A witness for the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina testified that the accused Miralem Čengić (soldier of Bosniak Army) beat him multiple times during his captivity in Visoko in 1992.
Radomir Cvjetković (a Serb from Bosnia) stated that he was taken from his home with his father and other family members on June 8, 1992, and that they were transferred to the “Ahmet Fetahagić” barracks in Visoko the next day. He mentioned that at the time, he was not armed nor a member of any military unit.
The witness said he was detained in the camp until July 9 and lost about 30 kilograms.
“I lost weight from the beatings, thrashings, and mistreatment. It was unbearable. I wonder how I survived and how I stayed sane,” said Cvjetković.
He stated that they were first held in a basement and then moved to an upper floor, where he counted 119 detainees. He noted that they were lined up like sardines and had a bucket in the room for relieving themselves.
Cvjetković stated that he was beaten during his detention, but it was not always as severe as when Miralem Čengić beat him.
“He was my work colleague; he worked at ‘Velepromet’ just like I did,” said Cvjetković.
He said that Čengić once took him from the upper floor to a room in the basement.
“All the walls were covered in blood… There were about ten torture and beating devices along the wall. There were sticks, clubs, cables, chains…,” the witness recalled.
He said that Čengić beat him with a stick on that occasion. He described how they were taken to dig around the barracks and how Čengić beat him with a shovel on June 28, which he barely survived. After the beating, he said, Čengić put a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him while his father watched.
The witness added that Čengić told him that his house and the houses of other Cvjetković family members were burned down. He mentioned that, besides Čengić, his companions also beat him.
He identified Čengić in the courtroom. He said that Samir Selimović, Hajrudin Halilović, and Zijad Kadrić were also at the barracks.
During cross-examination, Čengić’s defense attorney Muhidin Kapo suggested that Čengić could not have been at the barracks on June 28 because he was in action. Cvjetković said he knew there was an action and that they came after it.
He specified that Čengić hit him 40 to 50 times with a shovel. The defense attorney asked how he could return to the barracks independently after so many blows, to which Cvjetković replied that he was half-dead.
Zijad Kadrić, Hajrudin Halilović, Asim Hamzić, Miralem Čengić, Samir Selimović, and Amir Murtić are accused of war crimes against the civilian population committed in the premises of the Visoko Police Station, the Territorial Defense of Gračanica, and in the detention facility-camp located in the “Ahmet Fetahagić” barracks.
Kadrić is accused in his capacity as the warden of the detention facility-camp, Halilović as a member of the Armed Forces of the BiH General Staff, and the others as members of police and military structures.
The trial continues on July 3.