COMMITTEE FOR THE COLLECTION OF
DATA ON CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST
HUMANITY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
02 No.21/96
November 11,1996
The Camp in the Silo in Tarčin
May 1992 - January 1996
Tarčin is a suburban settlement, about 25 km from the center of Sarajevo. Tarčin proper, which was the seat of the local community, had about 2,000 inhabitants before the war, of which Serbs accounted for some 10%, Croats for 5% and the rest were Muslims. In the vicinity there were several Serb villages and seve
ral mixed villages, but most of the villages were purely Muslim.In the Second World War, Muslims and Croats from the area of Tarčin belonged to ustashi formations. In that period some 50 Serbs were killed and another 50 taken away to the camp of Jasenovac,
never to return.In August 1992, a reserve militia station was formed in Tarčin. It consisted of about 180-200 Muslims and only 1 or 2 Serbs of their choice. The commander of the station, Tufo Refo, had been a policeman in Sarajevo before war broke out. At the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1992, the reserve militia distributed weapons to the Muslim population in Tarčin.
During the electoral campaign a large number of Muslim nationalistic posters appeared in Tarčin, as well as graffiti of a denigratin
g nature on the walls of Serb houses. One of them read: "The SDS will wear fezzes".When the conflicts started in Sarajevo in April 1992, the Muslims put all the Serbs in the area of Tarčin under intensified control and surveillance through the reserve militia of Tarčin.
At the beginning of May 1992, the Muslims suddenly started emptying the silo in the center of Tarčin and distributing the wheat to the population. They emptied some 10 bins containing wheat.
On May 11, 1992, Muslims attacked and took the YPA barracks in Krupa, the commune of Hadžići, about 8 km from Tarčin. They put the captured soldiers in the empty grain bins in the silo. It was then that the silo for grain in Tarčin near Pazarić was transformed into a camp for Serbs.
The first prisoners of this camp were the captured 11 reserve soldiers from the barracks of the former YPA in Zovik and the “Žunovica” barracks in Hadžići.
As of May 20, the Muslims started bringing in Serbs for what they called "informative talks" - after which they took them to the silo and did not release them. At the beginning of June 1992, the incarceration of Serbs from the territories of the local communities of Tarčin and Pazarić in the silo in Tarčin took on massive proportions.
The camp operated throughout the civil war in B&H and the last prisoners left it at the end of January 1996, when the inmates were liberated pursuant to the Dayton Agreement.
It is estimated that about 550 Serbs passed through this camp, among them some ten women of whom two remained in the camp until it was dismantled.
The first commander of the camp was Bećir Hujić and his deputy was Halil Čović. In mid-1994, Hujić was relieved of office and replaced by Čović, an inveterate nationalist, who used to say ironically in front of the prisoners: “Only the silo can save the Serbs” (translator’s note: reference to an old Serb motto: Only accord can save the Serbs). He kept this post until the camp was closed at the end of January 1996.
The camp was under the direct command of the 109th Mountain Brigade of the B&H army led by Nezir Kazić. From 1995 the camp was under the command of the XIVth Division of the army of the so- called B&H, led by Zaim Imamović, who was later killed. The headquarters of these units were located in the immediate vicinity of the camp. Their commanders frequently came to the camp in person and were aware of what was happening in it.
In the compound of the headquarters of the XIVth Division there was a heliport at which Alija Izetbegović often landed. It has not been established whether he actually entered the camp grounds, but he certainly knew what was going on in it. This is confirmed by a piece of information that the inmates got from representatives of the International Red Cross, namely that they had had to see Alija Izetbegović in person so as to obtain permission to visit the camp
in Tarčin.All the cells in this camp were 9.50 x 4.50 meters. Their height was between 5 and 5.50 m and each wall was flanked by a concrete ledge about 50 cm wide. The guards walked along this ledge keeping an eye on the cells and on the corridors also.
The cells had neither windows nor electricity and the only pale light came from the upper level, about 10 m high, where there was a small window under the roof. It could not be seen from the cells.
The prisoners were never taken out of the overcrowded cells but spent the entire day there. They were allowed their first walk only in November 1993, but even that was not on a regular basis. It depended on the mood of the guard on duty.
At the beginning, the inmates received only one meal a day. It consisted of 4-5 spoons of an undefinable, insipid liquid. A group of five inmates would get a small bowl and a single spoon which was never washed and which circulated from cell to cell as the food was distributed. They also got a loaf of bread weighing between 350 and 500 grams (its weight was always different and it was of very poor quality). It was first shared among 9 and later among 12 prisoners, so that each got a very small slice.
The second meal - "breakfast" was introduced only on July 12, 1992. It consisted of a small bowl of milk shared among five inmates, so that each practically got a sip of lumpy powdered milk which could not dissolve in cold water.
On October 14, 1992, Petko Krstić succumbed to the poor food and the consequences of beating. The thir
d meal was introduced after that, on October 19, 1992 and was practically distributed immediately after lunch, as there was no electricity and it could not be meted out in the dark. It consisted of some weak "supplemental food".Even these minute quantities of food were denied the inmates in June 1992. On one occasion they got no food for three days and on another for two.
The sole prisoners of the camp in Tarčin were Serbs, mainly peasants from the surroundings, young men attending school or younger workers. There were also some intellectuals and a number of elderly men.
All of them were civilians, except for the first ll reserve soldiers. The imprisoned civilians had not taken part in the war nor had been members of any armed formations.
The age of the inmates ranged between 14 and 85. The youngest was Leo Kapetanović, not even 14, and the eldest Vaso Šarenac, born in 1908 and completely senile. He had no se
nse of either of time or place.Eleven women, who were in a separate cell, were also incarcerated in the silo.
In mid-1992 the camp was full to capacity and contained about 382 inmates.
The inmates were not taken away to do any work during 1992. It only started in later years.
The Muslim authorities hid the camp in Tarčin from international organizations. It was first visited in mid-November 1992 by a “Sky News” TV crew. They were shown cell No.1 and the prisoners got half a loaf of bread three times that day (“so that they had their fill for the first time”).
The International Red Cross paid its first visit to the camp on November 26, 1992, led by Mark de Perot of Swiss nationality. He was accompanied by a Muslim interpreter who introduced himself to the inmates as Suad from Mostar. Because the interpreter was a Muslim the inmates were afraid to speak openly. After touring the camp, Perot publicly told the inmates that he had visited hundreds of camps in his life, but that he had never seen anything worse than Tarčin.
Thanks to the International Red Cross, as of December 3, 1992 the inmates started getting a lunch package every other day, they got two blankets each, and the water ration was increased to 10 liters per day per cell.
On December 29,1992, 137 prisoners from the camp in Tarčin were transferred to the Krupa camp in Zovik and approximately the same number were transferred from Krupa to Tarčin.
From April 15 to October 10, 1993, a group of 30 inmates was taken away to Hrasnica where they dug trenches night and day on the first lines of battle. In 1995 they also dug trenches at the Jewish Cemetery in Sarajevo and at Stup.
This camp was closed on January 27,1996, pursuant to the Dayton Agreement and under the pressure of international factors.
1
The following Serbs were killed in this camp or succumbed to torture and starvation, or were killed during forced labour on the first lines of battle:
1. Goran Andrić, a mechanic from the village of Korča near Tarčin, born on October 22, 1962 in Korča, to father Vojislav and mother Jelenka, nee Ljujić, unmarried, killed on August 16,1993 in Donji Kotarac near Hrasnica, by a shell in a trench, while on forced labour. (witness 718/96-24)
2. Gojko Varagić, from the village of Donja Bioča, about 60 years old, brought to the camp at the end of June 1992, released on December 20, 1992 on account of complete exhaustion. He was carried out of the camp in a blanket and died a
t home several days later.3. Ranko Varagić, a technician from Donja Bioča, born on July 17, 1969 in Sarajevo, to father Radoslav and mother Anka, nee Vukočav. Publicly shot on April 22, 1993, by the guard Fejad, in Hrasnica, after four inmates had made th
eir escape. (witness 718/96-20)4. Ranko Vitor, called “Nane”, born on January 31, 1959, to father Vojin and mother Jelenka, nee Pandurović, driver in the Coca-Cola plant, from the village of Korča near Tarčin, about 35 years old, killed at Mt. Igman on Ma
y 25, 1993, while on forced labour. (witness 718/96-11)5. Bogdan Vujović, a retired railway worker, from the village of Doljani, near Pazarić, between 65 and 70 years of age, succumbed to the consequences of beating on June 6,1992. He was the first victim in the camp in Tarčin.
