Witness Admir Nizić from Hadžići said in the courtroom today that his father Fadilj (61) was captured in the local sports center in June 1992, then taken away, and that after that, no trace of him was ever found.
He testified at the Podgorica Higher Court in the continuation of the trial of Zoran Gašović, who is accused of crimes against humanity.
"I ask Zoran Gašović, if he knows, to tell us the location of the bones of my father and the other 46-48 missing, so that the souls of those people and their families may rest in peace. Even today, I do not know about the disappearance of my father Fadilje, nor where his grave is, nor where his bones are. Also, I do not know about my uncle... I have all the information about them from Ismet Merdžanić, who was captured with my father, uncle Osman and cousin Ramiz and that they were in the sports center. Then, on June 14, 1992, they were taken to the place of Brda, above the main road. They were taken by Miroslav R. Stijačić, known as Mito, and Đorđo Stijačić, a friend of my late father, was also there. This entire operation was led by Mito, who shot them with a rifle, and then they were transported by van to the 'garage' in Hadžići. Osman and Ramiz died immediately. My father was shot through both legs and transferred to the sports center, and from there to the barracks in Lukavica, today's East Sarajevo. They also disappeared from sight between June 24 and 26. The second uncle was called by armed soldiers to surrender and when he started to surrender, he was shot with two bullets in the arm and foot. But he managed to escape and hid in the forests and went up to Igman on September 8. He did not know what happened to my father and uncle, and his brothers," Nizić said.
He stated that after the war, Admir Mujanović, who was involved in real estate, was in contact with Miroslav Stijačić, who discovered the location where Zejnel Merdžanić and Osman Nizić were buried by making a sketch. However, when the excavator began excavating, nothing was found in the grave.
"Then Mito explained to this Admir what had happened. Three men were buried shallowly and a fourth whose name he did not know. There was a mortar battery there, and that the road was covered with water. They brought in a wheeled excavator, who was working there to repair the road, and suddenly his wheels threw debris to the surface. When the excavator saw that, he ran away and never returned. There was a possibility that the new excavator had moved that grave and there was a secondary grave. Then came Jaro, Ramiz Nizić's son-in-law, who found the exact grave site through a Serb colleague. Only two bodies were found. During the war, I was on Igman as a member of the Bosnian Army from May 28, 1992 to February 22, 1996," said witness Nizić.
He said that he did not know the accused Gašović, but that after the war he had heard that he was violent.
"I heard this from prisoners Adil Bećirović and his son Armin Fikar Bećirović. They told me that the guards forced them to fight each other, father and son," the witness said.
The defendant's defense attorney, attorney Danilo Mićović, said he thanked the witness for his consistent testimony - both before the state authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Podgorica courtroom.
"Gašović does not have any information about the disappearance of these people. He neither knew, nor could he, nor did he need to know what happened to them during the war," he said.
Witness Adnan Music said he was 11 and a half years old when his father Sakib was killed in 1992:
"The only information I have from Refik Hrnić, who was an eyewitness when my father was arrested, is that Zoran Gašović, with a few others, came to Kadil Hrnić's house and found my father Sakib in the basement. They tied him up with barbed wire and took him away, I don't know where. He told me that Gašović, the Prodan brothers - Dragan and Slobodan, then Pušara, took these 46 prisoners, among whom was my father, to the barracks in Lukavica. Someone rounded them up and we no longer know where their graves are. And if Gašović is able to tell us," said witness Music.
Music: Gašović was the master of life and death in Hadžići
Music said that he fled to Pazarići with his mother and brother during the war.
"My father was a tinsmith by trade. He was also with us in Pazarići, but after two or three days he returned to Hadžići to take a cow out and so he stayed there. When he disappeared, he was 42 years old. He was wounded by a shell that fell behind the house. As far as I know, he was not a member of the military or paramilitary formations during the war. My father was taken from the 'sports center' to the barracks in Lukavica, and he spent the night there together with the other 46-48 prisoners and they separated them there. They were allegedly circled in red pencil. Gašović probably knows that, he provided them with a list. And I don't know why they were circled. According to my information, a total of between 230 and 250 prisoners were taken from Hadžići. This group of 46 were taken by buses, and the others from the barracks in Lukavica were transferred to the 'Kula' prison. According to witness statements, Gašović personally participated in their transport. I know this because Nenad Krvavac talked about it, and some others, but they have passed away. Zoran Gašović was the master of life and death in Hadžići. All the witnesses in Hadžići will confirm this to you. He went with them and beat Idriz Music, Zaim Bećirović, Kadir Hrnić and others. I don't know who took these 48 people who were lost to all trace in Lukavica. Some had red berets...", the witness said.
Mićović: Zoran Gašović did not participate in the liquidation, transport and torture
Lawyer Danilo Mićović objected to Music's testimony, noting that he had absolutely no knowledge.
"The story that the father returned to Hadžići to get the cow, he doesn't drink water. His information is unreliable and inaccurate and boils down to hearsay. Zoran Gašović did not participate in the liquidation, transport and torture. He was the youngest member of the civilian Serbian police and cannot give orders to anyone. He had no knowledge of who was liquidated and where who was buried. Everyone here is mourning the wrong man," said Mićović.
