods, was also destroyed. In Donja Sopotica, a three-acre sour cherry orchard belonging to Bosko Jankovic was cut down, while the wood belonging to Ugljesa Droca from the village of Podranjen was burned down.
Evidence: Committee files no. 36/95.
2. CRIMES AGAINST PRISONERS OF WAR
On August 24, 1992, on the relay "Trovrh" near Gorazde, a Moslem military unit led by Zaim Imamovic from Gorazde, who was assisted by Abdulselam Sijarcic and Mithat Drljevic, captured eight Serb soldiers:
1. Bosko Lasica,
2. Doko Lasica,
3. Njegos Ceh,
4. Kojo Vukovic,
5. Budo Todorovic,
6. Brano Todorovic,
7. Tijo Radovic,
8. Rato Klacar, all from Gorazde.
In this clash Moslem soldier used poison gas, which is not allowed.
Mithat Drljevic, with a group of soldiers, took the prisoners to a silo in the village of Kopaci, near Gorazde. There, Moslem soldiers beat and tortured the prisoners for several days. To escape further torture, prisoner Rato Klacar committed suicide by hanging. The remaining seven prisoners were taken to prison in Gorazde, where they were kept for several days and beaten every night until they would loss consciousness (other prisoners heard their screams), and after that they were taken back to the silo in Kopaci.
Several days later, all seven prisoners were led to the river Drina and shot under an old railway bridge. Their bodies were thrown onto a trash pile near the railroad tracks.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Mithat Drljevic, from Gorazde, Milivoja Vulovica str., no. 19, born on February 19, 1951 in Gorazde, from father Izet and mother Esma, assistant commanding officer of the Moslem military unit,
2. Muhidin Masic, from Gorazde, hamlet of Kopaci, a traffic policeman,
3. Enver Drljevic, from Gorazde,
4. Juso Drljevic, from Gorazde, hamlet of Kopaci, teacher,
5. Hamed Prses, from Gorazde.
Evidence: Minutes in the Committee files under nos. 370/94-3 and 440/94-3 and 9.
2.2. On September 16, 1992, in the place called Meremisje, near Visegrad, a Moslem military unit led by Ahmet Sejdic, captured four Serbs, including Slobodan Tanaskovic and Ljubinko Davidovic, members of the Territorial Defence of the Serb army.
Immediately after capturing them, the Moslems began to beat the prisoners with rifle butts, hands and feet, then tied them up and took them to the village of Mededa, where they were pushed into a small space under the stairs in a private house. There they were held for about two months, during which time, and particulary in the first 12 days, they were beaten with rubber batons, wooden sticks, feet, hands, rifle butts and other objects at hand.
Ljubinko Davidovic succumbed to injuries several days later. Moslem soldiers took him up to the first floor, beat him there and then threw him down the stairs, toward his fellow prisoners, where he lay motionless for a while and passed away. The following day his body was thrown into the Drina.
The prisoners were most severely beaten by Meho Kasapovic, who encouraged the others to do the same. The following Moslem soldiers took part in beating and mutilating the prisoners: Avdija Sabanovic, Nihad Dizdarevic, Dedzat Dizdarevic and Salko Mutapcic.
The torture of groups of prisoners was preceded by so-called interrogation, carried out by Avdija Sabanovic and Korcic. The prisoners’ hands were tied all the time, untied only rarely, to take some food or go to the lavatory. The prisoners were also exposed to various kinds of intimidation. They were given rifles and forced to turn them on each other. They were threatened with knives. One Moslem soldier cut the skin on the left side of the witness B’s breast with the point of his knife three times.
Beatings and physical tortures were of such intensity that the prisoners often fainted. They begged their tormentors to kill them and deliver them from pains.
The prisoners were famished. They were given about 100 gr. of bread daily and occasionally some boiled vegetables.
Sanitary conditions were most degrading - the prisoners were not allowed either to wash or bathe.
S., O. and Slobodan Tanaskovic were transported to Gorazde and locked in the basement of an old post office building. There they were beaten in the dark by unknown persons. Sometimes four to ten days would pass without any food. The basement with its broken windows was freezing in cold winter nights.
On January 6, 1993, the prisoner Slobodan Tanaskovic died of hunger, cold and physical abuse.
After one month in the basement, S. and O. were taken over to the prison camp located in the building of the Insurance company "Sarajevo" in Gorazde. They were put in the coal cellar.
On January 26, 1993, 24 captured Serb soldiers from Rudo were brought to the prison camp. The treatment they received will be dealt with under 2.3.
