Page 2727
1 Wednesday, 7
2 [Closed session]
3 [The witness entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 9.32 a.m.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 pages 2727-2780 redacted – closed session
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 2781
1 (redacted)
2 (redacted)
3 (redacted)
4 (redacted)
5 (redacted)
6 [Open session]
7 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, as they go to get
8 the witness, I would note for the record that the
9 Prosecution had intended, that as part of this witness'
10 evidence, we would provide the prior testimony of this
11 witness in the Tadic case. We know that last evening,
12 yesterday afternoon, we spoke about the question
13 regarding the admissibility of prior statements. We
14 would ask the Court if a decision has been made at
15 least as regards prior testimony of a witness so that
16 we know whether we should tender that or whether we
17 should proceed without the prior testimony.
18 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Not yet,
19 Ms. Hollis. We haven't decided yet. We're trying to
20 expedite the process and have a ruling by the Trial
21 Chamber, because it is a priority, of course, but we
22 haven't taken a final ruling with regard to prior
23 testimony yet.
24 MS. HOLLIS: Thank you, Your Honour, for the
25 clarification.
Page 2782
1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Does the
2 Defence have any objections to having the Tadic
3 transcript tendered and that testimony, the prior
4 testimony? It is the transcript, not the prior
5 testimony, but the Tadic transcript.
6 Mr. Simic, do you have a response from your
7 collective?
8 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] No. This has
9 taken us by surprise so we haven't had a chance to
10 confer, and I'll be speaking in my name. We opened
11 that question yesterday; we started the question.
12 Mr. Eugene O'Sullivan presented our views on behalf of
13 Mr. Kos and Kvocka, and we don't want to violate our
14 principle before we get a ruling, and I speak for
15 Mr. Kvocka's Defence, of course.
16 MR. O'SULLIVAN: Yes, Your Honour, we
17 object.
18 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Excuse me,
19 Mr. O'Sullivan. We are talking about a transcript, not
20 about prior testimony. Yesterday we were speaking
21 about prior testimony of witnesses. Now we're speaking
22 about the LiveNote, the transcript of the Tadic
23 audience. I think that that perhaps changes matters
24 somewhat.
25 That is what we're talking about now,
Page 2783
1 Ms. Hollis. It is the transcript of the Tadic hearing;
2 is that correct?
3 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, we're talking about
4 the transcript that sets out the testimony of this
5 witness in the Tadic case.
6 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes.
7 MS. HOLLIS: Not a prior statement but prior
8 sworn testimony given in the Tadic case.
9 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
10 Mr. O'Sullivan.
11 MR. O'SULLIVAN: Yes, Your Honour. We object
12 for the same reasons. We don't know on what basis he
13 was cross-examined by counsel in the first case. The
14 Defence strategy may have been quite different than any
15 of the five here. Your Honours did not view this
16 witness during his testimony in Tadic. You don't even
17 know if the Trial Chamber in Tadic believed him or
18 believed every word he said. So for that reason we
19 object, on the same basis that we object to the prior
20 statements.
21 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] We're
22 talking about the witness who has just finished his
23 testimony, I think, or are we talking about the next
24 witness? We're talking about the witness that is just
25 coming in; is that correct?
Page 2784
1 MR. O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
2 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I
3 apologise. Madam Hollis, are we talking about the
4 witness that has just finished his testimony or the
5 next witness?
6 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, we're talking about
7 Edin Mrkalj, the witness we're calling now. That's why
8 I raised the issue. It's not the statement of the
9 prior witness, it is the testimony of this witness.
10 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I see.
11 Thank you. So the situation does not change, and I
12 apologise for having to interrupt and for entering into
13 it with this confusion.
14 I haven't heard Mr. Fila, Mr. Tosic, and
15 Mr. Jovan Simic yet.
16 Mr. Fila, it is sufficient to have an
17 objection to prevent it.
18 MR. FILA: [Interpretation] I am in favour of
19 having Ms. Hollis's proposal adopted. So my opinion is
20 different from the others, and that is why -- because
21 the Tadic case is a public hearing. The transcript was
22 public and was accessible to one and all. Therefore, I
23 think that Madam Hollis is right, and my position
24 differs from the others. But as I am alone in this
25 opinion, then I don't think it will have much value.
Page 2785
1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you.
2 Mr. Tosic.
3 MR. TOSIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I
4 don't feel I need to discuss the matter because we
5 supported the position of Mr. Simic yesterday and
6 Mr. O'Sullivan, so that we would like to wait and hear
7 the Trial Chamber's ruling.
8 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Mr. Simic,
9 to complete matters, you have the floor.
10 MR. J. SIMIC: [Interpretation] We join the
11 opinion of Mr. O'Sullivan, our colleague, and we feel
12 that at this moment we cannot go forward in that way.
13 We do not feel that a decision can be made in the
14 matter before a ruling is reached.
15 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well.
16 Madam Hollis, as we have not had a ruling yet -- may I
17 remind you that we will have to take into consideration
18 the fact that there has been accord with regard to the
19 parties relevant to the facts; that is to say, we still
20 have not made our ruling, but we did say earlier on
21 that the Trial Chamber does accept agreement with
22 regard to fact.
23 If that can assist you in any way in
24 designing your examination-in-chief -- the Trial
25 Chamber will not give you any instructions as to how
Page 2786
1 you should do your work -- we just wish to remind you
2 that the Appeals Chamber has no doubt with regard to
3 the acceptance of generally recognised and acknowledged
4 facts on which the parties have agreed, and I'd like to
5 say that for the transcript.
6 So Mr. Registrar, I think we can have the
7 witness shown in at this point.
8 [The witness entered court]
9 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Can you
10 hear me, Witness? Good morning to you.
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, I can hear
12 you.
13 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] You are now
14 going to read the solemn declaration presented to you
15 by the usher.
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly
17 declare that I will speak the truth, the whole truth,
18 and nothing but the truth.
19 WITNESS: EDIN MRKALJ
20 [Witness answered through interpreter]
21 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] You may be
22 seated.
23 Would you please approach the microphone and
24 make yourself comfortable. Can you hear me? Do you
25 hear us properly?
Page 2787
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
2 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you
3 for coming. You are now going to answer questions put
4 to you by Ms. Hollis.
5 MS. HOLLIS: Thank you, Your Honour.
6 Examined by Ms. Hollis:
7 Q. Would you please state for the record your
8 name and your date of birth.
9 A. My name is Edin Mrkalj, and I was born on the
10 13th of June, 1965.
11 Q. Where were you born?
12 A. I was born in the village of Biscani, the
13 Prijedor municipality.
14 Q. Did you live in Biscani until you were 15
15 years old and then move to Sarajevo?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Did you move back to the village of Biscani
18 in January of 1988?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. The village of Biscani, where is it located?
21 A. It is located in the Prijedor municipality.
22 Q. How close is it to the town of Prijedor?
23 A. Well, the first houses are about three
24 kilometres away.