6. Jadranko Glavaš, an economist from Sarajevo, about 28 years old. Taken from the camp in February 1993 to Mt. Igman for forced labour. There he was beaten and then his throat was slit by Nedžad Hodžić, member of a Muslim unit led by Zulfikar Ališpago, called “Zuka”. He was killed because he had the same surname as the chief of police in Ilidža with whom he was not related at all.
7. Andjelko Golub, M.S. in mechanical engineering, from the village of Odžaci near Tarčin, born on March 6, 1962 in Odžak, to father Dimšo and mother Velenka, nee Vitor, killed while on forced labour on Mt. Igman on May 25, 1993.
(witness 718/96-23)8. Dragiša Davidović, a technician in the municipal transportation enterprise, from Sarajevo, about 35 ye
ars old, killed while on forced labour on Mt. Igman in 1993.9. Obren Kapetina, from Deovići near Pazarić, about 64 years old. Became seriously ill in the “Silo”. Died because no medical care was extended to him and of starvation in cell No. 6 on November
8,1992. (witness 718/96-12)10. Slaviša Kapetina, a student of economics in his fourth school-year, from the village of Zeović near Pazarić, born on January 22, 1963 in Sarajevo, to father Gojko and mother Slavojka, nee Samouković, shot on April 22, 1993,
from an automatic rifle by the guard Fuad, because 4 inmates had escaped while digging trenches at Hrasnica. (witness 718/96-16)11. Momo Kovačević, secretary of the local community in Sokolovića kolonija, about 55 years old, severely wounded by a shell wh
en digging trenches at Hrasnica on July 28, 1993, about 4.30 p.m. and died because no medical care was extended.12. Milan Krstić, a freight carrier from Raštelica, born on October 10, 1950 in Domašinec, to father Vojin and mother Jelena, nee Miholjac, pub
licly shot on April 22, after 4 prisoners escaped. He was singled out from the remaining group of inmates by a member of the military police called Fedja and shot from a pistol. Then the witness 386/96-29 was ordered to remove the body. His mother received a death certificate attesting to the fact that his death was caused by a rifle bullet.13. Petko Krstić, from Raštelica, born on August 27, 1959 in Raštelica, to father Ljubomir and mother Stojanka, nee Savić, married, has a child, the commune of Hadžići, succumbed to the consequences of torture and starvation in the camp on October 14, 1992. (witness 718/96-14)
14. Svetozar Krstić, a pensioner, born in 1928 in Do, commune of Hadžići, to father Pavle and mother Danica, beaten up by the guards, and released in December 1992. He succumbed to the consequences of the beating shortly thereafter. At the hospital in Tarčin, his corpse was dumped at the refuse behind the hospital building.
(witness 718/96-21)15. Slobodan Krstić, called “Mišo”, an engine driver from Raštelica, born in 1956 in Donja Raštelica, the commune of Hadžići, f. Djordje, killed on June 1
6, 1993 while digging trenches in Hrasnica.16. Milinko Milanović, a postman in Hadžići, from the village of Deovići near Pazarić, born on January 1, 1943 in Deovići, to father Radoje and mother Ana, nee Njegovan, married, two children. He was brought to the Tarčin camp on June 9, 1992. Became severely ill as a consequence of torture and hunger. Died on February 17, 1993 in the hospital in Suhodol, where he had been transferred in a state of complete exhaustion.
(witness 718/96-22)17. Slobodan Nikolićć, a mechanical engineering technician from Maglaj, lived in Sokolovića kolonija, employed with the “Famos” enterprise, about 32 years old, severely wounded by a shell when digging trenches, on July 28, 1993, about 4.30 p.m. and since the nurse Sanela was no
t allowed to extend medical aid he died.18. Branislav Njegovan, electrician, from the village of Češće near Tarčin, born on November 5, 1959 in Tarčin, to father Stevan and mother Jovanka, nee Kovačević, severely wounded while on forced labour on Mt. Igman
on May 26, 1993. Before long he died as a result of the sustained wound. (witness 718/96-18)19. Milomir Petrić, a train despatcher from Pazarić, born on October 25, 1962 in Ramići, commune of Hadžići, to father Slobodan and mother Goša, nee Andrić, kille
d while on forced labour on Mt. Igman on June 28, 1993. (witness 718/96-17)20. Zdravko Samouković, from Pazarić, about 21 years old, contracted tuberculosis in prison and died on April 1, 1994 because he received no medical aid.
21. Dane Čićić, from the village of Ramić near Pazarić, born in 1956, killed during forced labour while digging trenches on the first lines of battle in Sarajevo in August 1995. He had been handcuffed and bound with a cable.
22. Vaso Šarenac, from Lokve near Pazarić, born in 1908,
succumbed to torture and hunger in mid-December 1992. (witness 718/96-17)23. Vojo Šuvajilo, a traffic policeman from Odžak near Tarčin, born on September 25, 1967 in Odžak, to father Dimtrije and mother Slavojka, nee Golub, killed while on forced labour
in Hrasnica on the first lines of battle on July 18, 1993. He died on the hands of the witness 286/96 29. (witness 718/96-15)
2
The former inmates of the camp in Tarčin testify to the events in the camp:
2.1. The witness 407/96, a jurist from Hadžići
“... I was taken to cell no. 7. I was not told why I had been arrested, I got no court decision on my arrest, nor was I interrogated. Only in May 1992 did Enver Dupovac bring the lawyer Seimović from Hadžići, whom he introduced as the military prosecutor under whose jurisdiction we would fall, but I never saw him again.
I got the first beating on June 21, 1992, when an unknown young man in uniform hit me on the nose, knocking me out. When I came to I was lying in the cell and my nose was bleeding.
When I arrived there were four inmates in the cell, but later arrests intensified and new prisoners were brought in, so that on June 15, 1992 there were a total of 37 of us in a cell 42 sq.m. large.
I was allowed my first bath on August 12,1992, after two and a half months of imprisonment, with water from a barrel, and the second one in January 1993.
I was arrested when it was warm, and I was wearing only summer clothes. I could never wash them. We were never taken out of the cells, and they were overcrowded. We were taken out for our first walk in November 1993, but that was not regular and depended on the mood of the guards.
Due to the poor food, which was sometimes denied us, I got pneumonia. When I was taken to the improvised infirmary my temperature was 39.6 degrees Centigrade, and I weighed 34 kg. I weighed 77 kg when I was arrested. Thus I had lost 43 kg in two and a half months. I could not defecate for 37 days and I know of some cases who could not defecate for as many as 52 days. When I had pneumonia I was unconscious. A medical technician administered infusion and this brought me to.
In addition, we were lice-infested, and 20 or more lice would stick to my hand when I passed it through my hair.
The conditions in the camp were such that we all would have certainly died if the International Red Cross had not come to visit us, for the first time on November 26,1992, when I was registered.
One of the things I remember in particular is the mass beating on June 4, 1992. It was Thursday, the Serbian Ascension Day. The camp warden Bećir Hujić came to our cell at about 8.30 a.m. and told us to hand over all the things we had except the clothes on us. He took away the various small articles individuals had kept on them in a bag. He told us that members of the Rijeka corps were paying us a visit. Around noon Enver Dupovac appeared, followed by some 30 uniformed men, including one woman. Some wore uniforms with HOS insignia and others HDZ insignia, some officer’s insignia on their chests such as those worn by the Croatian army. Among them was also a group of Muslims from Sanjak, which I knew from sight, having seen them trafficking in foreign currency in Baščaršija in Sarajevo. They first started insulting us, saying that we Serbs were dirty pigs, that we stank.
