Account of an event · Zvornik · May 1992 – July 1992
Abdulah Buljubašić "Bubica": the Zvornik driver who never returned from detention
Abdulah Buljubašić, known as "Bubica", was the driver of the director of the Birač alumina factory in Zvornik. After Serb forces took Zvornik in April 1992, he was detained, beaten and robbed, and he never returned from detention. Proceedings for the crimes committed against him and other civilians in Zvornik were conducted before courts in Belgrade.
Zvornik in the spring of 1992
Serb police, military and paramilitary units took Zvornik on 8 April 1992. That year there were at least 19 places in the town and its surroundings where Bosniak civilians were detained. One of them was the Ekonomija farm in Karakaj.
Among the detainees was Abdulah Buljubašić, known as "Bubica". According to available sources, he worked as the driver of the director of the Birač alumina factory in Zvornik.
Detention at Ekonomija
According to the indictment in the Zvornik I case, Abdulah Buljubašić was detained at the Ekonomija farm from the beginning of May until 15 July 1992, where he was subjected to beatings and torture.
In a non-final judgment in the Zvornik III case, the Higher Court in Belgrade found that on 11 or 12 May 1992 he was severely beaten at Ekonomija by Dragan Slavković, known as "Toro", a member of the "Žute ose" unit. According to the same judgment, Goran Savić stood nearby with a weapon during the beating and afterwards took a gold chain from his neck.
Death
There are differing accounts of how and where Abdulah Buljubašić was killed. According to the indictment in the Zvornik I case, he died at Ekonomija as a result of beatings and torture. According to the first-instance judgment in the Zvornik II case, he was killed in the building of the misdemeanor court in Zvornik. The exact date of his death is not known.
A detainee who was with him and who later testified before the court in Belgrade described how Buljubašić was taken out of the room, forced to undress and tortured, and then, when he was already dying, killed with a firearm.
The search for the body
His wife, Jasna Buljubašić, testified before the court in Belgrade. According to her statement, she was told that her husband's body had been handed over to his father. In 2001 she visited his grave for the first time after the war. According to her testimony, during a later exhumation there were no remains in the grave: "Later, during the exhumation, there was no body in the grave," she stated. What happened to the remains has not been established.
Court proceedings in Belgrade
In his closing statement before the court in the Zvornik I case, on 29 May 2008, Dragan Slavković stated that what he regretted most was what he had done to Abdulah Buljubašić "Bubica".
On 8 April 2009, the second-instance court in the Zvornik I case issued a final verdict sentencing Dragan Slavković to 12 years, Ivan Korać to 9 years and Siniša Filipović to 3 years in prison for war crimes against the civilian population in Zvornik.
On 22 November 2010, in the Zvornik II case, the Higher Court in Belgrade at first instance sentenced Branko Popović, commander of the Zvornik Territorial Defense staff, to 15 years in prison, among other things for aiding in the killing of Abdulah Buljubašić. In the same proceedings, Branko Grujić was sentenced to 6 years.