Donja mahala Elementary School
Školska 33, 76274 Orašje1992. – 1993.
During the summer of 1992, the building of the Donja Mahala Elementary School in Orašje served as a detention centre for Serbs. One classroom was used for interrogating and beating detainees.
Court facts
Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
A number of civilians were arrested at their houses in the Orašje Municipality and taken to the elementary school in Donja Mahala, where they were illegally imprisoned. (para. 26, second-instance judgment of Mato Baotić, p. 13.)
During the summer of 1992, several detainees were taken out of the premises of the elementary school and were repeatedly beaten. (paras. 61., 74-79., 83-85., second-instance judgment of Mato Baotić, p. 21, 24-26.), (paras. 185-191. Mato Baotić, pp. 67-68.)
The beatings of prisoners continued in the fall of 1992. (para. 101, second-instance judgment of Mato Baotić, p. 29.)
In the school there was a classroom that was used for questioning and beating prisoners. (para. 57, second-instance judgment of Mato Baotić, p. 20.)
After her husband was arrested, a woman was raped in May 1992 in one of the houses in Donja Mahala. (paras. 154-156. Mato Baotić, pp. 56-57.)
From the fall of 1992 to the summer of 1993, women were raped in the premises of the school in Donja Mahala. (paras. 165-166., 172., 179. Mato Baotić, pp. 59-60, 62, 65.)
Vlado Dragojlović shares the harrowing story of months spent in the camp at the primary school in Orašje, where beatings and abuse were part of everyday life. The school in Donja Mahala has never been marked as a place of detention, and Vlado hopes society will mature enough to confront the past.
Vlado Dragojlović — “Donja Mahala” Primary School, OrašjeRelated content
Donja mahala Elementary School
Školska 33, 76274 Orašje