25 Q. What is the ethnic composition of the
Page 2788
1 village, or what was the ethnic composition of the
2 village of Biscani up until May of 1992?
3 A. The village was populated exclusively with
4 Muslims.
5 MS. HOLLIS: If we could ask that Exhibit
6 1/26 be provided to the witness, please.
7 Q. You, sir, what is your ethnicity?
8 A. I'm a Muslim.
9 Q. Sir, if you could take a moment to orient
10 yourself to this map. And then if the portion of the
11 map that shows the town of Prijedor could be placed on
12 the overhead. If the witness could please point to
13 Biscani on this map.
14 A. [Indicates]
15 MS. HOLLIS: Could we please have the
16 technical people come in for a closer view of that
17 area.
18 Q. All right.
19 A. [Indicates]
20 Q. Biscani. As we are looking at this map, we
21 see the area or the village of Rizvanovici. Are you
22 familiar with that village?
23 A. Yes, I am.
24 Q. And then if we could move to the village of
25 Carakovo, where is that?
Page 2789
1 A. [Indicates]
2 Q. Sir, could you also show us the village of
3 Hambarine?
4 A. [Indicates]
5 Q. Also, if you could point to Rakovcani on the
6 map.
7 A. [Indicates]
8 Q. Now, this entire area that you have pointed
9 to, what is this area known as? What is the term that
10 is used to describe this area?
11 A. This area was known as Brdo, or "hill."
12 Q. This Brdo area, what was the ethnic
13 composition of this area as of May of 1992?
14 A. It was exclusively populated by Muslims.
15 Q. Sir, up until the 10th of April of 1992, what
16 was your occupation?
17 A. I was a policeman by profession, a security
18 technician.
19 Q. Did you train in Sarajevo at the School of
20 Internal Affairs?
21 A. Yes, I did.
22 Q. How long was that training in Sarajevo?
23 A. Four years.
24 Q. What did you study as part of this training?
25 A. I was in the Internal Affairs school, and it
Page 2790
1 was exclusively intended for the training of members of
2 the public security services.
3 Q. Then did that train you to be an active-duty
4 or regular police officer?
5 A. Yes, it did.
6 Q. Did that training you received include
7 standards of conduct for police officers?
8 A. Yes, it did.
9 Q. And did it include police procedure and the
10 structure of the Yugoslav police departments?
11 A. Yes, it did.
12 Q. Did it also include the command structure of
13 the police?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Did the training also involve learning about
16 duties and responsibilities of police officers and
17 superiors?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. What year did you complete your training?
20 A. 1984.
21 Q. Where was your first posting as a police
22 officer?
23 A. In Belgrade, in the federal SUP.
24 Q. What years did you work in Belgrade at the
25 federal SUP?
Page 2791
1 A. I worked there until the 31st of December,
2 1987.
3 Q. What were your duties in Belgrade at the
4 federal SUP?
5 A. Security for diplomatic and consular
6 representative offices and buildings of vital state
7 importance.
8 Q. Now, when you say that your duties involved
9 security for these offices and buildings, did that
10 security include the security of personnel who worked
11 in those buildings and offices?
12 A. Yes, of course.
13 Q. As part of your ongoing responsibilities in
14 this job, did you train to respond to different threat
15 situations?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. As a result of your duties there and your
18 training, did you have a heightened awareness of
19 potential threat situations?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Now, you indicated you worked for the federal
22 SUP. What was the difference between the federal SUP
23 and a republic-level SUP?
24 A. The difference was in territorial
25 competence.
Page 2792
1 Q. What do you mean by that?
2 A. The republican SUP is active on the territory
3 of a republic; the federal SUP has competence and
4 authorisation to function in the whole area of the
5 state, if need be.
6 Q. And then a local SUP, such as a SUP at
7 Prijedor, what would be the competence of that SUP?
8 A. It would be territorial competence; that is
9 to say, it would cover the territory covered by the
10 Prijedor municipality.
11 Q. When you returned to Biscani in January of
12 1988, what duties did you assume?
13 A. I worked in the public security service,
14 public law and order, traffic and the criminal
15 department, for crime.
16 Q. In what police department?
17 A. The public security station of Prijedor. It
18 was what we called the central Prijedor police
19 station.
20 Q. At that time, how many police stations were
21 in opstina Prijedor?
22 A. There was the central police station in
23 Prijedor; then there were local police stations that
24 were situated in Ljubija, Kozarac, Omarska.
25 Q. So there were four.
Page 2793
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. You worked in the Prijedor police station,
3 the central station, until when?
4 A. I worked until April 1992. The 10th of
5 April, 1992, in fact.
6 Q. Now, you have indicated that you performed
7 duties in public law and order, traffic, and the
8 criminal department. When did you begin to work in the
9 criminal department?
10 A. It was sometime in 1991.
11 Q. Your duties in the public law and order
12 division and the traffic division, what were those
13 duties?
14 A. I worked in an area, a region, as we referred
15 to it, and my duty was to control all the important
16 buildings and facilities, to work in the area of
17 traffic control, to observe people who were interesting
18 for our service, to maintain public law and order, and
19 things like that.
20 Q. Are you familiar with the position of "patrol
21 sector leader"?
22 A. Yes, I am familiar with it.
23 Q. What did that position entail? What duties?
24 A. Individuals performing this duty had greater
25 responsibility, because those individuals would be
Page 2794
1 directly in charge of the region that this covered.
2 Q. This would be a geographic region?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Within this region, how many villages could
5 be included?
6 A. Depending on the region and how many
7 villages, but usually five or six villages would
8 comprise one region.
9 Q. Now, you've said the person who had this
10 person would be directly in charge of the region. What
11 do you mean? Directly in charge in what ways? What
12 duties would they have to perform?
13 A. Everything that happened in the area. All
14 reports coming in, he'd have to deal with them. That
15 person would be in charge of investigating matters, for
16 example, on the basis of the reports. One of the
17 functions would be, for instance, if a citizen wanted
18 to have a permit issued for firearms, for example, then
19 the number one man of that sector would make the
20 decision whether that citizen could be granted a
21 permit, whether he complied with all the stipulated
22 conditions for carrying a firearm.
23 Q. Was it typical that a patrol sector leader
24 would have one or more subordinates?
25 A. Yes.
Page 2795
1 Q. Now, based on your training in Sarajevo and
2 your experience as a police officer beginning in 1984,
3 did the police in the former Yugoslavia have written
4 rules or guidelines for proper procedure and conduct?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. How detailed were these guidelines or rules?
7 A. It was very detailed and regulated the way in
8 which the public security service was run.
9 Q. What kinds of police duties or procedures
10 would be covered by these rules or guidelines?
11 A. The duties, rights, and obligations of the
12 officer were specified in great detail.
13 Q. This covered a variety of situations?
14 A. Yes, it did.
15 Q. Did these guidelines also cover the
16 responsibilities of superiors?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Were regular or active-duty police officers
19 required to be familiar with these duties and
20 responsibilities?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Were they required to be familiar with these
23 rules and guidelines?