Then screams were heard from cell No. 1 where the beating had started. They first gave a Serb a plank and forced him to beat his comrades in the cell. Then they ordered all the inmates to take off their shoes and while they were bent over and kneeling they hit each of them 30 or 40 times on the soles of their feet. Then they beat them with nightsticks on their outstretched hands, and then with electricity cables. The screams and moans coming from the neighboring cells were horrible and it was awful to listen to them.
Finally they came to our cell. Among them I recognized five uniformed young men from Sanjak, who resold foreign currency and who were wearing "green beret" uniforms.
In our cell they first started beating L.K. He was beaten by at least five of them, with rifle butts, their booted feet and he had to spread his arms lying down on the concrete floor and they trod with their booted feet on his fingers and fists. They also beat him with some poles they had brought along. They knocked him to the ground and then a German who did not speak Serbian approached and with a large knife cut him on the nape of the neck letting forth a stream of blood. After that he fainted, although he was an unusually strong man.
Then a big man from Sanjak grabbed me by the hair, pulled me forward and kicked me in the chest. Two others started hitting me on the chest and back with their rifle butts. The German cut the leather jacket I was wearing to shreds with a knife. I got about 10 strong blows before I fainted. I do not know how long I was unconscious.
When I regained consciousness I felt that someone was lying over me. It was M.S. who was unconscious and dripping blood all over my face. When I looked about me I saw an awful scene. Everyone was lying around me unconscious, some were slowly coming to and moaning with pain. All of them were disfigured and bloody. No one could move.
I felt awful pain, I could not stand up, my feet were numb and I barely managed to raise myself to a sitting position.
Only the following day did we recover a bit and could talk and recount what had taken place. We were all swollen up. O.M. could not speak, his teeth had been knocked out, his eyes closed, and nose broken. L.K. was lying in a puddle of blood, surely over 2 liters, his back and chest were black all over and he bled all that day and the next.
A nurse by the name of Mira came only after three or four days had passed. She dressed L.K.’s head. However, she did not come again for more than two weeks so that the wound festered. Maggots appeared in the wound on the nape of his neck. R. took out about 30 maggots from the wound. At about the time when the maggots appeared on his wound they had made him spill a bucket of feces on his head.
At that time they told that same L.K. that his house had been burned. Hidajet šahić told him that. When L.K. asked about his mother, an older woman who had stayed at home, he calmly told him
that she had been burned together with the house, adding: "what do you need a mother for, when you don’t have a house".I could not get up or move for a full 15 days.
After these events which took place on June 4, three of the men from Sanjak continued coming for the following ten days and beating some of us. One of them wore leather gloves with studs, without fingers which he used to beat the inmates. They used to tell us "all this was nothing, just you wait for Juka Prazina to come".
Many Muslims from the surroundings came to the silo for wheat and the camp management and guards let anyone who wanted to beat us come into our cells and do so.
After June 4, 1992 there were no more mass beatings, but we were beaten individually.
They forced us to pray like the Muslims do. This happened whenever a guard felt like it. We all had to kneel down, spread our feet and touch the ground with our foreheads for half an hour at a time. We also had to say "We believe in Allah".
One of the things they made us do, especially the guards Hidajet Sahić and Memišević, was to stand to attention for 4 to five hours until we were completely exhausted. Bećir Hujić once saw individuals fainting and asked who had ordered that. However, it continued.
I was interrogated only once, at the end of July 1992. The report consisted only of half a page and they had written down my answers to some general questions.
Since mid-October 1992, they allowed us to receive packages, weighing 5 kg, once a fortnight. However, this was a privilege only for those from Tarčin, but not for us from Pazarić. The guards took all the nicer things from the packages for themselves.
When the International Red Cross visited us for the second time on December 3, 1992, they told us that we would all be freed and exchanged for the "Manjača” camp, and that the IRC had hired two ships for that purpose, to transport us from Ploče to Zelenika. However, during their third visit, around December 20, Mr. Perot told us that the Serbs had closed Manjača and that only about 100 prisoners from the camp in Zenica had been exchanged. He also told us that our liberation from Tarčin was being prevented by Alija Izetbegović personally...”
2.2. The witness 806/95 33 states:
“... I spent 3 years and five months in the camp in Tarčin and was not taken to
court during that time. I did get the indictment, but there was no trial nor did I get a decision on detention. The indictment, which they had given to me, was taken away by the prison authorities before I was exchanged.Serbs are kept in this camp on no legal grounds, and only a small number of them, about 18, were convicted, but even after having served their sentences they were kept on in the camp.
I was released from the camp on October 21,1995. At that time there were still 130 Serbs imprisoned in the camp, including two women..."
2.3. The witness 109/96 was 21 when he was taken to this camp in 1992. He says:
“... Before the war I lived in a village near Tarčin. On May 30,1992 members of the Muslim army and police raided our village and started sear
ching Serb houses allegedly looking for weapons.They arrested 38 of us from the village and took us to the culture center in Tarčin where they locked us up and beat us. The beating lasted from 3.00 to 8.00 p.m. that day, and then they took us to the camp in Tarčin.
When I came to the camp there were 108 Serbs imprisoned there.
There were 32 cells in the silo. We slept on the bare concrete floor for two months, and later they gave us wooden pallets.
For the first 45 days we got only one meal a day - a small slice of bread and a little broth which was sour, insipid and thin. Later we got food twice a day. Because of the poor food we were all quite exhausted. The weaker ones started dying of hunger. Six or seven mostly older men, died in that period. The Muslims used to let those on the verge of death go home and these people actually died after a few days. Petko Krstić, 27 years old, from Tarčin died of hunger in the camp. After his death they started giving us food three times a day...”
When I was imprisoned I weighed 78 kg, and when I was released only 45.
"... The rooms in which we were held were very small, and there were a lot of us. It was stuffy. Instead of a toilet we had to use pails in the corners of the rooms in which we slept.
Women were also incarcerated in this camp, I think a total of 15 of them..."
I was registered by the International Red Cross only on November 26, 1992, when the living conditions had improved a bit.
"... I vividly remember an event which took place at the beginning of June 1992, when about 20 Muslim soldiers came to the camp and beat us all up.
After the beating we were all ordered to line up in front of the wall of the cell and from above, from a ledge on which they could walk, they urinated on us.
They forced us to wash our faces with urine from the pail we used for that purpose, and when M.K. refused he was brutally beaten up and even his jawbone was broken.
We were beaten every day. They used to take us out into the corridor and beat us there.
In 1993, a group of 140 inmates from Tarčin was transferred to Krupa to a camp in a military arsenal, and from there sent out to do labour on the first battle lines. The Muslim army used us as a live shield. Twenty-one inmates were killed during forced labour on the frontline.
During my stay in the camp in the silo I was given no oral explanation or written document on the reasons for my arrest. Two days after being imprisoned I made a statement before an investigating judge and after that I received no decision on detention. At the beginning of 1994 I got an indictment and a second one at the beginning of 1995. However, no trial ever took place.
Some of the inmates were taken for trial to the school in Tarčin. There they were tried by a judge from Zenica, called Mladen Veseljak. All were sentenced to 2-3 years of imprisonment. Even after they served their sentences, they were kept on in the camp. During trial they did not have legal counsel or any other form of legal assistance.
During 1994 I and the other inmates were sent out every day to do hard physical labour - fell trees and load them on trucks.
We were forced to build a heliport in front of the camp. A helicopter of the Muslim army once landed there and Alija Izetbegović, Haris Silajdžić and other B&H officials disembarked.
On July 3, 1995 I was taken out of the camp to work near the Gušić hall in Sarajevo, where we dug trenches and bunkers for the Muslim army. We were all tied to a rope on that occasion. I was severely wounded then, hit in both legs, arms and body. I lost my right leg and the left is badly damaged. I was transferred to the military hospital in Sarajevo, where I stayed 100 days after which I was taken back to the silo, again returned to hospital and exchanged on October 29,1995..."
