Cablegate: Tfsrol: Severe Human Rights Abuses in B-H:

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLASSIFIED LIMITED OFFICIAL USE SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 00945

SIPDIS

USMISSION USVIENNA
USMISSION USNATO
AMEMBASSY BONN
SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP//
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
AMEMBASSY ROME
WHITEHOUSE WASHDC
AMEMBASSY PARIS
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY MADRID
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE

LIMITED OFFICIAL USE SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 000945

VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL MOPS HR BK PREL MOPS HR BK PREL MOPS HR BK
SUBJECT: TFSROL: SEVERE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN B-H:
EYEWITNESS DETAILS MURDER, BEATINGS IN LUKA AND
BATKOVIC

REF: (A) ZAGREB 827; (B) ZAGREB 872; (C) ZAGREB 919;
(D) ZAGREB 930; (E) ZAGREB 941

1. (U) SUMMARY: THIS IS ONE OF A SERIES OF REPORTS OF
INTERVIEWS (REFTELS) WITH WAR CRIMES VICTIMS CONDUCTED IN
LATE 1993 IN MAOCA, BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA, BY A DART/ZAGREB
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FIELD REP AND AN AMCIT IRC REP WHILE THEY WERE IN THE
AREA ASSESSING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS. THIS REPORT NAMES
VICTIMS AND, IN SOME CASES, PERPETRATORS AND DETAILS OF
SPECIFIC CRIMES. END SUMMARY.

-----------
THE WITNESS
-----------

2. (LOU) AMIR DIDIC (STRICTLY PROTECT), HEREAFTER
REFERRED TO AS THE WITNESS, IS A BOSNIAN MUSLIM FROM
POLANKA, A VILLAGE SOUTHWEST OF BRCKO. HE WAS BORN MAY
1, 1967. HE WAS A CIVILIAN AT THE TIME OF HIS ARREST BY
BOSNIAN SERB FORCES ON MAY 19, 1992.

---------------------
THE WITNESS'S ACCOUNT
---------------------

3. (U) AT THE TIME OF HIS ARREST, THE WITNESS WAS DRIVING
WITH HIS AUNT AND A FRIEND. HE AND HIS FRIEND WERE TAKEN
TO THE POLICE STATION IN BRCKO, WHERE THEY WAITED ONE
HOUR BEFORE BEING TAKEN WITH 15 OTHER MEN TO A WAREHOUSE
COMPLEX KNOWN AS LUKA WHICH WAS BEING USED AS A PRISON
CAMP. WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THEY WERE PUT IN A WAREHOUSE
WITH 100-150 OTHER PRISONERS WHO WERE SINGING "CETNIK"
SONGS. THEY WERE SEARCHED, AND THEIR VALUABLES WERE
TAKEN. THEY WERE TAKEN ONE BY ONE FOR INTERROGATION BY
POLICE INSPECTORS. THIS INITIAL INTERROGATION WAS
RELATIVELY NORMAL. BECAUSE WITNESS WAS FROM THE FREE
TERRITORY, HE WAS ASKED ABOUT THE ARMY OF
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PAGE 04 ZAGREB 00945 01 OF 03 081147Z
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. AFTERWARDS, HE WAS RETURNED TO THE
WAREHOUSE.

4. (U) AFTER ALL 15 MEN HAD BEEN QUESTIONED, BOSNIAN
SERBS CAME INTO THE WAREHOUSE AND BEGAN BEATING THEM.
THESE (SERBS) INCLUDED GORAN JELISIC FROM BIJELJINA,
MONIKA (LNU) FROM BRCKO, RANKO (LNU) FROM BRCKO, IVAN
(LNU) FROM BIJELJINA, AND SEVERAL OTHERS FROM BIJELJINA.
ACCORDING TO THE WITNESS, THE FOUR NAMED ABOVE DID MOST
OF THE KILLING IN LUKA. HE DESCRIBED RANKO AS TALL AND
MUSCULAR, WITH BLACK HAIR; AND MONIKA AS 18 OR 19 YEARS
OLD, SHORT, NICE-LOOKING, WITH BLACK SHOULDER-LENGTH
HAIR. (NOTE: THE BRCKO MUNICIPALITY WAR CRIMES
COMMISSION IN MAOCA HAS PHOTOS OF MONIKA AND INFORMATION
THAT SHE OPENED A BOUTIQUE CALLED "MONIKA" IN BIJELJINA
AFTER MARRYING GORAN JELISIC. END NOTE.)

