It revealed secrets of the famous cell 1,121, where the former master of life and death lived in Serbia.

The then warden of the Central Prison, Dragisa Blanusa, revealed to the public some secrets of the famous cell number 1,121, where Milosevic remained until his extradition to the court in The Hague, as in the one that the former master had of life and death in Serbia. He almost confessed and admitted that everyone except the family turned their backs on him.

Bread, eggs and jam

– How can I not remember the day it was brought in? That day was my birthday … At seven o’clock I enter the room, alone, and I find one condition: he is lying down and covered with a blanket that is about 50 years old and has gone through a thousand washings. It’s that hemp cloth, made from hemp. Only part of his hair is visible, covered, asleep, immobile. I look, her blue coat hanging from the bunk. There is also a suitcase that he brought, there is also a breakfast that was brought to him. All detainees receive one kilo of bread, two hard-boiled eggs and jam. Open soap in the sink. I stand like this, first I pinch my cheek, and I said like this: “My Milosevic, where do you come from?! – Blanuša remembered those moments in the Mira Adanja Polak program on RTS.

He also recounted how it was an incredible situation when a detainee and a warden drank whiskey together:

– Milosevic turned left and right and said, “Warden, could you come tonight and we could have a drink.” I started and turned left and right. We are alone and I say, “What are you drinking?”, Instead of saying that it is forbidden. He says, “Well, I drink everything.” And I buy a bottle of whiskey. I return around 11 at night, I put two glasses and a bottle, so that these guards do not see, and I go … We talk about the people around him, especially the police, his bad choice. About the people, we talked a lot about why, about my family, about their … When he came, he said: “Everyone left me except the family”, then I said: “Well, those are your bad choices.

“I do not recognize the Court”

Milosevic was discreetly transferred from CZ to the Security Institute, in a simple car and accompanied by a car in which Blanusa was, from where he left for The Hague on June 28, 2001.

– At that time, I was not afraid, but it was difficult for me during the delivery. When the indictment was read to him under a tree … I was sincerely sorry. The moment these people from the Court of The Hague took it into the Security Institute … The prosecutor reads the accusation to him, the security officer, the bush remains like that, in silence, does not speak, and the translator. Milosevic says: “I don’t recognize the Hague court, you can read whatever you want.” Milosevic turns around, asks my commander: “Give me a cigar”, gives him a cigar, smokes without enthusiasm. It took a long time, the accusation is read, translated into English, and then Milosevic interrupts: “It is not said like that.” The prosecutor warns him not to interrupt, and he does nothing, without enthusiasm – said Blanusa and added:

– There is a moment that left a very strong impression on me. The prosecutor says: “He has now been arrested and is now under the jurisdiction of the Court in The Hague.” The security officer comes over and I walk over and say, “You can’t tie him up.” He looked at me and I continued: “Here, in this territory, they won’t tie him up.” And then he tried to register it, but I also avoided it.

As a world exclusive

Foreigners offered fabulous sums for photographs.

At the time of his arrest, Milosevic was an unrivaled world exclusive, as evidenced by the offers Blanusa, he revealed, received from the world media: – Many foreigners from the EU came to visit, to control the prison. I remember journalists from a very famous house offering a fabulous sum just to give them a photo of Milosevic. I said no. The man said, “Write everything you want.” I say, “How much is that?” He says, “Five hundred and more.” Do you know how I felt? I wouldn’t do that for the world, because I saw then that Milosevic, let’s say he’s not a dead man, but a politically dead man, and taking something from him now was crazy to me.

Ivana Kljajić

delivery courier

Author: Ivana Kljajić