24 A. Yes, that was the right and duty of each and
25 every one.
Page 2796
1 Q. Now, during the time that you worked in the
2 Prijedor Police Department, what was the ethnic
3 composition of the Prijedor Police Department?
4 A. In Prijedor, there were Serb, Muslim,
5 Croatian.
6 Q. Was there any group that had a majority in
7 the Prijedor Police Department?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Who?
10 A. The Serbs.
11 Q. In 1992, beginning in January of 1992 up
12 until you left the police department on the 10th of
13 April of 1992, how would you characterise the
14 relationship between non-Serbs and Serb police officers
15 in opstina Prijedor?
16 A. That period -- did you say up until 1992? I
17 apologise.
18 Q. I'm sorry. From January of 1992 until the
19 10th of April of 1992, when you left the Prijedor
20 Police Department.
21 A. A lot had changed compared to the previous
22 period.
23 Q. What changes had you noticed?
24 A. There were great changes in the behaviour of
25 individuals.
Page 2797
1 Q. What kind of behaviour did you observe that
2 had changed?
3 A. Well, quite simply, it wasn't what it used to
4 be.
5 Q. In what way? Can you assist us in that?
6 A. Well, quite simply, some things that were in
7 the air proved to be true. The relationships were not
8 what they were before. These people had organised
9 themselves far ahead of time; that is to say, they had
10 their organisation. There were plans; plans existed.
11 Q. Who had their organisation? Who are you
12 talking about by "these people" and "they"?
13 A. I think this was organised by the people at
14 the top, their top.
15 Q. What group of people are you talking about?
16 What ethnicity?
17 A. The Serbs.
18 Q. In 1992, while you were still working for the
19 Prijedor Police Department, who was the chief of
20 police?
21 A. Hasan Talundzic.
22 Q. What was his ethnic group?
23 A. A Muslim.
24 Q. Now, if you know, after the Serb takeover of
25 Prijedor on the 30th of April, who was the chief of
Page 2798
1 police?
2 A. Simo Drljaca.
3 Q. What was his ethnicity?
4 A. A Serb.
5 Q. Before you left the police, before the 10th
6 of April of 1992, did you know a man by the name of
7 Dzenadija who worked in the Prijedor SUP?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. What was his position in the Prijedor SUP?
10 A. He had various functions. I think that at
11 the end he was responsible for the reserve police
12 force.
13 Q. Was he a regular policeman, or did he hold a
14 position of higher authority?
15 A. He held a higher position; he was one of the
16 leaders, leading officers.
17 Q. On the 10th of April, why did you leave the
18 police force?
19 A. Quite simply, everything was clear to me by
20 then.
21 Q. In what way?
22 A. Well, the information that I had and what
23 would be coming.
24 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honours, it's 12.50. Do
25 you wish to take a break at this time?
Page 2799
1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes,
2 Ms. Hollis. I think that the time has come for a very
3 welcomed break. So let us have a half-hour break.
4 The meeting is adjourned.
5 --- Recess taken at 12.50 p.m.
6 --- On resuming at 1.27 p.m.
7 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Ms. Hollis,
8 you may continue --
9 MS. HOLLIS: Thank you, Your Honour.
10 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] -- as soon
11 as that is possible.
12 Please be seated.
13 Now, Ms. Hollis.
14 MS. HOLLIS: Thank you, Your Honour.
15 Q. Sir, before the break you were testifying
16 about your leaving the Prijedor Police Department on
17 the 10th of April of 1992. After you left the Prijedor
18 Police Department, do you recall attending a police
19 meeting in Prijedor?
20 A. Yes, I do remember.
21 Q. Do you recall, was this meeting held before
22 or after the Serb takeover of Prijedor on the 30th of
23 April?
24 A. After the takeover.
25 Q. Who called this meeting?
Page 2800
1 A. The Serb Crisis Staff.
2 Q. Who attended this meeting?
3 A. The meeting was attended by somebody I didn't
4 know, but he was introduced as a minister of the Serb
5 Republic for Internal Affairs matters; then the
6 president of the SDS, Simo Miskovic; then Commander
7 Dule Jankovic, and others.
8 Q. You say Commander Dule Jankovic. Dule
9 Jankovic was commander of what?
10 A. He was commander of the public security
11 station in Prijedor.
12 Q. If you know, what was his ethnicity?
13 A. A Serb.
14 Q. Now, in addition to these people and
15 yourself, who else attended this meeting?
16 A. Policemen of non-Serb ethnicity were invited
17 to the meeting.
18 Q. What was the purpose of this meeting? What
19 was the purpose of this meeting?
20 A. I hear you saying what you're saying but I'm
21 not getting the translation. Now I hear it.
22 Q. Let me repeat my question. What was the
23 purpose of this meeting?
24 A. The purpose of this meeting was the signing
25 of loyalty.
Page 2801
1 Q. Who had to sign loyalty?
2 A. The Croats and Muslims.
3 Q. What do you mean --
4 A. The policemen.
5 Q. What do you mean when they had to sign
6 loyalty? What did they have to agree to be loyal to?
7 A. We were to have been loyal to the Serb
8 Republic.
9 Q. Was it explained to you what that would mean
10 in terms of the duties you would have to perform?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. What would that mean?
13 A. In the first place, it would mean that we
14 would have to sign that loyalty, and by doing so we
15 would belong to the Serb Republic. We would have to
16 wear their insignia and markings.
17 Q. Was it explained to you what would happen if
18 you did not sign this loyalty oath?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Was it your understanding that if you did not
21 sign the oath you would be able to continue your
22 employment?
23 A. I couldn't continue employment automatically,
24 because they said who didn't sign employment would be
25 terminated.
Page 2802
1 Q. Did you sign that oath?
2 A. I did not.
3 Q. Now, on the 31st of May of 1992, were you
4 given an order to turn in your police weapons the next
5 day to the Prijedor Police Station?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Did you obey that order?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. What weapons did you have?
10 A. I had personal firearms, an automatic rifle,
11 and a pistol.
12 Q. So this was the 1st of June that you went to
13 the Prijedor Police Station and surrendered your
14 weapons?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Were you allowed to leave the Prijedor Police
17 Station once you had surrendered those weapons?
18 A. No. No, I was not.
19 Q. What happened to you after you surrendered
20 those weapons?
21 A. I was searched immediately, the objects I had
22 on me were seized, and I was taken upstairs to the
23 crime department for interrogation.
24 Q. Were you held in the police department
25 overnight?
Page 2803
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And the next day, were you taken to Omarska
3 camp?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Now, how were you transported to Omarska
6 camp?
7 A. By bus.
8 Q. Were there any other detainees on the bus
9 with you?
10 A. No. I was alone.
11 Q. Were there any other people on the bus with
12 you?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Who were these people?
15 A. The so-called interrogators and employees of
16 the crime department from Prijedor.
17 Q. The crime department from the Prijedor
18 police?
19 A. Yes, inspectors.
20 Q. When you say "so-called interrogators," what
21 do you mean?
