Trial for Crimes in Zavidovići: Glogovac Had a Special Method of Abuse, Hit Bosniaks on the Ears

Witnesses of the BiH Prosecutor's Office recognized Dragan Glogovac in the courtroom as the person who beat them in 1992 in the Zavidovići municipality area.

Ahmedin Memčić recounted that he was captured on July 1 together with his neighbor Zuhdija Memčić while picking blueberries near the village of Begov Han (Zavidovići municipality). They were taken to a camp at the Žepče crossroads, where they were interrogated. A day later, as the witness explained, they were taken to Ljeskovica, i.e., Kamenica, to the “Franjo Hrljević” Home.

- In the morning, Željko Janković unlocked the door and after a few questions started hitting me - Memčić recalled, noting that he was beaten daily from then on, BIRN reports, as carried by the Patria news agency.

Along with Janković, the witness said, Dragan Glogovac and Novak Mitrović came.

- Dragan Glogovac beat me the very next day along with those two. From then on, he came constantly. They forced me to do push-ups, and as soon as I faltered, they hit me. He beat me with a rubber baton until I was exhausted. I would faint, and I was urinating blood. Blood was coming from my nose and mouth - the witness recounted.

Memčić stated that the defendant Glogovac, whom he knew as a policeman from before, had a specific way of hitting - with his palms on the ears.

- He was a bit thinner than now. Thicker hair and shortly cut. (...) He wore a pilot's military suit and a white belt. A pistol on the belt and a baton - said the witness, recognizing the defendant Glogovac in the courtroom.

In the room where he was detained, the witness said, there were Asim and Rasim Husanović, who did not survive. From the adjacent room, the witness heard crying and moaning, as he recounted. Four prisoners who were bloody, he stated, were brought in to be beaten. At that time, according to the witness, Glogovac was present.

Memčić stated that he still feels the consequences of the abuse today and that upon leaving the camp on August 10, he was diagnosed with six broken ribs, NAP reports.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office charges Dragan Glogovac with inflicting severe physical and psychological pain on civilians and prisoners of war detained in the basement of the “Franjo Herljević” Hunting Lodge in Kamenica (Zavidovići municipality) from June to the end of August 1992, along with other soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska.

According to the indictment, Glogovac kicked and beat Ahmedin and Zuhdija Memčić and Besir Softić with a rubber baton and his hands, causing some of them to lose consciousness.

The indictment states that Glogovac was a member of the Military Police of the Ninth Battalion of the First Krajina Corps of the VRS. Novak Mitrović was also charged alongside Glogovac, but he has since passed away.

Another witness, Osman Lužić, said he was detained in Kamenica together with three other men.

- They beat us there. They also forced those from the other room to fight each other. Seven to ten uniformed men beat us all over our bodies as soon as they arrived. They beat Besir the most. He was black and blue - Lužić said.

He stated that they were also taken for forced labor and led to executions for intimidation.

When asked by the prosecutor what the name Dragan Glogovac means to him, Lužić replied: “I don't know the name, but I remember his face from the camp. He beat us.” The witness added that he learned the name from people who were with him in the camp.

The defense noted that in earlier records, the witness did not mention Dragan Glogovac, which the witness did not deny, stating that he did not know his name at the time.

The defense submitted as evidence a record of identification from the investigation, stating that in those photographs the witness did not recognize the defendant. At this hearing, Lužić circled three photographs, stating that the people in those photographs could be Glogovac.

During his testimony, he noted that he is 100% disabled, has suffered from cerebral palsy since birth, and has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The trial continues on November 19, NAP reports.