2.4. The witness 44/96 states:
"... I was born in a village near Tarčin, where I completed elementary school. I finished secondary school in Sarajevo, after which I got a job in the institute in Hadžići where I worked until war broke out. I went to work until May 9,1992, when the bus was intercepted by Muslims in Pazarić and returned back to Tarčin. After that I did not go to work any longer and I lived in the village until June 4, 1992, when a Muslim militia patrol took me in, as they said, for interrogation. I was taken to the culture center in Tarčin, where I was interrogated for 5 hours by Refik Tufo, who had been an active policeman before the war. He asked me to tell him about my connexions with members of the Serbian Democratic Party.
From there I was taken to the camp in the silo, put in cell No. 5 which contained 7 or 8 persons, who had been beaten up and were lying on the floor.
Only half an hour later, three Muslim soldiers in uniforms and carrying weapons entered the cell. Among them was "Mineralni" who ordered me to put my hands on the floor and then kicked me in the head with his booted feet.
Then they took me out into the corridor and ordered me to stand in front of the wall with my arms upraised, face to the wall, and they beat me with nightsticks. They beat me for about 20 minutes before taking me back to the cell and ordering me to take off my jeans, shoes and jacket, which they took away.
Only the following morning did I see the state of the inmates in my room. All of them had been beaten and could not even get up and go to the corner to the pail which we used as a toilet.
The guards always found a reason to take us out into the corridor and beat us there. L.K. was brought to our cell one day. He had a knife wound. It had not healed and once they spilled a pail of feces on his wound. They urinated on it. That is why later it got infested with maggots.
We got food once or twice a day, a slice of bread and some sort of insipid soup. My uncle, also imprisoned in Tarčin, once saw soldiers urinating in the soup before they gave it to us. Four or five of us ate that soup from the same bowl.
We slept on the concrete floor. Later they gave us wooden pallets..."
2.5. The witness 858/95-12 stated:
"... After we arrived at the silo camp in June 1992 they ordered us to stand against the wall with arms raised and then the Muslim soldiers beat us viciously. The beating was attended and commanded by the camp warden Bećir Hujić. After the beating they placed us in cell No.6. We were nine in the cell in all. Those whom we found there were disfigured, black and blue, smeared with blood, swollen, unable to move.
The cell was totally dark and we lay there on the bare concrete, with no blanket or mat to lie on.
I remained in this cell for three days and was then transferred to cell No.4.
The guards would not let us move around the cell and we had to lie there on the bare concrete all day long. They would take out two or three men at a time from the room, and sometimes as many as five, after which we could hear horrible screams and wails.
They kept bringing new prisoners in and after ten days or so our number rose to 34.
They took us for interrogations daily. We would be asked whether we had arms while being mercilessly beaten with clubs, kicked and punched. A Muslim soldier would stand behind the prisoner being interrogated and beat him as he was being questioned, and the questioning lasted until they extorted the desired confession from the prisoner or until the prisoner fainted and fell, when he would be taken back to the cell.
In the cell they forced us to observe Muslim religious rites, to kneel and pray and cry aloud "Allahu akbar". After we kowtowed thus they would say that we were no longer Chetniks but Muslims.
In the room in which we were shut there was no lavatory, there was a bucket which we used to relieve ourselves, which was uncovered and the foul stench was unbearable.
It was soldiers whom they called "men from Sanjak" or "yellow ants" that beat us the most viciously. They would usually come to the cells at night and then beat us unconscious.
Once they asked L.K. whether he was thirsty and then ordered him to drink from the bucket full of excrement and finally spilled the contents of the bucket on his head.
The Muslim soldiers would urinate on us as we lay in the cell.
After our arrest we did not get any food for several days and later on we were only given a few spoonfuls each of some non- descript liquid and a tiny piece of bran bread.
With our food we were given some agents which caused dysentery and other stomach diseases. On account of that we would be in excruciating pain and my relative Petko Krstić died of this.
I spent nine and a half months in this cell and never once had a bath throughout that period.
Representatives of the International Red Cross visited us for the first time six months after I had been arrested.
Very often Serb prisoners would be taken out of the camp in groups of five or six never to return. I do not know what became of them, but people said that they had been taken to dig trenches at Hrasnica and other places around Sarajevo and were afterwards killed..."
2.6. The witness 272/96, a construction machinery operator, born in 1953, testified:
“... I had been living in Tarčin with my family since 1975. On June 14, 1992 the Muslim police came to my house and asked me to come with them to give some kind of a statement. There was no statement nor any interrogation, however, for they immediately t
ook me to the silo at Tarčin which had been converted into a camp for Serbs. There I stayed until December 31, 1992, when 140 of us were taken to the Krupa camp at Pazarić where I remained for a year, and then I was in Hrasnica for three months, only to be taken back to the silo at Tarčin where I stayed until January 21, 1996.Everything which happened in this camp amounted to an ordeal of sheer horror. I remember the moment when I was brought to the silo, when they took me to a cell all covered with blood, probably of some of the previous inmates.
During the first months they tortured us principally by denying us food and water. Thirteen of us would be given a loaf of bread and three ladlefuls of some would-be soup a day. Only one liter of water would be brought daily for 30 of us. I lost 30 kilograms during those first months. In addition we were constantly beaten. There were also other forms of torture and maltreatment, knives would be placed to our throats, or masked soldiers would raid our quarters late in the evening and beat us till the next morning.
They beat an acquaintance of mine, L.K. from Tarčin with a rifle butt on the head causing a wound which was left unattended and became infested with maggots. On July 3, 1995 thirty of us were taken blindfo
lded to Sarajevo to dig a tunnel. We worked digging the tunnel practically for nine straight days and nights, without any break, rest or sleep.During the first months five or six people in the silo starved to death. I know for a fact that a total of 35 people lost their lives there. Most of them were killed on the front line of fire where they took us for labour. As regards injuries, I can say that almost no prisoner was spared them. The ribs, teeth, arms and legs of many were broken. They broke two of my ribs.
Representatives of the International Red Cross came and we had separate talks with them. Later we received aid from them in food and relief supplies. However, the Red Cross people would often not come for as long as six months. After talking to representatives of the Red Cross we were maltreated by the camp authorities and would be taken out individually or in groups and beaten so as to tell them what we had told the Red Cross.
I witnessed for myself that many things sent us by the Red Cross were taken personally by Bećir, the camp warden, who was later replaced by Halid Čović...”
2.7. The witness 385/96-3, (female) a technician from the village of Raštelica near Hadžići, born in 1949, who spent 3 years and 8 months in Tarčin, from May 28 1992 to January 26, 1996, testified:
"... Before the war I lived in the village of Raštelica with my husband. In 1990 national parties were formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. First the HDZ (CDU - Croatian Democratic Union) was formed, followed by the SDS (SDP - Serbian Democratic Party) and in the end the SDA (PDA - Party of Democratic Action). Slogans appeared all around our village saying that that was a Muslim state.
After the SDS was established I joined it and was elected a councillor in the Hadžići commune. I noticed right away that I was placed under constant surveillance by the Muslim-dominated Ministry of the Interior. They kept a close watch on all SDS activities. In January 1992 I heard that there existed a list of Serbs to be arrested and that it also contained my name.
When going to work in Ilidža and on my way home I would be regularly intercepted by patrols of the Ministry of the Interior and searched.
In March 1992 members of the Muslim Territorial Defense mounted machine guns at four points around my house, one on each side. My family was a constant target. It was then that we escaped to the village of Gornja Reštelica where the majority of the population were Serbs. The Muslims raided this village on May 28,1992 and rounded up all Serbs. The campaign was commanded by Refik Tufo from the village of Duranovići, the commune of Hadžići, around 45 years of age.
On that occasion 17 of us villagers, among whom I was the only woman, were taken to Tarčin. There Refik Tufo beat me and called me a Chetnik whore.
When we came to the silo at Tarčin, we found 15 YPA members from the barracks incarcerated there, among others.
As I was the only woman they locked me up in a separate room.
