Victim describes beating at hands of 'Captain Dragan'

A FORMER prisoner of war has told a Sydney court that accused war criminal Dragan Vasiljkovic savagely beat him in a Croatian prison.

A FORMER prisoner of war has told a Sydney court that accused war criminal Dragan Vasiljkovic savagely beat him in a Croatian prison during the Balkans war.

Velibor Bracic, a former Croatian policeman, said while he was in custody at Knin fortress, Mr Vasiljkovic - or "Captain Dragan" as he was then known - assaulted him.

Mr Bracic said after he was bashed by two guards in the presence of Captain Dragan, the senior commander stepped in.

"If you are beating him, this is how it is done," Captain Dragan allegedly said, before kicking Mr Bracic repeatedly in the face.

The court heard that during Mr Bracic's two month imprisonment, he and other prisoners were subjected to regular beatings and were sexually assaulted.

Mr Bracic said that guards at Knin fortress had told him that the commander of the military facility was "Captain Dragan".

Mr Vasiljkovic is suing Nationwide News, publisher of The Australian, over a September 2005 article that detailed his time as a military leader in the Balkans in the early 1990s.