22 A. Later I saw and learnt that these were people
23 who were doing the interrogations in the Omarska camp,
24 and that is why I used that term.
25 Q. What was the ethnicity of these people?
Page 2804
1 A. They were Serbs.
2 Q. Now, when you were taken from Prijedor to
3 Omarska, did you see anything unusual along the route?
4 A. Yes. Yes.
5 Q. What did you see?
6 A. As we were driving, I was on the right-hand
7 side, next to the window, and I noticed corpses placed
8 in the form of a cross.
9 Q. These corpses placed in the form of a cross,
10 did you observe injuries on their bodies?
11 A. Well, this was, for me, an eternity because I
12 couldn't believe what I saw. But I could see well that
13 the head was missing off one body and the head was
14 attached to another body, and then there was an extra
15 hand, and it was a horrific sight.
16 Q. What clothing, if any, were these corpses
17 wearing?
18 A. They were all civilians.
19 Q. What reaction, if any, did the interrogators
20 have to these corpses along the road?
21 A. Everything was normal. I tried to bite my
22 tongue but I thought to my myself, this is not
23 possible. I was quite free to look left and right and
24 in front of me. I didn't notice anything unusual on
25 them, no change.
Page 2805
1 Q. This area where you saw the corpses, if you
2 know, what was the ethnic composition of that area?
3 A. The ethnic composition, the area was Serb,
4 the area of Omarska.
5 Q. So this was at Omarska where you saw these
6 corpses.
7 A. Yes, in Omarska.
8 Q. How close to the camp was it that you saw
9 these corpses?
10 A. It's rather hard for me to tell. I can tell
11 you very approximately. But it wasn't far; it was very
12 close to the camp. Maybe 500 metres away or something
13 like that. I can't be more precise because everything
14 was horrific, and very soon after that we arrived at
15 the camp.
16 Q. Now, before you arrived at the camp, as you
17 approached the camp, do you recall seeing a fire?
18 A. Yes. On the left-hand side, as we were
19 driving, so I turned to look the other way so as not to
20 look at these bodies. I did see some fire.
21 Q. When you saw this fire, was there anything
22 unusual or particular that you also noticed?
23 A. There was a stench, the stench of human
24 flesh. It was nauseating.
25 Q. Did you ever smell such a stench while you
Page 2806
1 were in Omarska camp?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. What circumstance was it that you smelled
4 this similar stench?
5 A. A man whose hands were set on fire, Ferid
6 Sikiric, and the smell was similar because the wounds
7 were fresh. It's that same stench, the stench of human
8 flesh.
9 Q. Did you know Ferid Sikiric?
10 A. Yes, I did.
11 Q. What was his ethnicity?
12 A. He was a Muslim.
13 Q. Do you know where he was from?
14 A. He's from the village of Hambarine.
15 Q. How long were you detained in Omarska camp?
16 A. Until the camp was disbanded, which means the
17 beginning of August. Until the last day.
18 Q. While you were detained at the Omarska camp,
19 where were you held in the camp?
20 A. I was held on the so-called pista, on the
21 maintenance building, in the "white house." At night,
22 sometimes, or rather quite frequently, we were taken to
23 sleep in the canteen, so I was there too.
24 Q. Now, when you say "the maintenance building,"
25 was that also referred to as the hangar?
Page 2807
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. You indicated that you spent at least some
3 time in the "white house." How long were you in the
4 "white house"? How many occasions?
5 A. I spent one night in the "white house."
6 Q. What room were you in in the "white house"?
7 A. When you go into the "white house," as far as
8 I can recollect, the room was to the left.
9 Q. Were there other people in this room?
10 A. Yes, there were.
11 Q. Did you know any of them?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. What was the ethnic group of the people you
14 knew?
15 A. They were Muslims.
16 Q. What was the condition of the room you were
17 in?
18 A. It was dreadful. There was blood; there was
19 this stench. People were beaten up, in very bad
20 shape. One person was covered with maggots on his
21 body.
22 Q. Did you know who that person was?
23 A. It was a young man. After I learnt; at the
24 time I didn't know what his name was. I know that
25 Dr. Eso Hodzic undertook some surgery but with very
Page 2808
1 primitive methods, he had no instruments; with a little
2 knife, that's all he had.
3 Q. This doctor that you mentioned, was he a
4 detainee in the camp as well?
5 A. Yes, he was detained in the camp.
6 Q. Regarding the camp personnel, did you know
7 any of those camp personnel before you were brought to
8 Omarska camp?
9 A. Yes, I did.
10 Q. Who did you know from before?
11 A. I knew Miroslav Kvocka, Mladjo Radic, Zeljko
12 Meakic, and almost all the investigators, the
13 interrogators, the people who used to work with me in
14 the same service.
15 Q. How did you know Kvocka?
16 A. Kvocka was a colleague of mine from work.
17 Q. How long had you known him?
18 A. I'd known him for a long time. He graduated
19 a little earlier than me in Sarajevo, like me. We
20 would see each other frequently at meetings, work
21 meetings, so I knew him well.
22 Q. How did you know Zeljko Meakic?
23 A. I knew Zeljko Meakic even better because we
24 spent three years together in Sarajevo.
25 Q. And Radic, how did you know Radic?
Page 2809
1 A. Radic is also a colleague of ours; he is
2 older than we are. But I knew him from work too.
3 Q. How long had you known him?
4 A. For a long time. I met him in person when I
5 arrived in Prijedor to take up employment.
6 Q. Did you know him by any nickname?
7 A. Yes, I did.
8 Q. What was that nickname?
9 A. Krkan.
10 Q. Now, on the 2nd of June, when you arrived at
11 Omarska, where did you first go?
12 A. For interrogation, to the administration
13 building.
14 Q. What floor of the administration building?
15 A. It was the first floor of the administration
16 building.
17 Q. Did the interrogators go up to that first
18 floor as well?
19 A. Yes, they all went there.
20 Q. Did you see what room they went into?
21 A. Yes, I did.
22 Q. Now, when you first were taken to the first
23 floor of the administration building, were you held in
24 the hallway?
25 A. Yes, they left me in the hallway.
Page 2810
1 Q. About how long were you held in the hallway?
2 A. I was there from 10.00, 10.30, until I was
3 taken in for interrogation. But it was quite a long
4 time.
5 Q. During this time you were in the hallway,
6 what sounds, if any, did you hear coming from rooms up
7 on this first floor?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. What did you hear?
10 A. There were terrible screams uttered by people
11 who were being taken in for interrogation.
12 Q. While you were in the hallway, did you
13 recognise anyone coming into the hallway?
14 A. Yes, I did recognise some in the hallway.
15 Q. Who was that?
16 A. Miroslav Kvocka and Zeljko Meakic.
17 Q. Where were they coming from?
18 A. They were coming from the room into which the
19 interrogators had entered when we arrived.
20 Q. Now, did you see them come into the hallway
21 before, during, or after you heard these terrible
22 sounds?
