UPDATE: The federal trial of a Bosnian man who was living in Chattanooga and is accused of torturing prisoners during the 1990s conflict in Bosnia began Wednesday at the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
Sead Miljković, 51, faces charges of torture and passport fraud.
On Wednesday, the prosecution called its first witness to the stand who is named as “victim one” in court documents.
The witness testified to being held as a prisoner in three different encampments from March to August 1995.
The witness says Miljković appeared to serve as a commanding officer at the third and final encampment, located in Stari Grad, Croatia, where the witness was held.
The witness testified to knowing Miljković from their childhood days, recounting stories of the two playing soccer and other memories.
The witness also recalled being beaten by the guards on multiple occasions while he was in the encampments.
Victim one said in one incident, he was given orders not to talk while he was working to clear brush from a field. He said he was approached by an armed guard who began speaking to him as he was working.
Victim one said Miljković saw him talking to the guard and walked over to them. The witness said Miljković took the guard’s rifle and hit him four to five times on the hands and arms as he was trying to guard his face.
Victim one said he was hit three to four on his back as he successfully tried to keep from falling to the ground so the assault would not get worse.
Victim one said he also recalled another incident involving Miljković and two other guards at the encampment, who forced him to bend over a chair.
The witness said Miljković also forced his head onto a bayonet blade that was part of an M70 rifle as he was leaning over the chair.
The witness said he that could not see Miljković as he was on the chair but said he knew it was Miljković who held pushed his head on the blade because he could see the other two guards that helped Miljković take him to the place where the alleged incident happened.
The witness said that he pleaded with Miljković to stop the assault and said that all he could think about was never seeing his child again as it continued.
The trial broke for lunch shortly after 12:30pm Wednesday and resumed around 1:50pm with the defense’s cross-examination of the witness identified as victim one.
The defense used reports that were filed in 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2023 by victim one with Bosnian authorities, citing there was no mention of the incident involving the bayonet blade until 2023 when victim one claimed that he saw Miljković as he stood by and watched the incident happen.
The defense then cited that victim one never mentioned Miljković pushing his head on the bayonet blade until 2025.
Victim one said he didn’t say anything about Miljković pushing his head on the blade because he did not remember it until after he filed the 2023 report with Bosnian prosecutors while he was under oath.
Victim one also said that he never mentioned the assault in the 2015 report that was filed because the questions were about other events that happened while he was held captive.
The prosecution asked victim one if he was simply seeking money and he ended his testimony by replying that he was not looking for a payout.
The prosecution then called a second witness who said he was captured at the same time and place as victim one.
The second witness recalled the incident that allegedly involved Miljković hitting victim one with another guard’s rifle for talking while working to clear a field.
The second witness said he was about two meters away when he saw Miljković hit victim one with the rifle three times on the back, causing him to fall to the ground on his knees.
The second witness also said he saw Miljković and two other guards take victim one to a small home at the Stari Grad location where the alleged incident with the bayonet happened.
The second witness said he did not see what happened inside the home but said he could hear victim one screaming from the outside as he was working meters away.
Court dismissed for the day following the testimony by the second witness.
The trial will resume at 9:00am on Thursday. A third witness and former war prisoner is expected to take the stand for the prosecution along with an official from the Department of Homeland Security.
Stay with Local 3 News for continuing coverage of this story.
PREVIOUS STORY: A federal trial begins on April 30 with a Hamilton County Grand Jury for a Bosnian man living in Chattanooga who allegedly tortured prisoners in the 1990s.
Sead Miljkovic, 51, faces charges of torture and passport fraud.
The suspected crimes occurred 30 years ago.
Local 3 News is in the courtroom to bring you the latest.
PREVIOUS STORY: A Bosnian man living in Chattanooga who allegedly tortured prisoners in the 1990s will not have his charges dismissed after a federal judge denied his motion.
Sead Miljkovic, also known as Sead Dukic, had been charged with three counts of torture and three counts of passport fraud, according to a ruling from United States District Judge Charles Atchley Jr.
Dukic and his attorneys moved to dismiss the charges primarily because they say the statute of limitations has run out. They also claimed the government lacked jurisdiction and had violated due process.
Although his suspected crimes occurred near 30 years ago, the federal judge concluded the defense’s arguments were null.
“None of Defendant’s arguments regarding the statute of limitations, due process, and vagueness warrant pretrial dismissal of the Superseding Indictment’s torture counts. Accordingly, Defendant’s motions to dismiss [Docs. 44–46] are DENIED.”
Read federal judge Atchley Jr.’s full ruling here:
Below you’ll find background on the case, including case context from the superseding indictment.
PREVIOUS STORY: The Eastern District of Tennessee’s United States attorney office announced that a Chattanooga man was arraigned on Thursday for torturing prisoners during the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.
According to a recent superseding indictment, 51-year-old Sead Miljković, aka “Sead Dukic,” was allegedly a member of the Obezbjeđenje objekata i lica (OBL), a police force of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia (APZB).
“Sead Miljković allegedly tortured prisoners and then decades later lied about his identity to obtain a U.S. passport,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Neither the passage of time nor a defendant’s concealment efforts will prevent us from bringing human rights violators to justice and ensuring that perpetrators of torture cannot seek refuge in the United States.”
“The superseding indictment’s torture charges are serious human rights abuses that cannot go unpunished,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “We thank our investigative partners on this case for their outstanding efforts to gather evidence required for these charges.”
Miljković and other OBL members allegedly inflicted brutal beatings on the prisoners, using a metal pipe, rifle butt and shovel handle, investigators say. They also threatened the prisoners with death.
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is resolute in its commitment to protecting human rights and the pursuit of justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of HSI Nashville. “The United States in not a safe haven for war criminals and human rights violators. Thanks to the dedication of our HSI Chattanooga special agents, Miljković will now have to answer these allegations in court.”
Miljković is charged with three counts of inflicting torture on prisoners. In June, he was charged in a three-count indictment for passport fraud.
Investigators say Miljković could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.
This is a developing story that will be updated when more information is available.