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Osmic: Brutal Typhoon

Alija Osmić

04 February 2010  A former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, from Bugojno describes how indictee Alija Osmic beat several detainees in July 1993.

"I know Osmic by sight. I saw him in the garage while I was detained in it. I think this is the most brutal man I have ever seen in terms of how he treated detainees. He would come like a typhoon and beat whomever he saw," State Prosecution witness Josip Kalajica said.

Kalajica, former Assistant Commander for Logistics with the Fist HVO Battalion, testified for the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the trial of Alija Osmic, who is charged with the murder, torture and detention of Croat civilians in "basements and garages", "Marxist Center - Cloister" and "Iskra" stadium detention camp in Bugojno.

The indictment alleges that Osmic was a military policeman with the 307th Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The witness said the conflict between the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and HVO in Bugojno began on July 19, 1993, adding that HVO soldiers surrendered "four days later".

"We came out and we were searched. They took everything from us. Then they took soldiers to the garages in Donjici and civilians to a nearby house. My detention in the garage was one of the worst episodes I experienced during my eight-month detention. The agreement saying we should surrender and the Geneva Conventions would be respected was ignored. The very moment we were brought to the garage hell began," the witness said.

Kalajica identified Osmic in court, saying the indictee "beat up" Vlatko Kapetanovic, Ivan Kesic and Marko Krajinovic.

The indictment charges Osmic with having beaten up Vlatko Kapetanovic in a garage in Donjici village in late July 1993 and then taking him out of the Marxist Center - Cloister premises. It is alleged that the man has been missing since then.

Kalajica said that after having been held in the garage for two days all the detainees were transferred to the Marxist Center - Cloister in Bugojno.

"Some people were taken to the Cultural and Sports Center. Military policemen used to take them for questioning. Detainees also performed labour, including digging trenches, cleaning the town and collecting stuff. Some people never came back after having been taken somewhere to perform labour. Mario Zrno died after having been beaten up while performing labour in Vrbanja," the witness said.

Kalajica said that all detained HVO members were transferred to the Iskra stadium in Bugojno, but he did not say when this happened. He said they stayed at the stadium "until the exchange on March 19, 1994".

"The conditions at the stadium were specific - there was no glass, but tarpaulin on the windows, there were walled up locker rooms. People kept coming. They kept bringing people and taking them to the BH Banka premises, allegedly to examine them. The BH Banka premises were a genuine place of torture to which people were taken," the witness said, adding that he did not see the indictee during his detention at the stadium.

The trial is due to continue on February 11, when the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina will examine two new witnesses.