S. was exchanged on July 8, 1993. When examined in the Uzice hospital, it was found out that there were traces of four broken ribs on the left side of his chest, and a fracture of the sternum. There were numerous scars on his body, and his health was severely damaged. His blood count showed that he had only 1,200,000 leukocytes and his weight had dropped from 96 to 48 kg. He was not recognized even by his closest family.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Ahmet Sejdic, from Visegrad, age about 40, graduated from the School of Forestry, before the war employee in the company "Terpentia" in Visegrad, a commanding officer of the Moslem military unit,
2. Meho Kasapovic, age about 40, born in the surroundings of Visegrad, policeman before the war,
3. Avdija Sabanovic, from Visegrad, brother of Murat Sabanovic,
4. Nihad Dizdarevic,
5. Dedzat Dizdarevic,
6. Salko Mutapcic, nick-named "Salkan",
7. Karcic, from Visegrad, formerly employed by an insurance company.
Evidence: Minutes of the testimony of witnesses (594/94-12).
2.3. A group of Moslem soldiers headed by Ahmet Sejdic, on January 21 1993 captured a group of 25 Serb soldiers, on the hill Strmica and in the village of Dolovi near Rudo. Some of the sldiers were wounded. The list of their names follows:
1. Ljubinko Arsic,
2. Branko Arsic,
3. Slavko Pajovic,
4. Ranko Jovanovic,
5. Cedo Colakovic,
6. Tomislav Stanisic,
7. Jovan Tomic,
8. Vlado Tomic,
9. Milorad Cupovic,
10. Radivoje Topalovic,
11. Petar Kuburovic,
12. Milovan Durovic,
13. Dorde Cupovic,
14. Gojko Stupic,
15. Radoje Stanisic,
16. Zeljko Gazdic,
17. Milisav Vilaret,
18. Milosav Simic,
19. Desimir Simic,
20. Zoran Stjepanovic,
21. Vladimir Sjepovic,
22. Ilija Drobnjak,
23. Radovan Drobnjak,
24. Radovan Bogojevic, all from Rudo and near-by villages,
25. Bogdanovic Zoran, from Arilje.
Moslem soldiers, in capturing the Serbs, used tear gas.
Since all the listed soldiers were not captured at the same time, the commanding officer of the Moslem military unit Sejdic used the already captured soldiers to capture others. He forced the soldiers T. and S. to urge the other soldiers to surrender by using a bullhorn.
Immediately after disarming the prisoners, the Moslem soldiers tied their hands behind their backs, took away their personal belongings and began with threats to kill them, with harsh insults and torture, inflicting on them serious injuries and pain.
When one Moslem soldier saw that G. had the emblem of the Republic of Srpska on his cap, he hit him on the head, took his cap off and threw it into the fire. While taking them to prison, the Moslem beat G. and other soldiers with rifle butts, hands and feet, or held knives under their throats.
As soon as the prisoner Radivoje Topalovic was disarmed, a Moslem soldier hit him on the head with a rifle butt, so that he fainted. While still unconscious, he was stripped of his coat, jacket and sweater.
After capturing T., the Moslem soldiers took away his wind-breaker. From another soldier T. they took a pocket watch, military blouse and wind-breaker. D. and K., who were the last ones to surrender, were hit by Moslem soldiers with rifle butts, hands and feet and thrown on the ground, where they tread on them.
E. was robbed of his wind-breaker, and while being transported with his hands tied behind his back, a Moslem soldier swore at him for being a Serb, and hit him with a rifle butt across his ribs and on his stomach, kidneys and legs.
The heavily wounded prisoner Zoran Bogdanovic was put first into a truck, while the remaining prisoners were piled up over him, so that he soon died.
Ahmet Sejdic used the captured Serb soldiers for clearing mines from a tunnel under the hill of Donja Strmica on the Rudo-Brodar- Mededa road. Two mines exploded and two of the prisoners were injured: Milorad Cupovic suffered injuries to his left leg and left eye, while Branko Arsic was also hurt. They were both treated in the hospital in Gorazde.
In a small van which transported the prisoners, Moslem soldiers forced the prisoner D. to sing Moslem songs along with them, hitting him all the time on the temple. They also hit the wounded prisoner S., who was unconscious.
When the van stopped, the soldier who earlier beat D. put one end of an iron hook into the prisoners jacket and the other into the van roof, while sharpening his knife all the time.
A girl in fatigues asked D. whether he was circumcised, and when he said that he was not, she threatened to cut his member off right away. Other Moslems prevented her from doing this, saying that she could do it later.
As a results of manyblows, D.’ s jaws and mouth were hurt and he refused to sing any more Moslem songs. Then the girl in fatigues brought to his dry mouth a glass full of water. The soldier who hit him earlier struck the glass with the palm of his hand. It broke and injured D. on the nose, in the area of his right eye and loosened two teeth on both sides of the jaw. The injury on his nose turned into a permanent scar.
The prisoners, tied up all the time, were taken to Mededa and put into a private house, in a very small space under the staircase where they could neither sit nor lie down. They suffered from cold as it was winter time and there were no doors on the house, only iron bars. There they spent five days, getting only one meager meal a day.