The cells at Tarčin were of rectangular shape, 5 x 10 meters in size and 5 meters high, and had been wheat storages. There were no windows
at all; there was only a metal door and an opening in the center of the ceiling.On June 4, 1992, T.B. was brought to my room. She had been treated at the Jagodnja Mental Hospital until the outbreak of the war when this hospital was closed down and all the patients discharged. She was intercepted by Muslim soldiers on the road to Tarčin who apprehended her and brought her to the camp. After her they also brought L.R., who was pregnant. In August there were 8 of us women in the camp. Among them was also A.B., who was also beaten up and bruised.
The living conditions in this camp were terrible. During the first six months we only received one meal a day consisting of four or five spoonfuls of some vapid broth and a slice of bread. A loaf of bread weighing 600 grams would be shared between eight of us. Sometimes we would get no food at all for two or three days.
The eight of us were given only one blanket and a sponge mat on which only one woman could lie.
We relieved ourselves in a bucket which stood in the corner of the room.
The daily ration of water was a liter and a half for us eight, twice a day. That was barely enough for drinking. We were unable to maintain personal hygiene. Very soon we were all infested with lice.
The first time we women were able to have a bath was only in August 1992, but with cold water.
When I was imprisoned I weighed 90 kilograms and after six months, 58.
On June 4, 1992, a group of around 100 soldiers came to the camp. They were brought by Enver Dupovac, who said that they were volunteers from Rijeka, but we concluded that they were mostly from Sanjak. One of them forced me to bite my own fingers and I had to do it until I drew blood. Then they ordered me to strip naked, which I had to do, and then I stood thus naked in front of them for 20 minutes. Then these soldiers went to the men’s section and there beat the prisoners and maltreated them in other ways.
They did not maltreat me physically but they did maltreat me mentally. They did beat the other women. They beat T.B. with sticks and whatever else was at hand. They also beat M.M. One evening they took M.M. out and when they brought her back half an our later she would not say anything.
We were registered by the Red Cross on November 26, 1992, whereafter they sent us parcels which initially did reach us but later the camp authorities seized them for themselves. Red Cross representatives did not come regularly. Sometimes they would not come for five or six months.
In the beginning of November 1993 a state commission of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina came to the camp allegedly to look into the conditions of life in the camp, and when I complained to them they replied that the conditions at the camp were quite all right and that we were safer there than outside.
On March 22, 1994, the camp was visited by Ajnadžić, General of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He blackmailed us insisting that we write to our relatives in Hadžići to obtain information on some Muslims, threatening that if we did not comply we would be killed in retaliation.
Alija Izetbegović also came, landing at the heliodrome near our ca
mp three or four times. I personally never saw him, but the guards told me.I left the camp on January 26,1996, after having spent an uninterrupted three years and eight months there. The camp was disbanded at that time. As far as I know around 560 inmates have passed through this camp. There were women, children and elderly people among them. They were all Serbs except for one Muslim and one Croat who were declared Yugoslavs.
Twenty-four inmates died at the Tarčin camp. Petko Krstić starved to death on October 13, 1992, and a few days after him Bogdan Vujović as well Obren Kapetina also died of hunger. Vaso Šarenac, born in 1908, also died of hunger and emaciation, while Gojko Varagić was taken home by the guards where he also died of hunger and exhaustion. Milenko Milanović died of hunger in hospital, and Zdravko Samouković, 21 years old, died of tuberculosis which he had contracted at the camp. Svetozar Krstić was beaten up by the guards and then discharged to go home where he died shortly thereafter.
Sixteen camp inmates perished while doing forced labour along the front lines of fire. Jadranko Glavaš was bestially beaten and left to die on Mt. Igman by Nedžad Odžić, a member of the voluntary unit led by Zulf
ikar Ališpaga, called "Zuka".When four prisoners escaped from the labour detail at Hrasnica, the soldiers shot in retaliation Milan Krstić, Ranko Varagić and a number of other camp inmates whose names elude me now...”
2.8. The witness 385/96-2, a technician, who was incarcerated at Tarčin from May 28, 1992 to January 27, 1996, testified:
“... With another fifteen Serbs I was taken from the village of Gornja Raštelica to Tarčin by members of the police and locked up in the silo.
During the first six months, until I was registered by the International Red Cross, I slept on the bare concrete floor without any blanket or mat.
On Ascension Day, June 4, 1992, we were beaten up by soldiers whom Enver Dupovac had brought to the camp. They would barge into the cells and beat the prisoners with rifle butts, clubs, sticks and whatever else they could lay their hands on. They beat us up so viciously that the walls of the room in which we were locked up were blood-smeared all over.
One of the soldiers forced me to lie prostrate and then he raised both my legs and pounded me on the soles of my feet with a wooden board. He gave me 26 whacks in each foot and already from the pain of the first blow I lost consciousness. Then they also beat up L.K. first with a wooden board on the head and then they cut a gash on his head with a knife; this wound later festered and smelled foul and was infested with maggots. It was only then that they medically attended to him. D.R. was declared to be an alleged sniper and was beaten so hard that they broke his arm. He was beaten by the deputy warden Šera Mešanović.
Alija Izetbegović came to Tarčin three or four times. I personally saw him in 1994 when he was going to the Islamic countries summit. At that time he was escorted by one Memija, the director of Sarajevo television. I saw him from a distance of 30 meters. On another occasion Alija Izetbegović passed by our camp on his way to the Mejina port, where he addressed units going to battle around Goražde. I think that this was in June 1995.
I do not know whether Izetbegović personally came inside the camp but he could have seen us camp inmates through the barbed wire fence from close range.
I was beaten up viciously on June 20, 1992 by Šaban, Miralem Horman and Ibro Fišo. They beat me so hard that I fainted and regained consciousness only an hour later. They told me that they had beaten me up on the orders of Enver Dupovac who was the chief inspector of the republican Ministry of the Interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the one who had organized the mass beating on June 4, 1992 also.
On April 10, 1994, a group of some ten Muslim women and a number of hooded men came to the camp. The guards stood disinterestedly by as they dragged V., M. and myself out of the cell, as they tied our hands and blindfolded us. At one moment I wrested myself away from them and walked up to the warden Bećir Hujić asking for protection, but he only waved his hand. I received a severe blow in the head and fainted. Later I came to locked up in a room with the other two inmates. They told me that it appeared that we had been brought to Pazarić. My head was all swollen and bruised. I asked for medical aid but none was extended me. They kept us there for three days and then returned us to the silo.
Although I was imprisoned already on May 22, 1992, until October 6, 1994 I and the other inmates were not given any official oral or written decision as to the reasons of our incarceration. At that time a court of inquiry judge appeared in the camp and interrogated us.We received decisions extending our detention by a month, and subsequently by another two months. From January to June 1995 I received no decision, and in June I was again served a decision extending my detention by another month.
A group of 17 camp inmates was tried by Judge Mladen Veselica from Zenica. They were given prison sentences between two and three years. Their prison terms had expired by then but, that notwithstanding, they were not released but were kept at the camp. I stood no trial..."
2.9. The witness 872/95-7 stated:
"... I know that four prisoners from the Tarčin camp were killed, two of them at Butmir and two on the front lines at Kotorac.
Among the prisoners killed was one Krstić from Tarčin...”
2.10. The witness 386/96-29, a sales manager, born in 1960, who was in the Tarčin camp from June 2, 1992 until January 27, 1996 when the camp was dismantled, testified:
“... I was born in Tarčin where I lived with my parents.
When on May 11, 1992 the Muslims took the former YPA barracks in Krupa near Pazarić, they started arresting Serbs en masse in the areas of the communes of Tarčin, Pazarići and the surrounding places. The arrested Serbs were placed in a silo located in the center of Tarčin in the immediate vicinity of my house.
The camp for Serbs in Tarčin was established by Refik Tufo from Tarčin, who before the war had been a reserve police corps commanding officer in Tarčin, and from the beginning of the war a police commanding officer in Tarčin.
I was arrested in my home on June 2 and taken to the silo camp. After 20 days my father was also arrested and brought to the silo.