5. (U) AFTER BEATING THE PRISONERS FOR ABOUT AN HOUR,
THE SERBS LEFT THE WAREHOUSE. BY THEN IT WAS GETTING

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ACTION SS-00

INFO LOG-00 AID-01 AMAD-01 CIAE-00 C-01 OASY-00 DOEE-00
EB-01 EUR-01 HA-09 H-01 IMMC-01 TEDE-00 INR-00
IO-16 LAB-01 L-01 ADS-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01
PA-01 PM-01 PRS-01 P-01 RPCS-01 SB-00 SCT-03
SNP-00 SP-00 SR-00 SSO-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 T-00
RPE-01 SNIS-00 NISC-02 PMB-00 /049W
------------------2D402C 081155Z /38
P 081138Z MAR 94
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1120
INFO USEC BRUSSELS
AMEMBASSY ATHENS
AMEMBASSY ANKARA
USIA WASHDC 4323
HQ JTF PP NAPLES IT//CA/POLAD//
USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ3/ECJ4/ECJ5/ECPOLAD//
CINCUSAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE//DO/LG/XP/IN/POLAD//
CINCUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE//J3/J4/J5/POLAD//
CINCUSNAVEUR LONDON UK//N2/N22//
COM SIXTHFLT//N2//
JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5-PMA/J2I//
AMCONSUL MUNICH
USMISSION GENEVA
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
AMEMBASSY VIENNA
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PAGE 02 ZAGREB 00945 02 OF 03 081147Z
USMISSION USVIENNA
USMISSION USNATO
AMEMBASSY BONN
SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP//
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
AMEMBASSY ROME
WHITEHOUSE WASHDC
AMEMBASSY PARIS
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY MADRID
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE

LIMITED OFFICIAL USE SECTION 02 OF 03 ZAGREB 000945

VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL MOPS HR BK PREL MOPS HR BK PREL MOPS HR BK
SUBJECT: TFSROL: SEVERE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN B-H:
EYEWITNESS DETAILS MURDER, BEATINGS IN LUKA AND
BATKOVIC

DARK. THEN PRISONERS WERE CALLED OUT OF THE WAREHOUSE
ONE BY ONE AND BEATEN. THE WITNESS AND ANOTHER PRISONER
NAMED ANDRIJA TUFEKCIC WERE THE MOST BADLY BEATEN, BUT
THE WITNESS DID NOT KNOW WHY. THEY WERE BEATEN WITH
BOTTLES AND A FIRE HOSE NOZZLE. SUCH BEATINGS CONTINUED
FOR 10 DAYS. THE WITNESS SHOWED SCARS ON HIS HEAD HE
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SAID WERE CAUSED BY THESE BEATINGS.

6. (U) THE WITNESS SPENT TWO MONTHS AT LUKA, WHERE
BEATINGS WERE A DAILY OCCURRENCE. HE SAID THAT IF A
PRISONER HAD TO GO TO THE TOILET, HE WOULD ALWAYS RET
URN
BLOODY. MONIKA, IN ONE CASE, POURED HYDROCHLORIC ACID ON
ANDRIJA TUFEKCIC. MONIKA, HE SAID, WAS ALSO KNOWN TO
CASTRATE PRISONERS, SOMETIMES WITH BROKEN BOTTLES. SOME
PRISONERS WERE KILLED EVERY NIGHT, OFTEN BY SOLDIERS
RETURNING FROM THE FRONT. ON JULY 8 OR 9, ALL THOSE HELD
PRISONER IN THE WITNESS'S WAREHOUSE WERE TRANSFERRED ON
10 BUSSES TO BATKOVIC PRISON CAMP.

7. (U) AT BATKOVIC, THE WITNESS SAID, GLIGOR (LNU) WAS
ABSOLUTELY THE CRUELEST GUARD. A FELLOW PRISONER CALLED
SPAJZER ALSO ADMINISTERED SOME OF THE WORST BEATINGS.
THE CAMP COMMANDER WAS NAMED VELJO.
-
8. (U) WHEN THE WITNESS ARRIVED AT BATKOVIC THERE WERE
ALREADY AT LEAST 600 PRISONERS THERE. (NOTE: THE
WITNESS SAID THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF PRISONERS DURING HIS
TIME AT BATKOVIC WAS ABOUT 1700. END NOTE.) UPON
DISEMBARKING FROM THE BUSSES, THE PRISONERS HAD TO ENTER
THE CAMP BETWEEN TWO ROWS OF "CETNIKS" WITH CLUBS, WHO
BEAT THEM. IN THE WAREHOUSE, THE EARLIER ARRIVALS WERE
LYING FACE DOWN, THEIR HANDS BEHIND THEIR HEADS AND THEIR
HEADS SHAVED. ALL OF THEM WERE MEN EXCEPT FOR A WOMAN
NAMED SENA FROM BRCKO, WHO HAD INSISTED ON ACCOMPANYING
HER HUSBAND, A ONE-LEGGED MAN WHO HAD BEEN TORTURED.