23 A. They were there when the sounds were heard;
24 they were in that room. They left the room; those
25 screams continued, the beatings continued in the rooms,
Page 2811
1 in the corridor. They passed through that way; they
2 were present there.
3 Q. What did Miroslav Kvocka do when he came into
4 the hallway?
5 A. He passed without -- ignoring me.
6 THE INTERPRETER: I beg your pardon.
7 A. He passed as if he never noticed me.
8 MS. HOLLIS:
9 Q. What did Zeljko Meakic do?
10 A. He came up to me.
11 Q. Did you have a conversation with him?
12 A. Yes, very briefly.
13 Q. Did he explain to you why you were in Omarska
14 camp?
15 A. No. He just gave me a cigarette.
16 MS. HOLLIS: May I ask the witness be shown
17 Exhibit 3/77B, that is, the diagram of the first floor
18 of the administration building.
19 Q. Would you please look at that diagram, and
20 then would you please use the pointer and would you
21 show the Judges the hallway that you were in when you
22 were taken up to the first floor.
23 A. [Indicates]
24 Q. You're moving your pointer along B8; is that
25 correct?
Page 2812
1 A. Yes, that is the corridor.
2 Q. Now, would you show the Judges the room into
3 which the interrogators went.
4 A. The largest room on the left; it is the room
5 marked B1.
6 Q. Could you point to the room from which Zeljko
7 Meakic and Miroslav Kvocka came.
8 A. [Indicates]
9 Q. You're also pointing to B1; is that correct?
10 A. Yes. They came out of that room.
11 MS. HOLLIS: Thank you. If you could
12 retrieve the exhibit.
13 Q. Now, you indicated that for a period of time
14 while you were in Omarska you stayed on the pista. How
15 long did you stay on the pista?
16 A. Roughly 60 days -- no, sorry, 40 days. About
17 40 days.
18 Q. While you were on the pista, how often, if
19 ever, did you see Kvocka?
20 A. I saw him several times.
21 Q. When you saw him, where would he be?
22 A. I would see him entering or coming out of the
23 administration building or when the shifts were
24 changing.
25 Q. Did you see him during the day and the night?
Page 2813
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. When you saw him in the camp, what would he
3 wear?
4 A. The so-called camouflage uniform.
5 Q. Camouflage uniform of whom? Of the police or
6 of the military?
7 A. It is the police uniform.
8 Q. Would you describe that uniform for us?
9 A. It's a uniform which differs from normal
10 uniforms which are in one colour. The camouflage
11 uniform has sort of spots on it in different colours;
12 two colours: light blue and dark blue.
13 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, we have marked an
14 exhibit, it was previously marked 3/22, and we would
15 ask that it be shown to the witness.
16 Would you please first show it to Defence
17 counsel. First show it to Defence counsel, please.
18 Q. Now, would you look at this photograph. Look
19 at that uniform, please, and then if the uniform could
20 be put on the overhead. What is this uniform?
21 A. That is the uniform we are talking about,
22 that he was wearing.
23 Q. Thank you. When you saw Kvocka in the camp,
24 what weapons did he have?
25 A. He had a rifle on him, the so-called
Page 2814
1 pump-action, Pumperica, gun, which he carried like
2 this, in his right hand; and he also had a glove
3 without fingers. You could recognise him by the way he
4 carried this rifle; that is, the people who didn't know
5 him.
6 Q. Now, what was your understanding of his
7 position in Omarska camp?
8 A. He was the first commander of the Omarska
9 camp. The commander, the man who ...
10 Q. Why did you conclude that he was the
11 commander?
12 A. By what I saw, by what I heard, and the third
13 reason, the person who told me everything.
14 Q. This person who told you everything, what was
15 his position in the camp?
16 A. That person had the function of some sort of
17 external security guard.
18 Q. What did he tell you about Kvocka's position
19 in the camp?
20 A. That he was the number one man.
21 Q. Now, you said you also concluded that from
22 what you saw. What did you see to lead you to conclude
23 that he was the commander?
24 A. When shifts were changing, then he would
25 frequently be present, and the shift leaders would be
Page 2815
1 with him and they would address him, and from that I
2 could conclude that he was, indeed, what they said.
3 Also, I wasn't present, but he introduced himself
4 personally as the camp commander.
5 Q. Now, this is what you heard from other
6 detainees; is that correct?
7 A. Yes, I heard that from other detainees.
8 Q. Did you ever see Kvocka present when
9 detainees were abused or called out?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. How often did you see him present when
12 detainees were abused?
13 A. Several times.
14 Q. Can you tell us about those incidents?
15 A. Well, on one occasion, we were on the pista
16 and he was in front of the administration building.
17 This was during the daytime; I can't remember the time
18 exactly but it was daylight. He was with a number of
19 those guards, standing together in front of the
20 administration building. Then suddenly the order came
21 that we had to lie down; the word used was "Zelijezi,"
22 which meant lie down.
23 Q. What happened after you were ordered to lie
24 down?
25 A. We did. People were not in their proper
Page 2816
1 places, some, and they looked for some room, and I laid
2 down and immediately they came and started beating a
3 man who was lying next to me.
4 Q. Did you know this man?
5 A. Yes, I did know that man personally.
6 Q. Who was that?
7 A. It was an engineer, Ilijaz Drobic.
8 Q. What was his ethnic group?
9 A. He was a Muslim.
10 Q. What happened to Drobic as a result of the
11 beating he received?
12 A. He was killed. He was killed there and left
13 there to lie amongst us.
14 Q. Was there anyone else close to you who was
15 beaten during this incident?
16 A. Yes. Lower down from me a man was lying, I
17 don't remember his surname. I know his first name and
18 where he was from.
19 Q. Where was he from?
20 A. The man is from the village of Hambarine.
21 Q. What was his ethnicity?
22 A. He was Muslim.
23 Q. Do you know what injuries, if any, he
24 suffered as a result of this beating?
25 A. He was killed by the beating, that's for
Page 2817
1 sure.
2 Q. Now, how soon after you saw Kvocka by the
3 administration building, how soon after that did these
4 beatings begin?
5 A. Immediately. He was there. We were allowed
6 to look left and right. There were no orders, and then
7 suddenly the order came. Suddenly. We didn't hear it
8 straight away, and then it was repeated and we threw
9 ourselves to the ground. We had to do that.
10 Q. You said you saw him present on several
11 occasions when people were abused or taken out. You've
12 indicated one such occasion. What other occasions was
13 he present when people were abused or taken out?
14 A. He was present when they brought people to
15 the camp, we could see that from the pista, because
16 when these people would get off the vehicle, they would
17 be beaten.
18 Q. Was he present on any occasion when a person
19 was called out and did not return?
20 A. Yes, he was.
21 Q. Who was this person who was called out and
22 didn't return?