The Moslem soldiers took prisoners out for interrogation, hitting them and robbing them of all remaining valuable things. When the Moslem soldier by the name of Topalovic heard, while interrogating a prisoner, that he had the same last name he threw him on the floor and started to hit him heavily all over his body.
The Moslem soldiers used to come at night drunk and to beat the prisoners and force them to sing Moslem songs. T. was hit on his head, arms and legs, as well as on his body.
One soldier hit C in the mouth with his fist, knocked out one of his teeth and cut his lips. T. was beaten with rifle butts, hands and feet all over his body, particularly in the area of the kidneys. S. received the same treatment.
A wounded Moslem soldier hit S. with his crutch and his fists on the head.
When the prisoner D. was returning from interrogation, the Moslem soldier Avdija Sabanovic hit him on the neck, so that he tumbled down the stairs.
The prisoners’ belongings were confiscated without any receipts given to them. Mirsad Dervisevic took away prisoners’ watches and other small objects.
The prisoners’ boots were taken away and they were given some old shoes instead. S. had his jacket taken away, T. his wrist watch, V. a silver chain with pendant, and P, a "Nivada" wrist watch.
On 26 January, 1993, the prisoners were transported to Gorazde, to a prison located in the building of the Insurance company "Sarajevo". They were thrown into the basement , actually into the coal cellar. Only then were their hands untied.
On receiving the prisoners in the camp, head of the guard Sacir Causevic said: "What is this shit doing here? You should have killed them right away."
The prisoners stayed in the camp until they were exchanged in October of 1994.
They were interrogated again by the military police who threatened and beat them mercilessly, causing them serious injuries.
While interrogating Milorad Cupovic, who, due to injuries suffered while clearing mines in the tunnel, walked on crutches, a military policeman threatened him with a knife, ordering him to speak the thruth. Dissatisfied with Cupovic’s answer, he asked another policeman to hit Cupovic, but he refused to obey. Then the interrogator hit Cupovic with his fist on the face. Cupovic fell from the chair onto the floor and could not get up. Deputy camp commander Ramiz Micivod kicked him several times and lifted him up. The interrogating policeman continued to hit Cupovic with his fists. He broke almost all the teeth in his upper jaw.
The prisoners suffered from hunger. During the first months they were given only one meager meal a day. The hunger was so great that the prisoners, when taken out for a walk, used to pick up dandelions and nettle and eat them. Due to scarce food intake , some prisoners had bowel movements only weeks after having been imprisoned.
Later on, when the mission of the International Red Cross arrived, the situation improved somewhat. The prisoners were allowed to receive packages, but the camp personnel took whatever they wanted out of these packages.
The prisoners slept on planks, placed on concrete floor. Later on, through the Red Cross mission, they were given mattresses. The room was not heated, although it was winter time. They performed their bodily functions in pails in the same cellar in which they slept. It was not possible to maintain even the most elementary personal hygiene.
The prisoners, with long beards and hair, were taken before foreign TV teams and presented as chetniks.
S. was asked through an interpreter how many Moslems he had killed.
Three months after they were captured, the prisoners were given a chance to shave and cut their hair.
They were forced not only to maintain the building, but also to cut the trees in the woods. At first they themselves pulled an ox cart loaded with wood. On one occasion a tree trunk roled down and hit E., injuring him seriously.
In April 1994, the Moslem soldiers fired through the window of the cellar where the prisoners were stationed from an automatic rifle. E. was wounded when a bullet richocheted and hit him in the right hip, causing severe bleeding.
In September 1994, a Moslem policeman by the name of Hasovic shot through the window of the cellar, but none of the prisoners was hurt.
The investigating court officer Mirsad Basic, at the begining of October 1994, came drunk to the cellar and forced the guard to let him visit the prisoners. He pointed his gun at the prisoners, demanding that they salute him in the Moslem way, and calling them "Serb trash".
Very often they were offended and insulted by the guards, who cursed at them and called them chetniks. S. was hit by a guard in the ribs while he was cleaning the toilet.