My fate in the Tarčin camp was similar to that of the other camp inmates.
The worst of all was the attrition of the inmates by hunger, so that at a certain point we came to resemble live skeletons. We were practically unable to move and if anyone did make an effort to get up they would as a rule faint.
One of the worst mass beatings of the camp inmates took place on June 4,1992. On that day some allegedly HOS (Croatian Defence Forces) members from Rijeka came to the camp, barged into the cells and beat us up, kicking us with their booted feet, rifles, legs, pounding us with their fists with knuckleguards, hit us with sticks and other objects. Many sustained severe injuries, including myself and I was unable to stand on my two feet for a month and a half after that.
As my house was in the immediate vicinity of the silo, my mother somehow managed to smuggle overnight some food and cigarettes into the camp for us, by bribing some of the guards. This was however discovered in October 1994 so that she too was apprehended and brought to the police station in Tarčin and beaten up. Probably on account of that beating she died on October 30, 1994.
In the meantime, a camp for Serbs had been set up also in the former YPA barracks at Krupa, which was concealed from the International Red Cross. In order to prevent its being discovered, on December 28, 1992 the Muslims transferred about 120 Serb prisoners from Krupa to the silo where the prisoners had already been registered, and transferred from the silo to Krupa 146 prisoners including myself, and I remained in Krupa until January 28, 1993.
From July to October 1992, Petko Krstić, Bogdan Vujević and Vaso Šarenac died in the camp in the silo from the consequences of beating and hunger.
We were forced to observe Muslim religious rites, to bow and pray to Allah, kneeling motionless for as long as two hours, to sing Muslim songs..."
2.11. The witness 344/96-11, who was in this camp from May 26 1992 to January, 27, 1996, testified:
“... I was arrested in the yard in front of my house by Hadem Neradin and Salko Gosta from Tarčin and taken for “an informative interview” where I was interrogated by Rifet Čanatković from Hadžići and Mensur Čović, who before the war had been interrogators of the Ministry of Interior department at Hadžići.
I was first taken to the silo camp and put in cell No.25 in which there were already another three prisoners.
There were a total of twelve cells in which the average number of prisoners was 35. Women were kept in one of the cells.
Immediately upon arrival at the camp we were subjected to brutal physical torture. Individuals would be taken to the camp warden’s office, or out in the corridor or down to the cellar and beaten viciously up and screams and wails could be heard coming from that direction.
On June 4, 1992, early in the morning, the prison warden Bećir Hujić made a tour of the cells and ordered us to tidy them up because some sort of an inspection commission was coming.
Soon thereafter I heard cries, screams, the sound of blows and of boards breaking. At that time there were 15 prisoners in my cell. We huddled up in a corner waiting for the door to our cell to open. After a short while, at least 10 Muslim soldiers entered the cell, who, judging by their accent were from Sanjak, among whom one Tiro, called “Tiki”, from the village of Osenik, near Tarčin, who took the lead in beating up the prisoners.
They singled out three or four prisoners from the room, whom they did not touch but who had to watch the scene. They beat the rest of us with broom handles, police sticks and rifle butts. We fainted from the beating which lasted around two hours. They knocked out two of my teeth, my upper lip was cut and I had severe injuries on the head and body. I remember that someone hit me in the head and I lost consciousness so that I do not know what happened after that.
In the evening they took me to the warden’s office where the deputy warden Šerif Mešanović was. There they tortured me and maltreated me for around four hours. They had me spread my hands on the concrete and hit them with butts. They had me strip to the waist and then they whacked me with a stick on the back until the skin broke and I still have large scars. They hit me with a police club, they doused me in gasoline and took me out with the intention of setting me on fire. However, as we were passing by my cell one of them opened the cell door and showed me inside. I was unable to move for several days and was cared for by the less injured prisoners.
Torture of this kind was daily routine. The guards were particularly vicious when we went to the toilet which was located within the camp compound, when they regularly beat us up.
The guards would order us to kneel and to touch the ground with our foreheads, to pray the Muslim way. They would have us remain in that position for a very long time. They forced some to pour urine on themselves from the bucket which we used to relieve ourselves. They pasted photographs of Ante Pavelić and Maks Luburić on the cell wall and forced us to kiss them.
We also suffered from hunger. The daily ration consisted of a small slice of bread and several spoonfuls of some tasteless would-be broth. We were given a liter or two of drinking water per day for a whole cell, depending on the guard. At the time of my arrest I weighed 95 kgs. and at the end of July 1992 44 kgs. It is a wonder that we were able to move at all resembling live skeletons as we did. It was at that time that Petko Krstić who was in cell No.3 starved to death.
We were constantly exposed to the cold, because the cells were ventilated at all times having previously served as grain bins, so that the temperature was constantly low and we had to lie on bare concrete.
When in September 1993 they returned us to the silo it was slightly more bearable than it had previously been. However, when the guard Jahić came to the silo in the beginning of 1994 the tortures started again and lasted until mid 1995. Šerif Mešanović, who came back to the silo after the shutting down of the Krupa camp also maltreated us at that time.
Towards the end of 1993 a state commission came to the silo and publicly commended the allegedly good conditions in the camp. In the course of 1994 the camp was visited by the Commander of the 1st Corps of the Army of the so-called Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nedžad Ajnardžić. When he asked us whether they were beating us in the camp and we replied that they were not beating us, but that they had beat us before, he openly said that we ought to be beaten.
During my incarceration in this camp I was indicted for allegedly having participated in armed rebellion which indictment, if I remember correctly, was filed against 48 prisoners. However, there was no trial. When we were being released they did not let us take along either the indictment or any other paper.
We were issued no document whatsoever in respect of our time at the camp..."
2.12. The witness 169/96-11, who was in this camp from late May 1992 to January 1, 1993, testified:
"... Living conditions in this camp were beneath any man¢ s dignity. There were 25 to 30 men in every cell.
They tortured us by famine. When I was brought to this camp I weighed 96 kg, and when I was released I weighed only 66 kg.
According to my calculations, I received a total of 2 kg and 100 g of bread and 6 spoonfuls of soup a day during one month. This would-be soup was brought in some sort of bowl at around 15,30 hrs and our group of five inmates ate from the same dish with one spoon which we passed to each other. Only 5 months later did they allow us to receive packages from our families every 15 days. Owing to that, I changed my clothes for the first time in 5 months when I had received the first package and a blanket. When they had brought me to the camp I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, jacket, slacks and summer shoes.
We slept on the bare concrete floor until October 1992, when wooden pallets were brought into our cells. In fact, 8-10 cm wide wooden laths were hammered together forming a lattice-shaped wooden palette. The palette was 1 m wide and 1,20 m long. While lying on them the bottom edge of the palettes lacerated our thighs. Three of us sleeping on one of those wooden pallets had neither a pillow nor a blanket.
Prisoners were taken on a daily basis out of the cells to be interrogated and many returned severely beaten up. Prison guards used to enter our cells and beat us there. Initially they used to come overnight, but later they made a practice of coming during daytime as well. They beat us with rifle butts and kicked us with their booted feet or hit us with truncheons. They also had some sort of cables and beat us with them as well.
Throughout our imprisonment we were forbidden to go out of our cells. Only those who were ordered to dispose of buckets with feces were allowed to leave them. When the International Red Cross had paid its first visit to the camp in November 1992, I stepped out from my cell for the first time.
We were physically abused on a daily basis. Thus I heard N.L. often crying for help. They used to force a boy G. to spread his arms on the concrete floor and then break his fingers with rifle butts.
M. G., 82 years of age, was also incarcerated with us.
Following the arrival of the International Red Cross we were allowed to circle the silo yard three times. We were also permitted to use a toilet located outdoors. However, guards used to beat all prisoners on their way to that toilet.
We were extended no medical care. To maintain the appearances a nurse was occasionally sent to visit prisoners but would not listen to anyone. In our cell was one L.L. who had a wound in the leg but was deprived of medical aid..."
