Hazim Delic

Hazim Delic was born on 13 May 1964. During the war he was Deputy Commandant of the Celibici prison camp from about May 1992 until November 1992. After the departure of Zdravko Mucic, towards November 1992, Hazim Delic became Commandant of the aforementioned camp until its closure towards December 1992.

Celibici is a village in the Konjic municipality of central Bosnia. Konjic was of strategic interest because it was the site of an arms and munitions factory as well as being an important communications link between Mostar and Sarajevo. Before the war the municipality had a population of around 45’000 inhabitants of which 55% were Muslims, 26% Croats and 15% Serbs.

On 25 June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia. In Croatia, fighting broke out during the summer of 1991 between the Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA), and the Serb armed forces. With the war being protracted in Croatia, it became probable that Bosnia-Herzegovina would also declare itself independent from the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia (FSRY). The Serb Democratic Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina (SDS), realising that it could not keep Bosnia-Herzegovina within the (FSRY), went on to create a distinct Serb entity within the boundaries of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

On 9 January 1992, the Serb Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina was proclaimed and subsequently given the new title of Republika Srpska on 12 August 1992.

On 1 March 1992, the Croatian and Muslim populations declared their independence from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

From end May 1992, armed forces made up of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats attacked and seized control of certain villages in the municipality of Konjic and its surroundings which were populated in the majority by Bosnian Serbs. The attackers expelled the Serb residents by force from their houses and held them in detention centres. The majority of the men and some of the women were marched off to camps previously held by the JNA in Celibici. Here, these prisoners were murdered, tortured, subjected to sexual violence, beaten up and, in general terms, subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment. The majority of the detainees were imprisoned at Celibici from around May 1992 until about October 1992, although some of them were held until December 1992.

Hazim Delic, in his position as Deputy Commandant then subsequently Commandant of the Celibici camp was thus responsible for its overall administration. He also exercised hierarchical superiority over all of the camp guards as well as over those who were authorised to enter the camp and abuse the detainees. According to the indictment, he knew, or had reasons to know, that those in a subordinate rank to him were abusing prisoners and that he failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures to ensure that these acts were not committed or to punish any offenders after the commission of such acts. He was also responsible for the inhumane living conditions imposed on the prisoners (deprivation of food and water, of medical care, of sleeping facilities and proper sanitation) Hazim Delic was accused, not only of allowing these acts to be committed, but also of having himself actively participated in them.

Hazim Delic was arrested by the authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina on 2 May 1996.

He was transferred to the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) on 13 June 1996.