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9. (U) SOME PRISONERS DIED FROM THE DAILY BEATINGS IN
THE CAMP. OFTEN, SOLDIERS RETURNING FROM THE FRONT WOULD
BE BROUGHT IN TO BEAT THE PRISONERS. CERTAIN PEOPLE WERE
SINGLED OUT FOR THE WORST BEATINGS, INCLUDING A SOLDIER
NAMED NEDIM. FOOD WAS VERY BAD, WITH ONLY ONE KILO OF
BREAD FOR 15 PERSONS, AND A FEW SPOONSFUL OF THIN CABBAGE
SOUP. THERE WAS NO MEDICAL CARE, AND SOME OF THE OLD AND
SICK DIED AS A RESULT. THE OLDEST MAN THE WITNESS KNEW
IN THE CAMP WAS BORN IN 1911. ON THE HOTTEST DAYS,
PRISONERS WERE LOCKED UP IN THE WAREHOUSES, WHERE THE
HEAT WAS UNBEARABLE; TWO OR THREE PRISONERS WITH HEART
PROBLEMS DIED AS A RESULT.

10. (U) EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN ICRC FIRST VISITED THE
CAMP IN AUGUST 1992. WHEN THE FIRST VISIT WAS ANNOUNCED,
100-150 PRISONERS WERE HIDDEN. THESE INCLUDED THE 13
MOST BADLY BEATEN AND THE VERY YOUNG AND VERY OLD. THREE
OF THE BADLY BEATEN MEN WERE ANDRIJA TUFEKCIC AND DVEVAD
KAMBERI, BOTH FROM BRCKO; AND ELJUB SMAJIC FROM

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PAGE 01 ZAGREB 00945 03 OF 03 081147Z
ACTION SS-00

INFO LOG-00 AID-01 AMAD-01 CIAE-00 C-01 OASY-00 DOEE-00
EB-01 EUR-01 HA-09 H-01 IMMC-01 TEDE-00 INR-00
IO-16 LAB-01 L-01 ADS-00 NSAE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01
PA-01 PM-01 PRS-01 P-01 RPCS-01 SB-00 SCT-03
SNP-00 SP-00 SR-00 SSO-00 STR-01 TRSE-00 T-00
RPE-01 SNIS-00 NISC-02 PMB-00 /049W
------------------2D402E 081155Z /38
P 081138Z MAR 94
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1121
INFO USEC BRUSSELS
AMEMBASSY ATHENS
AMEMBASSY ANKARA
USIA WASHDC 4324
HQ JTF PP NAPLES IT//CA/POLAD//
USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ3/ECJ4/ECJ5/ECPOLAD//
CINCUSAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE//DO/LG/XP/IN/POLAD//
CINCUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE//J3/J4/J5/POLAD//
CINCUSNAVEUR LONDON UK//N2/N22//
COM SIXTHFLT//N2//
JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5-PMA/J2I//
AMCONSUL MUNICH
USMISSION GENEVA
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
AMEMBASSY VIENNA
LIMITED OFFICIAL USE

LIMITED OFFICIAL USE

PAGE 02 ZAGREB 00945 03 OF 03 081147Z
USMISSION USVIENNA
USMISSION USNATO
AMEMBASSY BONN
SECDEF WASHDC//ISA/ISP//
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
AMEMBASSY ROME
WHITEHOUSE WASHDC
AMEMBASSY PARIS
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY MADRID
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE

LIMITED OFFICIAL USE SECTION 03 OF 03 ZAGREB 000945

VIENNA ALSO FOR BOSNIA
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL MOPS HR BK PREL MOPS HR BK PREL MOPS HR BK
SUBJECT: TFSROL: SEVERE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN B-H:
EYEWITNESS DETAILS MURDER, BEATINGS IN LUKA AND
BATKOVIC

BIJELJINA. THE 13 WERE LATER TRANSFERRED, BUT HE DID NOT
KNOW WHERE.

11. THE WITNESS WAS RELEASED IN A PRISONER EXCHANGE ON
OCTOBER 5, 1992. WHEN HE LEFT, THERE WERE STILL ABOUT
300 PRISONERS AT BATKOVIC.
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NEITZKE

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1994ZAGREB00945 - Classification: LIMITED OFFICIAL USE

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