23 A. It was Izet Memic. He had a nickname, Puco.
24 Q. What was his ethnic group?
25 A. He was a Muslim.
Page 2818
1 Q. What happened when he was called out?
2 A. When he was called out, Kvocka came with
3 Meakic and another guard, they came to fetch him. The
4 guard called him out and the man got up and went off,
5 and as he was in the group where I was, he did not
6 return. We waited for him to return. This was just
7 before the shift, the evening shift. I can't tell you
8 the exact time but it was in the evening. And the
9 second shift to take over, which would be taking on the
10 night shift, it came to look for him, and then someone
11 said that he had been taken off.
12 There was a man who worked on the maintenance
13 of Omarska, and he came about an hour later -- it was
14 about 8.00 in the evening; he would always come around
15 that time -- and we told him, that is to say, I
16 personally said to him, "Puco is not here. He's gone
17 off." And then he said, "Well, just so long as you're
18 alive and well."
19 Q. Did he say what had happened to Puco?
20 A. He was killed.
21 Q. Who was this person who told you that?
22 A. He was one of the inmates of the camp, Midho
23 Fazlic.
24 Q. You also indicated that you knew Radic prior
25 to coming to the camp. While you were on the pista,
Page 2819
1 how often, if ever, did you see Radic?
2 A. Very often, because he was the man in charge
3 of shift number 3, as it was called. That means he
4 spent 12 hours a day.
5 Q. When you would see him, what would he be
6 doing?
7 A. He was the head of that shift. It was what
8 we called shift number 3.
9 Q. Why do you say that he was the head of that
10 shift?
11 A. He was the leader of the shift.
12 Q. What did you see or hear to make you conclude
13 that he was the leader of that shift?
14 A. First of all, it was the worst shift in the
15 camp. A crime is a crime, but it was worst when his
16 shift was on duty.
17 Q. I want to ask you about your statement that
18 he was the leader of the shift. I'd like you to tell
19 the Judges what you saw or heard that led you to
20 believe he was the leader of that shift?
21 A. Everybody knew that; we all knew it. The man
22 working in security confirmed that, he said, "Yes, he
23 is the leader. He is the leader of that shift."
24 Q. Was there anything about his behaviour or the
25 behaviour of others toward him that led you to that
Page 2820
1 conclusion?
2 A. Yes, of course there was.
3 Q. What?
4 A. He would come with his shift; he would talk
5 to the commander when the shifts were changing. Then
6 he had a room upstairs somewhere in the administration
7 building as well.
8 Q. What did he wear when you saw him in the
9 camp?
10 A. He wore a normal -- a standard police
11 uniform.
12 Q. What weapons, if any, would he have?
13 A. He had a pistol.
14 Q. Did you ever see Radic present when detainees
15 were either beaten or called out?
16 A. He was present.
17 Q. How often would you see him present when
18 detainees were beaten?
19 A. Well, when they were brought in, when they
20 brought the people there, or when they took people off
21 for interrogation.
22 Q. How often was he present when you saw people
23 called out?
24 A. Many times.
25 Q. Did all of these people return who were
Page 2821
1 called out?
2 A. No.
3 Q. The ones who did return, what was their
4 condition when they returned?
5 A. They were in a very serious condition, very
6 bad condition.
7 Q. While you were detained at Omarska, did you
8 ever encounter a person by the name of Prcac?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Was this a person you knew before coming to
11 the camp?
12 A. Yes, but not very well.
13 Q. How did you know him before you came to
14 Omarska?
15 A. He worked -- that is to say, before, he was a
16 colleague of ours.
17 Q. Now, when did you first see him in Omarska?
18 A. When he came and when he was the so-called
19 third commander of the camp.
20 Q. When you first saw him, where were you?
21 A. We were on the pista. I was on the pista.
22 Q. Were you being held on the pista at that time
23 or were you merely on the pista for that day?
24 A. We were already in the hangar, but there were
25 days when they would take us out again to the pista.
Page 2822
1 Q. When you saw him that day, what was he doing?
2 A. I saw him that day; he had some documents
3 that he was carrying. And there were several of their
4 people there.
5 Q. What was he wearing?
6 A. A uniform.
7 Q. What kind of uniform?
8 A. An army uniform.
9 Q. Was it a regular army uniform from the JNA?
10 A. Yes. That's how I saw him that first time.
11 Q. Now, when you saw him and he was carrying
12 these documents, where did he go?
13 A. He was going in the direction of the "white
14 house."
15 Q. How often after that did you see him in
16 Omarska camp?
17 A. Several times, a couple of times, and
18 afterwards when there was the roll-call and when the
19 camp was disbanded. He was there for a very short time
20 so that ...
21 Q. Now, when there was the roll-call when the
22 camp was disbanded, you said you saw Prcac at that
23 time. What was he doing at that time?
24 A. There was a roll-call; he was calling out the
25 names of people.
Page 2823
1 Q. What weapons, if any, did he have when you
2 saw him?
3 A. A pistol.
4 Q. Now, you mentioned earlier that Krkan was the
5 shift leader for the third shift. How many shifts of
6 guards were there?
7 A. There were three shifts.
8 Q. Other than Krkan, did you know any of the
9 shift leaders before you came to the camp?
10 A. No, I did not.
11 Q. While you were in the camp, did you learn the
12 names of any of these shift leaders?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. What were the names of the shift leaders?
15 A. One was called Milojica Kos; I didn't know
16 him. Then there was that other one, Ckalja, Gruban,
17 something like that; I didn't know him before either.
18 Q. You talked a bit about Prcac. You said you
19 didn't see him very often. Was he ever present when
20 people were abused or called out?
21 A. I did not see that.
22 Q. I'd like to draw your attention to the 16th
23 of June, while you were in Omarska. On that date, were
24 you beaten?
25 A. Yes.
Page 2824
1 Q. Do you know whose shift was on duty when you
2 were beaten on that date?
3 A. I think it was shift number 3.
4 Q. Whose shift was that?
5 A. Mladjo Radic's.
6 Q. Who beat you on the 16th of June?
7 A. Dusko Tadic.
8 Q. Did you know Dusko Tadic before you were
9 brought to Omarska?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Did Dusko Tadic work at Omarska camp?
12 A. He came to Omarska camp.
13 Q. What time of the day was it when this beating
14 occurred?
15 A. It was during the daytime, at about 2.00,
16 2.00 p.m.
17 Q. Where did this beating occur?
18 A. In the administration building, on the first
19 floor.
20 Q. What happened?
21 A. That day was our first official registration
22 day, that is to say, for the detainees. I was standing
23 in a group of 30 people who were on the list, and
24 someone unknown to me called me out and another minor,
25 and we were sent to take out somebody from the first
Page 2825
1 floor.
2 Q. This person you were sent to take out, what
3 was their condition?
4 A. In a very bad condition.
5 Q. What happened when you went to get this
6 person?
7 A. The person, that is, the minor standing next
8 to me was hit and he fell down, and when he came to
9 they sent him back, and then I was beaten.
10 Q. Can you describe what happened when you were
11 beaten?
12 A. Yes, I can.
13 Q. Can you tell the Judges, please?
14 A. I went upstairs and it was my turn. I was
15 beaten. A pipe was put in my mouth. I was hit with a
16 metal bar.
