Camp Survivor Confronts Milosevic

Alija Gusalic became a special target of Serb brutality after he rode a horse to the Café Serbia in Bjeljina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Serb paramilitaries were gathered, intending to throw a grenade into it. One or two days earlier, a Serb man had thrown a grenade into the Café Istanbul, injuring Muslim and Serb patrons. Mr. Gusalic was shot in the leg and taken to hospital, where he remained while war came to Bijeljina. After three days, Serb forces took control of the hospital. From then on, instead of being treated, Mr. Gusalic was beaten.

Paramilitary leader Zjelko Raznatovic ('Arkan') came to the hospital with a group that included Biljana Plavsic and Fikret Abdic. He told Gusalic to go home, stay there and no one would hurt him. At home, Mr. Gusalic received threatening letters and so many 'visits' from soldiers that his house began to look like a garrison. When he went into hiding, the authorities threatened to kill his family if he didn't surrender. At the local police station, he was beaten again, and managed to escape. He later learned that his wife, brother and 1 1/2 month old daughter were put into a freezer to force them to reveal his whereabouts. They didn't know. He was arrested after he went home to see his wife and daughter. The four days of beatings he received at the police station were only the beginning of months of imprisonment, torture, sexual assault, forced labor and starvation.

Mr. Gusalic and three other men from Bijeljina were taken to Batkovici Detention Camp. The beatings there were so severe that one man died the first night and another a few days later. Mr. Gusalic was placed with nine other men into a group he called 'specials.' These men were routinely beaten. They were available to be beaten by anyone passing through the camp. They were beaten at least four times a day -- at breakfast, lunch, dinner and at midnight when they were beaten into unconsciousness. The group was segregated from the rest of the camp of about 2000 prisoners. When one died, another man was brought in to replace him.

Mr. Gusalic suffered broken ribs, a broken spine, starvation and maggot-filled wounds all over his body. He lost nearly half his weight -- going from 110 kilos to 59 kilos during his time in detention. Four times he was taken for dead and removed for burial, only to be returned at the last minute after he moved a hand or leg. He was forced to eat straw and forced to have sex with other men. When the Red Cross visited, the group of 'specials' were hidden, as were elderly men, children and the one woman captive. All but two of the 2000 detainees in Batkovici were civilians.

In September 1992, Mr. Gusalic and the other 'specials' were transferred to a detention camp at Doboj, where treatment was better. There, he was only beaten with a police baton, which he described as a 'toy' compared to the implements used at Batkovici. On arrival, the prisoners were examined and he was able to see himself in a mirror. 'I got a fright. I didn't look like a human being at all,' he testified.

At Doboj, he was forced to dig trenches and carry dead and wounded soldiers of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS). He was also taken to a nearby village that was to be spared by the VRS after it signed a pledge of loyalty that it wouldn't go to war. Nevertheless, the village was attacked by Serb forces. In one house, they found up to 40 civilians, 'some killed, some slaughtered,' which he helped load onto a truck. Most had had their throats slit, others had been shot.

After 11 1/2 months, he was returned to Batkovici from which he was exchanged three months later for Serb prisoners of war. Mr. Gusalic testified that he continues to suffer pain in his chest, arms and back, has contracted diabetes and is plagued at night by recollection of these events from time to time.

In cross examination, Milosevic hardly touched on the brutality Mr. Gusalic experienced in the camps, focusing instead on who was responsible for starting the war in Bijeljina and establishing that Muslims fought in the VRS. Midway through this cross examination, Presiding Judge May intervened to point out that he was only addressing 'side issues.' 'The witness has given very serious evidence of what happened in the camps. If you challenge it, you should cross examine him about it. If not, we'll accept his evidence.'

Milosevic then produced two documents disclosed to him by the prosecution under Rule 68 which requires the prosecution to provide the accused with any potentially exculpatory evidence. One was a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) after visiting Batkovici Camp. Milosevic read, in part, 'The prisoners did not complain of ill treatment and in general appeared to be in good health. However, they sleep on straw bedding on the floor of a cavernous and unheated stable where living conditions will become intolerable as the cold weather arrives.' Mr. Gusalic said it wasn't true.

The second report was a media account by Reuters, dated February 26, 1993. In it, Batkovici was described as a collection center for Muslims and Croats who had been involved in combat activities in any way. The reporter further wrote that there was 'no obvious rancor between the prisoners and the Serbs.' An official interviewed said that the 'Serbs were in worse physical condition than the Muslims in Batkovici.' Mr. Gusalic responded, 'Mr. Milosevic, that is a pure lie.'

Under Judge May's questioning, Mr. Gusalic clarified that Batkovici was not a collection center for people involved in combat since the detainees were all civilians, with the exception of 'two young guys from the front lines.' He further pointed out that when the ICRC visited, he and the other 'specials', as well as the elderly and children were hidden.

In addition to focusing on peripheral matters in cross examination, Milosevic put forward a number of assertions obtained from his sources in Serbia that the witness denied as patently false. One is tempted to wonder whether Milosevic's sources in Serbia have dried up lately. If today's cross examination is any indication, recent events in Serbia may have at least an indirect impact on the Milosevic trial. Perhaps witnesses will experience fewer threats as well.

In any event, even using his most aggressive and at times abusive style, Milosevic was unable to shake Mr. Gusalic's testimony. After what he survived in the camps, confronting Milosevic must have seemed like a cakewalk. Considering that at one point, Mr. Gusalic turned to the accused and said, 'Shame on you, Mr. Milosevic,' it seems he might even have enjoyed the opportunity.