2.13. The witness 718/96-7, who was in the Tarčin camp from June 19, 1992 to October 29, 1995, testified:
“... On July 6, 1995, at around 02.00 hrs, the guards called out my name and the names of 20 other detainees incarcerated in the Tarčin camp. Upon tying our hands and blindfolding us they loaded
us on a truck. Guarded by the police we crossed Mt. Igman and stopped at the tunnel entrance located beneath the airfield. They untied our hands and took us blindfolded through the tunnel. While passing through the tunnel they beat us. They beat us most savagely at the exit point at Dobrinja.Upon exiting the tunnel they loaded us on a refrigerator truck and drove to a kindergarten or school where they locked us in.
That same day Muslims singled out ten of us and drove us to Stup where a fierce battle was in progress. In the course of combat operations Muslims were forced to withdraw from the cement plant.
Muslims brought us to the wall of the cement plant located across the Serb bunkers at a distance of about 20 m. They ordered us to dig two bunkers from the inside of the hall following the edge of that wall. While digging we had handcuffs fastened round our wrists and tied to a metal string enabling the handcuffs locked around our wrists to move freely along that string.
L.V. from our group was forced to walk up to the Serb bunker and take a sack of sand off it although he was exposed to direct mortal danger all the time. Since he was tied he could not escape. V.D. had to do the same. In addition, he was forced to carry explosive to the Serb bunker.
We kept digging for three straight days and nights, without any break.
On July 12, I was brought with others to Stup. We were all tied in the above described manner. In the meantime, Muslims managed to destroy one of the Serb bunkers. On that occasion they ordered me, B.B and V.R. to walk up to the bunker and build a new one with sacks of sand so that they could use it.
While we were building the bunker Muslim and Serb forces joined battle so that we were constantly on the receiving end of the Serb fire due to constant Muslim provocation. On that occasion I was shot with 12 automatic rifle bullets, sustaining wounds in the area of both legs and arms, in the left side of my body and in the lung area. B.B. who was close to me was shot with 17 bullets.
Muslims pulled me out by the metal string to which we were tied.
Following our wounding we were transferred to a hospital in Sarajevo. Since we sustained serious injuries our wounds became infected. Although we were not recovered completely B.B. and I, with our open wounds, were taken back to the silo camp on October 20, 1995.
They used to bring other camp inmates to that cement plant afterwards. Twenty-four camp inmates were thus wounded while Dane Čičić was killed...”
2.14. The witness 718/96-21, who was in this camp from June 1992 to January 19, 1996, testified:
“... At the camp in the silo in Tarčin I was subjected to abuse, maltreatment, degradation and famine, along with all other camp inmates.
As a result of the injuries inflicted by beatings I am in poor health.
Together with a group of camp inmates I was transferred from Tarčin to Krupa, where I remained for 7 months. Thereafter I was returned to Tarčin and after ten days taken back to Krupa
again, where I remained for the next 5-6 months.As a member of the labour unit, in addition to hard physical labour I also dug trenches and ditches on the front-line at Krupa..."
2.15. The witness 718/96-23, who was in this camp from June 1992 to May 1993, testified:
"... On June 1992, the Muslims came to the village and arrested all the men. There were 29 of us, including myself and my two sons. They took us to the camp in the silo in Tarčin.
I was incarcerated together with two of my sons in cell No. 6 which contained 53 arrested Serbs from my village and other villages. We were subjected to appalling physical abuse, famine, most humiliating degradation and insults.
We relieved ourselves in a bucket placed in the cell. On a number of ocassions guards spilled the bucket of feces on us in the cell.
They forced us to beat one another. One of the most humiliating experiences was when they forced some of the inmates to put each other’s member into mouth.
We were also subjected to famine. As a result some of the inmates fainted.
It is difficult to describe all those humiliations and other forms of maltreatment. It felt hard to bear, especially in the presence of my children..."
2.16. The witness 718/96-17, a pensioner, born in 1942, who was in this camp from June 1992 to February 1993, testified:
“... I was taken together with all the arrested men from my village to the camp in the silo in Tarčin on June 21, 1992.
Immediately upon my arrival to the camp I was subjected to severe physical abuse. I was inflicted serious injuries in the head and spinal column area.
Additionally, they used to wear gloves with studs and beat me. As a result I was inflicted injuries in the head. I also had open wounds in the lower end of the spinal column (coccygeal part). Throughout my detention at the camp, they never healed.
In the cell next to mine was incarcerated Vaso Šarenac, 86 years of age, who died as a result of famine. Camp authorities declared that he died as a result of old age. However, I claim that he died as a result of famine. All of us were subjected to starvation so that majority of us fainted due to scarce food we were given..."
2.17. The witness 718/96-12, who was in this camp from June 1992 to January 1993, testified:
"... During my detention at the camp in the silo I was taken for interrogations and accused of being a Chetnik Vojvoda (Duke) and alike. I knew nothing about that whatsoever. I was subjected to physical abuse and beating. As a result I still have visible scars in the legs. Also, I have developed a serious disease.
We were subjected to continuos humiliation, such as urinating of their guards on us. Namely, they would urinate on us from the platform above the cell.
Fifty Serbs were incarcerated in my cell. We relieved ourselves in a bucket placed in the cell. It was taken out to be emptied every 24 hours.
Obren Kapetina from my cell died as a result of torture and famine.
Owing to the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross, I was released from the camp in January 1993 with a group of arrested men in Tarčin. They were over sixty years of age...”
2.18. The witness 718/96-13, born in 1961, who was in this camp from June 1992 to May 1993, testified:
"... In late December 1992, I was taken from Tarčin to Krupa where they engaged us to do forced labour - to dig trenches above the village of Gradac.
During the on-going battle I was inflicted a wound in my left leg and lost consciousness. Thereafter they transferred me to the hospital in Suhodol where my leg had to be amputated.
On May 18, 1993, I was discharged from the hospital. However, members of the Muslim police arrested me on that same day, took me to Hrasnica and put me in a dark cellar. After three days they took me out of it to be exchanged.
In the camp in the silo in Tarčin were my closest relatives: my father Lazar Šuvajilo, born in 1921, who spent 7 months in the camp and died a year later and my brother Milenko Šuvajilo, born in 1939, who was released from the camp in 1993 and died a year later. His two sons and my nephews were in that camp as well..."
2.19. The witness 718/96-9, who was in this camp from June 1992 to January 19, 1996, testified:
"... On January 4, 1993, I was transferred with a group of camp inmates from the silo to Mt. Igman. They put us in a shelter of the ¢ Igman¢ hotel which apart from the door had neither windows nor any other sort of exit.
I remained at ¢ Igman¢ hotel until March 20, 1993. Throughout that period we were digging trenches and ditches for Muslims who beat us and abused us on a daily basis. Nedžad Hodžić from Sandžak was the most ruthless among them. He and other soldiers beat us with chair legs, laths and other objects. It was at that time that my kidneys were severely damaged. I urinated blood for two days and I still feel the consequences.
In late January 1993, Nedžad Hodžić singled out Jadranko Glavaš, fastened handcuffs round his writs and took him to the ¢
Mrazište¢ hotel. Hodžić told us the next day that Glavaš had passed away. After cynically expressing his condolences to us, he and several Muslim men and a girl beat us up.As a result of inflicted wounds I fell ill and unable to do any kind of work whatsoever. This is why they brought me back to the silo camp on March 20, 1993...”
3
INDICATIONS CONCERNING PERPETRATORS:
3.1. THE ORGANIZERS
1. Mustafa Dželalović, president of the commune of Hadžići, leader of the so-called Crisis Headquarters.
2. Bećir Hujić, called “Beća” from the village of Ljubovčići near Pazarić, born in 1957 or 1958, father Muhamed. Before the war a guard in the Central Prison in Sarajevo and camp warden of Tarčin since its foundation until August 1994.
3. Halid Čović from Binježevo, the commune of Hadžići, born in 1953 in the village of Grivići, near Hadžići. Before the war a retired guard of the Central Prison in Sarajevo, until August 1994 deputy warden, and after that camp warden until the end of 1996.