17 Q. Who was doing this?
18 A. Dusko Tadic.
19 Q. What happened after that?
20 A. After that, when I fell down and when I
21 regained consciousness, I was ordered -- he ordered me
22 to hit the person lying down. When we came in, the
23 person was already on the ground. I had no choice.
24 Q. What was the condition of this person that
25 you were forced to hit?
Page 2826
1 A. He was in a catastrophic state. It's very
2 difficult to explain. A dreadful state.
3 Q. What part of his body did you hit him on?
4 A. The head.
5 Q. What was the condition of his head when you
6 hit him?
7 A. I couldn't recognise him, whether it was a
8 man or what it was. It was all smashed up.
9 Q. When you hit him, what did it feel like?
10 A. There was a groan, a cry. The man was still
11 giving out signs of life. It is very difficult to
12 describe the sounds that came from him, and the whole
13 thing. But I had to do it.
14 Q. What happened --
15 A. I was forced to do it.
16 Q. What happened after you hit him?
17 A. I was ordered to go back downstairs, from
18 where I'd come.
19 Q. Now, you said that this beating occurred on
20 the first floor of the restaurant building. Where was
21 it on the first floor? Was it in one of the rooms or
22 was it in the hallway?
23 A. It was in the hallway.
24 Q. What injuries did you suffer as a result of
25 this beating?
Page 2827
1 A. I had very serious injuries. When my wounds
2 cooled down, I couldn't actually keep my head up. Two
3 people had to carry me, I wasn't able to walk, and one
4 of them had to hold my head up. And that's how it was
5 for the first three days afterwards.
6 Q. What parts of your body were injured as a
7 result of this beating?
8 A. My hand and my head.
9 Q. Did you suffer any injuries to your teeth as
10 a result of this beating?
11 A. Yes. Yes. When I say "my head," I mean my
12 teeth as well. They were all -- some of them had
13 been -- I'd lost some of them, and the teeth that
14 remained were pushed back into my gums.
15 Q. Sir, were you ever given any medical care for
16 these injuries?
17 A. No, none at all.
18 Q. Were there any other occasions at the camp
19 when you were beaten?
20 A. Yes, there were.
21 Q. When did these beatings occur?
22 A. Particularly during a visit to the camp.
23 Q. A visit by whom?
24 A. There was a lot of security about then. We
25 were all lined up in rows, we had to sing songs, and
Page 2828
1 after that, we were ordered to go into the kitchen, the
2 canteen, allegedly to go and have some food. At the
3 entrance, in the hallway, they were waiting for us with
4 batons and metal rods and began to beat us. And they
5 had spilt some liquid on the floor, so they made you
6 run and then you would slip and fall over, and this
7 would continue and other people would slip in turn and
8 fall over you.
9 Q. You say "they were waiting." Who was
10 waiting?
11 A. The Serb policemen.
12 Q. The time that you were beaten, did any camp
13 personnel ever intervene to stop those beatings?
14 A. No.
15 Q. Now, you testified earlier about the
16 existence of very detailed rules and guidelines that
17 govern police behaviour. Did those rules and
18 guidelines govern how prisoners were to be treated by
19 the police?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. If, as a policeman, you had to provide
22 security to prisoners in a gaol or a prison, what
23 duties would you have with regard to those prisoners?
24 A. Well, there are precise, specific rules and
25 regulations governing conduct, your conduct towards
Page 2829
1 prisoners.
2 Q. What would that conduct have to include?
3 A. A prisoner also has his rights. The
4 individual has the right to medical assistance, to be
5 given food; they have the right to use the toilet
6 facilities, and all the other rights that prisoners
7 enjoy.
8 Q. Who's responsible to ensure that those
9 prisoners get those rights?
10 A. The leading officer, in keeping with the
11 rules.
12 Q. As to each individual police officer, do they
13 have a duty to provide those rights to those prisoners?
14 A. Yes, they do.
15 Q. What duties, if any, of protection of these
16 prisoners do police officers have?
17 A. The rules and regulations specify our
18 behaviour towards prisoners.
19 Q. What would be your duties to protect
20 prisoners?
21 A. I would have to ensure their safety and
22 security, of the prisoners.
23 Q. Now, if valuables were taken from prisoners,
24 such as money or other valuables, what duties, under
25 the rules and regulations you have talked about, what
Page 2830
1 duties would the police have regarding those
2 valuables?
3 A. A report would be made of the items taken and
4 they would be submitted in three copies which would be
5 signed. The authorising official taking away this
6 property would sign the paper and the person whose
7 property was being taken away would also sign a copy,
8 and one copy would be given to the prisoner and the
9 others would be placed in the archives for the purposes
10 of the service.
11 Q. Regarding the valuables themselves, would
12 they be held for that prisoner?
13 A. Yes, of course, because they are his personal
14 property.
15 Q. Now, under the rules and the guidelines you
16 worked under, what responsibility or what consequence
17 would there be if a police officer violated these
18 duties?
19 A. Once again, the rules and regulations
20 stipulate what happens. He would have to suffer the
21 consequences if his conduct was in opposition to them.
22 Q. Now, as a police officer, if you saw another
23 police officer committing a crime, what would be your
24 obligation?
25 A. It is the right and duty to prevent an
Page 2831
1 individual from performing anything of that kind.
2 Q. This would be true even if the perpetrator
3 were a police officer?
4 A. Yes, because the rules hold true for
5 policemen as well.
6 Q. If you were the superior of police officers
7 and you became aware that your subordinates were
8 committing crimes, what would be your responsibility?
9 A. Well, the rules also regulate what is to be
10 done in such cases. That individual would lose his job
11 automatically, and of course this depended on the crime
12 that he had committed.
13 Q. Now, would the superior have the authority to
14 suspend this person or relieve them of duties pending
15 an investigation?
16 A. Yes. Yes, that would be automatic.
17 Q. Were policemen allowed to drink while they
18 were performing duty?
19 A. No.
20 Q. If other police officers saw a policeman
21 drinking on duty, what would be their duties, what
22 would be their obligation?
23 A. He would have to report him to his
24 superiors.
25 Q. Would a superior be allowed to provide
Page 2832
1 alcohol to policemen who were on duty?
2 A. No.
3 Q. Now, in regard to providing security to gaols
4 or prisons and to prisoners, what rules, if any,
5 existed about the use of firearms?
6 A. Well, the rules and regulations provide for
7 this, and the use of firearms is specified as well.
8 Once again, there are conditions under which the
9 authorised personnel may use firearms; this would be
10 stipulated, where and when this is allowed.
11 Q. Under what conditions would you be able to
12 shoot a prisoner?
13 A. Once again, there are the rules and
14 regulations governing the use of firearms when
15 prisoners are concerned.
16 Q. Under what kind of general circumstances
17 would you be allowed to shoot a prisoner?
18 A. If the individual -- that is to say, the
19 authorised individual is duty-bound to use firearms to
20 prevent the execution of a crime and to refute an
21 attack; that is to say, if somebody else's life is in
22 danger, the life of another citizen or his own life,
23 then he may resort to the use of firearms.
