BERSERKISTAN

Berserkistan Navigator

Witness Says Tadic Not Present at Prisoner Castration

Witness 'H' tells court he had never seen Tadic
at the Omarska prison camp.


By Ian Geoghegan
Dusan Tadic THE HAGUE, July 30 (Reuters) - A key prosecution witness told a U.N. war crimes trial in The Hague that Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic was not present during one of the grisliest crimes for which he stands accused.

Witness 'H', a 28-year-old Muslim with three young sons, told the court in closed session last Wednesday that he had never seen Tadic at the Serb-run Omarska prison camp in the Prijedor region of northwest Bosnia.

The tribunal on Tuesday released a transcript of "H's testimony, focusing on an incident when one Muslim prisoner was forced to bite off another inmate's testicle.

'H', who said he had been taught karate by Tadic before the war, said he and another inmate, identified as "G', were ordered to lie in a ditch at the camp and drink the oily water there. A third prisoner, Fikret Harambasic, was then ordered to jump naked into the ditch.

"Were you ordered to lick his arse?" asked prosecutor Michael Keegan.
"Yes," 'H' replied.
"Was "'G' ordered to suck his (Harambasic's) penis?"
"Yes."
"Was the next order for 'G' to bite his testicles?"
"Yes."
'H' said the Serbs were yelling: "Bite, harder, harder" as 'G' bit off one of Harambasic's testicles. "He spit it out and that ball had fallen through the grate that... served for sewage... and it had fallen through and a vein or something... got stuck in the grate," "H' said.

U.N. prosecutors accuse Tadic, 40, of murdering, torturing and raping Muslims during a Serb campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in northwest Bosnia in 1992. The former bar-owner and karate teacher denies the charges, saying he was never at Omarska camp. Under cross-examination, 'H' said that he had never seen Tadic at Omarska.

Last Wednesday, however, another Muslim survivor of Omarska, Halid Mujkanovic, told the court that he saw Tadic among a group of around 10 Serbs present during the brutal sexual mutilation. Tadic's trial at the U.N. tribunal for former Yugoslavia is in its 11th week and is expected to run for several more months.

Another Muslim, Hase Icic, told the court on Tuesday that he had twice seen Tadic at Omarska. Called to the infamous White House, a small outbuilding used as a Serb torture room, Icic said Tadic was among a group of guards who ordered him to say: "God be with you, heroes," before they put a noose around his neck and beat him with iron balls attached to a length of cable.

On another occasion, he said Tadic and another Serb had dumped a beaten-up prisoner in his room. Tadic had said: "You'll remember... that you can't touch a Serb or say anything to a Serb," Icic said, adding that the injured man was his cousin. Icic's friends later bribed a Serb guard 100 Swiss francs ($83 at current exchange rates) to move him from the White House to another part of the camp.

Tadic is one of seven indicted war crimes suspects held by the tribunal in The Hague. So far the tribunal has indicted 75 suspects -- 54 Serbs, 18 Croats and three Muslims. Most of them remain at large including the two most wanted men: former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and military commander General Ratko Mladic.



To learn more...
The Dusan Tadic Trial
Berserkistan, July 26 · Defence in Tadic Trial Claims Witnesses Fabricated Evidence
Berserkistan, July 24 · Sex Torture of Muslims at Omarska Told at Tadic Trial
Berserkistan, July 23 · Father Tells Tribunal of Delivering Son to Tadic for Fatal Beating
Berserkistan, July 19 · Witness Tells Tadic Trial of Horrors Imposed on Women at Omarska
Berserkistan, July 18 · Former Omarska Prisoner Says He was Beaten by Dusan Tadic
Berserkistan, July 17 · Defence Accuses Muslims of Lying in Tadic Trial
Berserkistan, June 21 · Tribunal Heads of Horrors at Trnopolje Prison Camp
Berserkistan, June 18 · Eyewitness Places Dusan Tadic at Omarska Prison Camp
Berserkistan, June 14 · Friend Watched as Tadic Slit Muslim Police Throats
Berserkistan, June 11 · First Eyewitness Testifies Against Dusan Tadic
Berserkistan, June 7 · Tadic Defense Won’t Challenge Serb-Yugoslavia Caused War
Berserkistan, May 9 · Historian Disclaims Civil War Defense in Tadic Trial
Berserkistan, May 8 · Historian Sets Context for Atrocities in Day 2 of Tadic Trial
Berserkistan, May 8 · Muslims in Sarajevo React to Start of Tadic Trial
Berserkistan, May 7 · Defense: Tadic Had No Role in Murder, Torture
Berserkistan, May 7 · On Trial's Eve, Tadic Claims Innocence
Berserkistan, May 7 · Childhood Friend Says Tadic was Cruel, Artistic

INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
Key Facts about the War Crimes Tribunal
War Crimes Profile: Dusan Tadic
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia from the United Nations
Coalition for International Justice
Reports concerning human rights abuses in Bosnia published by Intac Access
Major War Criminals/Suspects from CalTech's Bosnia Site
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia from CalTech's Bosnia Site
Berserkistan World Links for more International Justice Resources

HOME | INDEX | JOURNAL | BRIEFING | LINKS | PEOPLE | LETTERS | TRAVEL

Berserkistan is a world news service of
Michael Linder Productions, Inc.
©1996-2014 All Rights Reserved