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Lalovic and Skiljevic: Bad Treatment During Questioning

Soniboj Škiljević

18 March 2010  Testifying for his defence, indictee Soniboj Skiljevic says detainees complained to him on their arrival at Kula about the way they were treated during questioning conducted before their arrival at the Facility.

"Detainees spoke to me and said they were not treated in a good way during questioning conducted by security services. Some of them had visible injuries on their bodies," Skiljevic said.

Skiljevic is charged under the same indictment as Radoje Lalovic with crimes committed in "Butmir" Penal and Correctional Facility in Kula, near Sarajevo.

The indictment alleges that non-Serb men, women and children were held in inhumane conditions in Kula and taken to other locations where they performed forced labour. Some of them were killed at those locations. The State Prosecution considers that Lalovic was Kula Manager until the end of 1992. His former Deputy Skiljevic took over the function of Manager at the end of the year. He performed this function until the end of 1995.

During the course of his testimony Skiljevic said that the Second Pavilion, in which prisoners-of-war were held, was "under the exclusive responsibility of military authorities".

"Prisoners-of-war were detained on the basis of an Instruction on Treatment of Prisoners-of-War. They were under the responsibility of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS. (...) Our only responsibility was to make a list of detainees and take care of food, accommodation and health protection. All prisoners-of-war were held in the Second Pavilion. I considered the Pavilion was under the exclusive responsibility of the Army," the second indictee said, adding that "military security representatives used to visit" the detainees. 

Commenting on living conditions in the prison, Skiljevic said they were "in line with standards", adding that there was plenty of space in the rooms, which were "equipped with beds, mattresses and nightstands".   

 The indictee spoke about the detainees from Kasindolska Street, but, at the request of the Defence, the public was excluded from that part of the hearing.

 The 37 detainees from Kasindolska Street, who, according to the indictment, were held in the Butmir Facility, were taken away and killed in mid May 1992. Their bodies were found in a mass grave on Mount Romanija 15 years later.

 Prior to the exclusion of the public Skiljevic said the Kula Facility was part of the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska, formed on the basis of a Decision published in the Official Gazette of the Serbian People in Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 30, 1992.

 Skiljevic is due to continue his testimony on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.