24 Q. If a prisoner was ordered to sit down and a
25 prisoner refused to do so and stood up and moved
Page 2833
1 forward and this prisoner were unarmed, based on your
2 training and experience and the guidelines you worked
3 under, would the police be able to shoot this prisoner?
4 A. No. No, there would be no grounds for that.
5 Q. If a superior were present at the time, what
6 would be the superior's duties?
7 A. If the superior were present and something
8 like that took place, he would have to prevent it. But
9 if the superior, according to the rules which specify
10 this, that is to say, if the superior aids and abets a
11 crime to take place, then he is equally responsible for
12 the crime.
13 Q. Now, if the superior were not present but the
14 superior learned about this incident, what would be the
15 superior's responsibilities?
16 A. Once again, the rules specify this. If there
17 is the doubt that somebody -- the suspicion that
18 somebody has committed a crime, then it is the
19 superior's duty to bring an investigation against him.
20 Q. Now, you were in the camp from the 2nd of
21 June until the beginning of August. Based on what you
22 observed and what happened to you, was the behaviour of
23 the police officers in the Omarska camp consistent with
24 the rules and guidelines you've talked about?
25 A. No.
Page 2834
1 Q. Now, you've talked about people you
2 identified as having positions of superior authority in
3 the camp. Based on your training and your experience
4 and these guidelines you talked about, the behaviour of
5 these superiors that you observed, was that in
6 accordance with the rules and guidelines?
7 A. No.
8 Q. Now, you talked about this visit to the
9 camp. Do you know who it was who was visiting the
10 camp?
11 A. Yes, as far as I remember.
12 Q. Who was it who was visiting the camp?
13 A. It was a politician, Vojo Kupresanin from
14 Banja Luka.
15 Q. Did you observe anything to indicate to you
16 that there were representatives from the federal
17 government as well?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. What did you observe to lead you to that
20 conclusion?
21 A. The number plates on the car.
22 Q. What was significant about the numbers on the
23 plates?
24 A. The number 9.
25 Q. What does that mean?
Page 2835
1 A. Vehicles belonging to the federal SUP had
2 number plates beginning with a 9.
3 Q. Now, when you left Omarska, where were you
4 taken?
5 A. We were taken to Manjaca.
6 Q. How long were you held at Manjaca?
7 A. Until the camp was disbanded.
8 Q. Where did you go from Manjaca?
9 A. We went to Croatia.
10 Q. What was your physical condition when you
11 were taken to Omarska?
12 A. I was in good physical condition when I went
13 there.
14 Q. When you left Omarska, how would you describe
15 your physical condition?
16 A. Extremely poor. I was seriously ill because
17 of everything that I had experienced there, and I was
18 given no assistance. I lost a lot of weight. And
19 generally my condition was very, very poor.
20 Q. Did you have to undergo any operations as a
21 result of the injuries you received in Omarska camp?
22 A. Yes, several times.
23 Q. What kind of operations?
24 A. My first surgical intervention was in Croatia
25 with respect to my teeth. Then in another country I
Page 2836
1 had two other operations, once again dental ones, and
2 another operation on my head.
3 Q. What long-term effects, if any, have you
4 suffered, physical, psychological, or emotional, as a
5 result of what was done to you in Omarska and what you
6 experienced there?
7 A. Well, I have serious difficulties. How shall
8 I put it? I have received treatment from different
9 psychiatrists, the treatment is still ongoing, and my
10 situation is very serious. I still have this fear in
11 me; it comes and goes, anxiety.
12 Q. Now, you have testified that you knew Kvocka,
13 Radic, and Prcac before you went to Omarska and that
14 you saw them in the Omarska camp. Do you believe you
15 would be able to recognise them today?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Would you look around the courtroom and tell
18 us if you see Kvocka in the courtroom.
19 A. Yes, I can see him.
20 Q. Can you tell us where he's seated?
21 A. He's sitting between Radic and the other one,
22 the one with his hands like this, with a red pencil in
23 his hands.
24 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, I would note a
25 positive identification of Kvocka.
Page 2837
1 Q. Now, you indicated he was sitting next to
2 Radic. From where you are seated, is Radic to his left
3 or his right? I'm talking -- excuse me. To your left
4 or your right?
5 A. On my left.
6 Q. What is Radic wearing?
7 A. Well, he's got a blue suit and a tie. He's
8 lost a little weight but ...
9 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, we would note a
10 positive identification of Radic.
11 Q. And Prcac, would you look around the
12 courtroom and tell us if Prcac is present in the
13 courtroom.
14 A. The one with the yellow tie.
15 Q. Where is he seated?
16 A. [Indicates]
17 Q. You have to explain it rather than point.
18 Where is he seated?
19 A. Over there.
20 Q. All right. Where over there? If you look at
21 the direction you are pointing, there's the row where
22 you identified Kvocka and Radic. Where is Prcac in
23 relation to that row? Is he in the same row?
24 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Witness, if
25 you need to get up to have a good look, you may do so,
Page 2838
1 because there are obstacles in your path.
2 A. It's that man there.
3 MS. HOLLIS:
4 Q. What is he wearing? You mentioned a yellow
5 tie. What is he wearing? What else?
6 A. A suit.
7 Q. What colour is the suit?
8 A. Light.
9 Q. The person that you are looking at, what
10 facial hair, if any, does that person have?
11 A. He hasn't got any facial hair.
12 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, we would note a
13 failure to identify Prcac.
14 A. Just a moment, please. No. No. Just a
15 moment, please.
16 Q. Witness, that's fine. Please be seated.
17 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honours, we would note a
18 failure to identify Prcac.
19 A. I've got everything mixed up now. I
20 apologise.
21 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour,
22 our objection is that the identification is over.
23 A. Yes, I have, indeed, made a ...
24 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] There is
25 the cross-examination and the questions of Judges.
Page 2839
1 Ms. Hollis already said that the identification is
2 over, but if the witness wants to say something.
3 There's no problem, Witness. Just a moment.
4 We haven't finished yet, Witness. We're just going to
5 have a break.
6 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, we have concluded
7 our direct examination. We would note for the record,
8 however, that based on the discussions that we had
9 yesterday in the Status Conference, the Prosecution has
10 foregone questioning into various areas that would be
11 relevant to the common or jurisdictional elements.
12 Should that evidence become relevant to our case and
13 necessary, the Prosecution would reserve the right to
14 recall this witness for those purposes, Your Honour.
15 Thank you, Your Honour.
16 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well.
17 Thank you very much, Ms. Hollis.
18 Witness, we are going to have a break until
19 tomorrow, and tomorrow you will be answering questions
20 by Defence lawyers. Mr. Krstan Simic will begin with
21 the cross-examination.
22 That's enough for today. We will be here
23 tomorrow, at 9.30.
24 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at
25 2.42 p.m., to be reconvened on Thursday,
Page 2840
1 the 8th day of June, 2000, at 9.30 a.m.
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