Account of an event · Osnovna škola „Miladin Radojević“ Kalinovik · July 1992 – September 1992
Imprisoned Mothers and Children from Gacko in the Camp at the "Miladin Radojević" School in Kalinovik
In the summer of 1992, Serb forces detained hundreds of Bosniak civilians in the "Miladin Radojević" Elementary School in Kalinovik, among them nearly two hundred women, children and elderly people from Gacko. In August 1992, Suad Hasanbegović, Sejdo Kešo and Edin Bičo were taken from a classroom and killed; their remains were identified in 2009. For the crime committed at the school, the Court of BiH finally sentenced Novica Tripković to eight years in prison.
Capture
Sources differ regarding the exact date and place where the Bosniak civilians from Gacko were captured. According to the verdict of the Court of BiH, in early July 1992 Serb forces captured around 200 Bosniak civilians, mostly women and children, detained them in the school in Ulog, and the following day transported them to the "Miladin Radojević" Elementary School in Kalinovik. According to the testimony of Sanel Idrizović, a captain of the ARBiH, a group of more than 180 women and children from the area around Gacko was captured on 3 July 1992 near Tugovići and taken to the camp in the same school. ICTY judgements, on the other hand, state that in early August 1992 Serb forces detained almost all of the remaining Bosniaks from Kalinovik and around 190 women, children and elderly people from Gacko, and held them in the "Miladin Radojević" school.
The Camp in the School
The school where children had previously been educated was turned into a place of detention. According to the verdict of the Court of BiH, between June and September 1992 around 300 Bosniak civilians from Kalinovik and from parts of the population of the municipalities of Gacko, Nevesinje, Foča and Trnovo were detained there. According to ICTY judgements, the detainees were guarded by members of the Kalinovik Public Security Station.
Some of the detainees were beaten and killed in the school. According to an ICTY judgement, around 80 women were raped in Kalinovik, in the school and in other places.
According to the testimony of Sanel Idrizović, among the detainees was also a three-year-old girl, J. H., with her mother, brother and father.
Killings in August 1992
In August 1992, soldiers took Suad Hasanbegović, Sejdo Kešo and Edin Bičo out of a classroom. All three were killed. Suad Hasanbegović is listed among the residents of Gacko who died in 1992. Protected witness S-5 stated before the Court of BiH that Suad Hasanbegović was taken to the first floor; she heard two gunshots, and a guard then told her that Suad had been killed. According to the indictment, Hasim Hatić was also killed in the school in August 1992; his body has not been found.
According to the testimony of Sanel Idrizović, the father of the girl J. H. was killed before the eyes of his wife and children, and the mother, despite the harsh conditions and her injuries, managed to save both children, reach Mostar with them and nurse them back to health.
Discovery and Identification of the Victims
The bodies of those killed were taken to Grajseljsko polje. The remains of Suad Hasanbegović, Sejdo Kešo and Edin Bičo were found and identified through DNA analysis in 2009. A court expert determined that the cause of Suad Hasanbegović's death was a gunshot wound to the head.