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Osmic: Eyes Reflecting Hatred

Alija Osmić

04 March 2010  Protected Prosecution witness A says indictee Alija Osmic beat several prisoners in a garage in Donjici village, describing him as "a savage".

"They would take us out in order to beat us. A person named Eso Halilovic took me and Ivan Kapetanovic out and beat us. I thought we would not be beaten as Eso was our neighbour, but we were. The moment seemed like ages to me. (...) Alija Osmic used to come into the garage and beat us. I shall never forget the eyes reflecting hatred," witness A said, identifying the indictee in court.

The witness told the Court he joined other members of the First Battalion with the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, and Croat civilians from the Bugojno area, who surrendered to the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 23, 1993. He said he was then detained in a garage in Donjici village.

Alija Osmic, a former member of the Military Police Squad with the 307th ARBiH Brigade, is charged with having participated in murder, torture, inhumane treatment and forcing Croatian civilians from the Bugojno area to perform forced labour during the course of 1993 and 1994.  

The indictment alleges that civilians were detained and physically abused in garages and houses in Donjici village, the Marxist Center - Cloister, Cultural and Sports Center, "Iskra" football stadium detention camp and "BH Banka" premises in Bugojno.

The witness said he did not see indictee Osmic at the "Iskra" football stadium or Marxist Center, but he said that members of "the Brigade's Police Squad" guarded detainees in the garage in Donjici, where indictee Osmic beat several people.

"He did horrible things to Vlatko Kapetanovic. After that, he and a few other people took Marijo Glisic out of the garage. They beat him outside. When they brought him back, they threw a car part on him. (...) Alija and a Kajka and Sarajka beat Ivan Keskic, who fainted several times," the witness recalled.

During cross-examination of witness A, Osmic's Defence said he did not mention the indictee in his earlier statement given to the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The witness responded by saying that nobody had asked him about the indictee.

"I may not have remembered him at the time, but I confirm what I said today. On the first day of our detention in the garage, Osmic came, looking like some savage, and started beating us," witness A said.

Two days later the witness was transferred, together with other detainees, to the Marxist Center, where he stayed for 15 days before being taken to "Iskra" stadium.

"While I was in the Marxist Center, I stayed in the basement. Some soldiers used to come and call some people's names out. They once called my name out, but Major Dzaja stopped them from taking me. When the group of people came back, they said they had exhumed bodies from Vranica, adding that Mario Zrno had gone. They said Zrno had been beaten with shovels and had died," protected witness A said.

The indictment alleges that at the end of July 1993 Osmic, who was accompanied by other ARBiH members, took a group of detainees from the Marxist Center to gather and bury corpses from Vrbanja village. While they were performing the work, several prisoners were physically abused. One of them allegedly died due to the beating.

Protected witness A said that "at the end of August or the beginning of September 1993" he was taken to Gornji Vakuf to perform labour. He said he was taken back to the stadium two months later and then released on March 19, 1994.

The trial is due to continue on March 11, 2010.