4. Šerif Mešanović, called “Šera”, a retired guard of the Central Prison in Sarajevo. One of the two deputies of warden Hujić, later became warden of the “Krupa” camp.
5. Nedžad Ajnadžić, now the Commander of the Ist Sarajevo Corps, brigadier general of the B&H Army. He visited the “Silo” camp on January 25, 1994 and specially visited cell No.6. Later on visited the whole camp again on March 13, 1994 and was informed of what was hap
pening in the camp.3.2. THE PERPETRATORS
6. Zulfikar Ališpago, called "Zuka", a Muslim commander from Sanjak.
7. Milan Božić, before the war a crime technician from Višegrad, 34-35 years old, an investigating officer. Now deputy commander of the Police Station in Sarajevo-Center. Interrogated the Serbs from the Tarčin camp and used to beat them up during investigation.
8. Salko Gosto from Smucka. Before the war an inspector in the Police Station in Hadžići. Investigating officer in the Tarčin cam
p who was particularly zealous in beating up the inmates.9. Enver Dupovac, born in 1951 in Dupovci, near Hadžići. Before the war head of the Department of the Interior in Hadžići. Now the Chief Inspector in the Ministry of the Interior of B&H. Organiz
ed a massive beating up of the inmates on June 4, 1992 and participated in the establishment of the camp and arrests of Serbs.10. Zaim Imamović, commander of the 14
th Division of the Army of B&H, directly in command of the Tarčin camp from 1995.11. Japalak called "Huske", a guard.
12. Izhudin Japalah, called "Lendara". Before the war a cadet of the Military Academy.
13. Jasmina, a Muslim girl from Sarajevo.
14. Adil Jahić from Lepenica, the commune of Kiseljak, about 38-40 years old. A guard who worked in the Overhaul Institute in Hadžići before the war.
15. Muhamed Kazić, from the village of Trzanj, near Tarčin, a guard.
16. Nezir Kazić, before the war a construction technician, commander of the 109
th Mountain Brigade (earlier 9th brigade) under whose direct command was the Tarčin camp until 1995. The inmates carried out works in the front lines for his brigade. He did not allow visits of the IRC.17. Mustafa Katkić, a guard, 25-30 years old.
18. Nermin Kalember, called "Buba"
from the village of Korča, the commune of Hadžići, about 25 years old, a guard.19. Vahid Karavelić, brigadier general, earlier commander of the Ist Sarajevo Corps of the Army of B&H. Now in the General Staff of the Army of B&H. He forced the captured S
erbs to build the heliport and the building belonging to the 14th Division.20. Kojak
21. Vehbija Karić, Head of the Territorial Defence of B&H, former YPA colonel. Through Jusuf Prazina used to bring Tarčin inmates to do forced labour at Mt.Igman.
22. Ismet Karišik
23. Said Lihovac, from Pazarić, worked in the Department of the Interior before the war, a guard.
24. Zehro Marić, from the village of Budmolići, the commune of Hadžići, around 35 years of age, a YPA helicopter pilot before the war, commander of the territorial defence of Hadžići, initiator of the arrest and imprisonment of Serbs in the Tarčin camp .
25. Memišević, around 20-25 years old, a guard.
26. Miralem, called "Mineralni", a guard, from Sarajevo, married (wife from Raš
telice, near Tarčin). Came to Tarčin and used to beat up the inmates. Later killed.27. Avdo Mujan, a traffic policeman before the war. Born in 1959, father Salko and mother Sevda. Commander of the Military Police in Pazarić. Took part in the arrest of Serbs in Pazarić and their imprisonment in Tarčin.
28. Šaban Muhibić, a guard.
29. Adem Neradin, a guard.
30. Emir Oputa, called “Emro” from Smucka, the commune of Hadžići, born in 1970. Before the war worked as a labourer in Blažuj, took part in arresting Serbs in 1992 and their transportation to the camp in Tarčin and in beatings. Later became a guard.
31. Osman Oputa.
32. Fikret Pljevljak.
33. Zejnil Podbičanin.
34. "Rambo" from Lepenica, 25-30 years old, a guard.
35. Izet Ramić, called “Izo” from Tarčin. Worked in the Overhaul Institute in Hadžići before the war. A guard.
36. Rifko, from Bilježnjevo near Hadžići. Worked as a policeman in Sarajevo before the war.
37. Rifko, worked as a policeman in the Stup Police Station before the war.
38. Šaban Tiro, called “Tiki” from the village of Budmolići, near Tarčin.
39. Muhamed Tubog, from Raštelice, near Tarčin. Between 35 and 40 years of age, worked as a guard.
40. Muhamed Turčinović, called “Zeka”, born in 1953 in Dragovići, near Pazarić, father Muhamed. Before the war head of the IInd State Security Division in the Ministry of the Interior of B&H. Together with Dupovac organized the “Silo” camp and arrested Serbs.
41. Refik Tufo, called “Refo” from Duranovići, the commune of Hadžići, a retired policeman, about 50 years old. Before the war Commander of the Reserve Police Corps in Tarčin and at the outbreak of the war became Commander of the Police Station in Tarčin. He was in charge of the arrest of Serbs around Hadž
ići and their transfer to the Tarčin camp.42. Ferhatović from Tarčin, a member of the Military Police.
43. Suljo Fišo from Trzanj, the commune of Hadžići. Worked in the Cola Cola” plant in Hadžići before the war. Served as a guard.
44. Ibro Fišo,
called “Džiho” or “Džino” from the village of Trzanj near Tarčin, a guard.45. Nezir Fišo, military police commander of the 109th brigade.
46. Hazir Hajruli, from Tarčin. A Squipetar from Kosovo who came to live in Tarčin before the war where he work
ed in Joze Završnik’s private construction firm as a labourer. Served as a guard.47. Amira Horman, a nurse in the camp, denied medical assistance and drugs to inmates.
48. Sabrija Hebib, a retired employee of the Ministry of the Interior in Hadžići,
cousin of Avdo Hebib, the present Minister of the Interior of B&H.49. Haro Horman, a guard.
50. Nedžad Hodžić, member of the Zuka’s Voluntary Unit.
51. Rifet Čanatković from Hadžići. An investigating officer in the Department of the Interior in Hadžići.
52. Muhamed Čičko, from the village of Čičke, near Tarčin, a guard.
53. Mensur Čović, a clerk in the communal secretariat of national defence in Hadžići, investigation officer in the camp. Took part in beating up prisoners.
54. Mensur Čović, before the war an investigating officer in the Department of the Interior in Hadžići.
55. Mirsad Šabić, a traffic policeman before the war. Born in 1956 in Dragovići, to father Alija and mother Fata. Commander of the Police Station in Hadžići. Organ
ized arrests of Serbs.56. Zaim Šarić, a guard.
57. Faruk Šarić, from the village of Ljubovčići, near Pazarić, father Smajo. Before the war worked in the sawmill in Hadžići. A guard who was particularly zealous in beating up the prisoners, and accord
ing to the witness 407/96 was one of the cruelest guards.58. Hidajet Šahić, from the village of Korča, near Tarčin, a guard.
59. Nermin Šemšić, a lawyer from Hadžići, born in 1955-56. In charge of the Tarčin camp on behalf of the Territorial Defence Command of Hadžići, responsible for torturing and starving camp inmates.
60-61. The Gojak brothers from Sanjak.
62. Osman Žunj from Binježevo near Hadžići, member of the police force.
* * *
In addition to individuals enumerated under 3.1. and 3.2. the highest ranking officials of B&H are responsible for the committed crimes and knew of the existence of the camps and unlawful confinement of Serbs in them. They also knew or had sufficient grounds for knowing that crimes were being committed against Serbs at the camp in the silo in Tarčin and they did not take any measures to prevent those acts, i.e., to punish the perpetrators.
EVIDENCE: 806/95-33, 109/96, 44/96, 858/95-12, 272/96, 385/96-2, 385/96-3, 386/96-29, 407/96, 344/96-11 and 386/95-7.