WITNESS BEDNJANEC TESTIFIES IN SAKIC TRIAL

ZAGREB, Apr 13 (Hina) - The main hearing in the trial of Dinko Sakic, accused of war crimes against humanity, continued at the Zagreb County Court on Tuesday with the testimony of witness Vjekoslav Bednjanec, 77. Bednjanec was imprisoned at the concentration camps in Stara Gradiska and Jasenovac between August of 1942 and February of 1945, when he was sent to labour to Germany. He saw Sakic, who at one time commanded the Jasenovac camp, at a muster in late 1944 or early 1945. On that occasion Sakic ordered that Jew inmate Nisim be hanged for making without permission a new cap for an Ustashi soldier for a piece of bread. Describing the event, Bednjanec said that Sakic, upon learning what the inmate had done, ordered a muster at which he made a speech. "Sakic then said that it was a serious crime and robbery, and ordered that Nisim be hanged. When he was hanged, a strong Ustashi took him by the legs and started shaking him until we heard Nisim's bones and veins break," the witness said. Nisim "was left to hang for three days as an example to other inmates," he added. Bednjanec was arrested in Zagreb in July of 1942 as a member of the liberation movement. Without undergoing trial, he was sent to the Jasenovac camp under a police decision. He was transferred to the Stara Gradiska camp on two occasions. In late September of 1944, he and some 700 inmates from Stara Gradiska were sent, Bednjanec said, to a brutal and horrible 35km- long "forced march" towards the Jasenovac camp. Upon reaching the destination, the survivors were 456. "Along the way, the Ustashi shot at the inmates," the witness said. "The inmate was allowed to identify himself at the Ustashi officials' query only by his number. I was number 720," Bednjanec said, and added that before entering the Jasenovac camp, the Ustashi hit every inmate on the back with a club. The witness could not say with certainty that he saw the defendant at the Stara Gradiska camp in 1943, but remembered seeing him at Jasenovac during 1944. Upon arriving at the camp, he was told by other inmates that Sakic was commander. "Everybody knew he was the commander. He would often come to the tailor's workshop where I worked. He would come and choose the clothes that suited him. He took the most advantage possible." The witness said Sakic was extravagant, did not like the presence of inmates, and was always accompanied by the Ustashi. "Everybody fled from him and his company," he said. Bednjanec did not know how the Ustashi addressed Sakic and could not remember when he last saw him. Speaking about executions, the witness said they were carried out during the night. "The Ustashi would come to the barracks during the night, with lists. They would tie the selected inmates with wire and take them to Granik. Afterwards we would hear shots. Later, we would see the dead inmates' bodies float in the Sava." In late 1944, "the Ustashi's bloodthirstiness increased", Bednjanec said. Speaking about the Gradina site, across the Sava, he said it was an "old, bloody camp where mass executions were carried out during 1942 and 1943." He knew nothing about the execution of "Boskovic's group". Bednjanec also spoke about the hard, exhausting and day-long labour at the camps, where food was "dreadful" and illnesses raged. He said living conditions at Jasenovac deteriorated as its liquidation approached. Mass executions at the time also increased in frequency, he added. The main hearing will continue on Wednesday. (hina) ha jn