In the indictment, special prosecutor Tanja Čolan Deretić alleged, among other things, that the defendant Zoran Gašović carried out resettlement, enslaved Bosnian Muslims and participated in murders. This happened from June to December 1992, when there was a systematic attack by the army of Republika Srpska and paramilitary formations. The captured civilians were taken to the police station in the Hadžići municipality and the so-called garage. He tortured Zaim Bećirović for a month, and after questioning he punched him, which made him lose consciousness. He beat and tortured Avdo Hisović with a baton, as well as Alija Bašić, Adil Bećirović, Šefko Music, Mehdi Ibrahim and Smail, and threatened to kill Ekrem Hasković. He beat Muj Music, while on May 20, 1992, he locked Armin Bećirović in the garage and beat him with a pistol, rifle and baton. He enslaved Suad Music without legal grounds, all on the basis of religion and nationality. He put a knife to the neck of the injured AK, tore her shirt and raped her while she was pregnant. The indictment states that they were held in inhumane conditions. In the village of Musici, 10 members of that family were killed. One civilian had a cigarette stubbed out on his face... Gašović is then charged with rounding up 49 Bosnian Muslims, who were taken to the barracks in Lukavica, of whom 48 are listed as missing. In December 1992, according to the indictment, he assisted in the forced relocation from Hadžići to Vogošća, in which he actively participated.
Kadir Hrnić: A star in the sky shone on me
Kadir Hrnić, whose father Midhat and brother Enes were killed, stated that he survived the horrors of war through a twist of fate.
Although he was captured with his father and brother, he was released and returned home. He was freed by a Serbian soldier, Slobodan Prodan.
"That day when the three of us were taken away in a van with the sign 'Forestry Hadžići'. We were arrested by Nemanja Jovičić and a team. Out of about a dozen soldiers, I only knew Dragan Kićanović, who is my neighbor. They took us to the 'garage' of the Hadžići municipality. There they separated us. That was the last time I saw my father. They took me to a room above the 'garage', and Kićanović guarded me. They took my older brother to the office on the right. Then I saw Gašović, who opened the door. He was in uniform. He came in and we talked for about 15 minutes. When Gašović left, I asked who it was, and Kićanović told me his name and surname: Zoran Gašović," said Hrnić.
He said that after the interrogation, he was taken to the municipal "garage" and that he found his brother there.
"I saw a lot of people then who are now listed as missing: Avdo Hrnić, Mujo Music, Ekrem Gegić, Šaban Isić, Kenan and Osman Hasanović, Ismir Merdžanić, Vezir Kahlica. It was a one-car garage, and there were about 40 of us there. It was the beginning of June 1992. An extremely hot day. There were no toilets, so we defecated in bottles and later one of the prisoners would knock on the door, the guard would open it and one of us would go and spill it. We were given food, stew and a piece of bread. I couldn't eat from the shock. Some of the prisoners were there for up to 15 days. Their hair and beards had grown so long that you couldn't recognize them. Those were inhuman conditions," said witness Hrnić.
He described the detail that changed his life this way: "When we went to the toilet once a day in the morning, we passed through a line of soldiers. On my way back, a star shone on me. Slobodan Prodan recognized me, took me out and took me to the same office where I was with Kićanović. After five or six minutes, he took me and said: 'You are going home'. And that is why I am here before you today. He took me to the house of his godfather Vlado Zec, whose house is near ours in Hadžići. He told me to sleep there for a few nights until he found a scheme to transfer me to free territory," said Kadir Hrnić. He added that Prodan took him in a 'jet' vehicle, together with his mother, uncle and aunt, to Pazarići."
The trial continues on April 17.
He conveyed to the court the information from the surviving prisoner.
Witness Kadir Hrnić further said that he heard from his relatives that his father was killed in a garage and buried next to the mosque in Hadžići.
"One morning my uncle, my father's brother, went to take the cattle out to pasture. He saw my father's body thrown away, wrapped in a blanket, next to the mosque. He recognized his brother. He, his relatives and neighbors buried him. I did not see who killed my father. I have information about it. Muho Pizović, who was also imprisoned in the Territorial Defense garage in Hadžići, told me: 'Do you know that your father was killed by Zoran Gašović and a certain Kovačević and that he died in the arms of Sejo Alispahić, as a prisoner'. I conveyed what that man told me. This Pizović died three years ago," said Hrnić. He added that his brother Enes Hrnić was taken in group 46-48 to Lukavica and that there is no trace of him.
Lawyer Danilo Mićović said that he has all of this witness's statements, but that he never mentioned Zoran Gašović, as he did today at the trial.
"I propose that the case files be submitted to the competent prosecutor and that it be determined whether there are elements to file criminal charges against this witness for false testimony," warned Mićović.
"Why did you only mention today who killed your father?" the defense attorney asked.
"I didn't see who killed my father. Muho Pizović told me that," the witness replied.
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