As a result of hunger, physical and mental torture and atrocious living conditions, the prisoners’ health was heavily damaged and their body weight cut in half.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Ahmed Sejdic, from Visegrad, officier in charge of the Moslem military unit,
2. Topalovic, a Moslem soldier,
3. Avdija Sabanovic, a Moslem soldier,
4. Mirsad Dervisevic, a Moslem soldier,
5. Ramiz Micivod, deputy chief of the prison camp in Gorazde,
6. "Amidza" Hasovic, from Cajnice, a Moslem military policeman,
7. Mirsad Basic, a court investigating officier in Gorazde,
8. Causevic Sacir, head of the guard in the prison camp in Gorazde,
9. Emin Imamovic, chief of military police and prison camp in Gorazde, before the war employed in the State Security Service,
10. Himzo Selimovic, first deputy and later chief of the prison camp,
11. Mensudin Brodaric, deputy chief of the prison camp,
12. Sukret Mehmedspahic, commander of military police in Gorazde,
13. Munib Cimpo, guard in the prison camp in Gorazde,
14. Enko Hadzic, guard in the prison camp,
15. Hajrudin Klepuh, guard in the prison camp,
16. Fehim Sobo, guard in the prison camp,
17. Emir Kazic, guard in the prison camp,
18. Sifet Hodo, guard in the prison camp,
19. Zulfo Dzanic, guard in the prison camp,
20. Edo Uhota, guard in the prison camp,
21.Fehim Spaho, guard in the prison camp (all guards from 13-21 used to work in the Foca prison before the war)
Evidence: Minutes of testimonies of the witnesses in the Committee files under nos. 594/ 94-1 through 12, as well as medical records.
3. DESTRUCTION OF CHURCHES, GRAVEYARDS, CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
In addition to destroying Serb property on a large scale, Moslem soldiers also destroyed Serb churches, graveyards, and cultural and historical monuments. The churches in Donja Sopotnica and in Gorazde were burned to the ground and in some villages graveyards were demolished.
3.1. In the first half of September 1992, members of the Moslem so-called "territorial defence" burned in the village Donja Sopotnica, county of Gorazde, the church of St. George, built by Herceg (Duke) Stjepan in 1446, and which, as a cultural and historical monument of the Serb people, had been put under state protection. From 1521 to 1529 this church was the seat of the first printing press in this part of the Balkans.
On the same occasion the Moslem soldiers demolished the Serb graveyard which was positioned immediately behind the church. They ruined tombstones, dug up graves, opened tombs and desecrated the remnants of prestigious Serb families.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Ismet Kulovic, from Kopaca (Gorazde), nick-named "Njemacka", mother’s name Damka,
2. Meho Drljevic, from Kopaca (Gorazde).
Evidence: The Committee files, Nos. 3709/4, 36/95 and 193/94.
3.2. In December 1992, in the place called Jabuka (county of Gorazde) a group of Moslem soldiers led by Amer Kamenica overturned at the local Serb graveyard all tombstones belonging to the families Blagojevic, Gavrilovic, Ikonic, etc.
While knocking down the tombstones, Kamenica invited all Moslems present to come closer and learn how to destroy everything belonging to Serbs.
On the same occasion, Moslem soldiers overturned the monument to Serb soldiers killed in the World War I.
Data on the perpetrators:
1. Mesa Redzovic, from Gorazde,
2. Jasko Islamovic, from Gorazde,
3. Suad Pozder, from Gorazde,
Evidence: The Committee files, under Nos. 370/94 and 183/94.
4. SUMMARY
Many circumstances point to the genocidal character of the most of the reported crimes.
Testimonies of numerous witnesses show that in Gorazde an atmosphere of annihilating hatred towards Serbs had been created. It was demonstred by threats of murder and warnings that there was no room for Serbs in Gorazde. The creation of this atmosphere was inspired from the highest level, supported by the idea of creating a Moslem state. This atmosphere bred individual and mass - organized - acts of crime directed at the annihilation of the people which presented an obstacle to the creation of a Moslem state, intended to include the area where the crimes have been committed.
Many planned executions of Serb civilians, performed by members of Moslem authorities and army, without any trial, could be explained only by the motive of genocide. Decisions on killing Serb civilians in Gorazde were made by the War Presidency, headed by Hadzo Efendic, mayor of Gorazde. The executions were later, on his order, covered by "verdicts" of the so-called civilian summary court.
Only genocidal motives can explain the killing of Serb civilians who failed to escape the villages, regardless of their sex and age. The same applies to the killing of prisoners.
There were also "silent" but equally annihilating killings - by physical torture, deprivation of food, creation of conditions in which people deteriorate phisically and mentally (in jails, in civilian and prison camps).
The prisoners in the civilian concentration camp in the Mose Pijade str. were not allowed to hide in the corridor or basement during heavy shelling - so that they would get killed or injured.
The intention behind the attempt to take the prisoners out of the camp in the Nedinovic house and bring them to the bridge in Gorazde, was to kill them on the bridge and accuse the Serb army of the crime.
Burning of Serb churches and villages, demolition of graveyards, represent the destruction of the material and spiritual foundation of Serb life in the region where the crimes were committed.
And, finally, genocidal motives were sometimes publicly declared: Murat Sabanovic, on leaving Visegrad, addressed the soldiers by warning them that those not ready to slaughter and kill Serbs should leave. When he came to Gorazde, he used a bullhorn to urge Moslems to kill Serbs.
Hadzo Efendic, as the main instigator of criminal activities against Serbs in the region of the county of Gorazde, was rewarded by an ambasadorial post in Vienna.