Anonymization of judgments in war crimes cases contrary to national and international regulations

 On 16 January 2014, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) appealed to the Commissioner for information of public importance against the decision of the Higher Court in Belgrade (the Higher Court) to deny the HLC access to the full text of the court judgments delivered in the Beli Manastir and Gnjilane Group cases. The HLC notes that the Serbian courts’ practice of judgment “anonymization” in war crimes cases runs contrary to the Serbian Constitution and other national and international regulations and denies victims and the society the right to know the truth about the crimes that were committed.

Prison Regime for War Crimes in Serbia Represents Mockery of Victims’ Suffering

Slobodan Medić, the former Commander of the “Scorpions” unit, who was convicted of the war crime in which six Muslim boys and men from Srebrenica were killed, died in a car accident near Sremska Mitrovica on Tuesday, December 31^st, 2013. At the time of the accident, Medić was serving his prison sentence of 20 years in the Sremska Mitrovica Penitentiary. As the media have reported, Medić was on provisional release, because he was granted the right to leave prison for holidays on account of his good behaviour. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) emphasizes that war crimes trials in Serbia are being trivialized by granting privileges to perpetrators of war crimes, and that the sufferings of victims are thereby being negated.

Criminal Complaint Against Yugoslav Army Officer for Crime Committed Against 17 Kosovo Albanians and One Ashkali

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint against Božidar Delić, the former Commander of the 549^th Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav Army (549^th YA MtBr), Radivoj Paravinja, the Commander of the 3^rd Combat Group, and a number of unidentified members of the 549^th MtBr, on December 26^th, 2013, based on reasonable suspicion that they committed a war crime against the civilian population in the village of Landovica (Municipality of Prizren) on March 26^th, 1999.

Persons Indicted for War Crimes in Police Uniform

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) demands that the Gendarmerie Commander, Milenko Božović, and Police Director, Milorad Veljović, use the option offered by the law and suspend the Gendarmerie Commander, Vladan Krstović, indicted for the war crime committed against Kosovo Albanians in Ljubenić on April 1st, 1999, until the completion of the proceedings in question.

Acquittal in Case Against Samir Hondo

The Trial Chamber of the Higher Court in Belgrade rendered an acquittal on November 22^nd, 2013, in the case of Samir Hondo, indicted for war crimes against the civilian population in the Čelebići Camp, near Konjic (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) stresses that the court rendered a correct ruling, because the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) failed to provide credible evidence during the trial which would have pointed to the responsibility of the accused for the crimes he had been charged with.

Officers Indicted of Crimes Against Civilians in Trnje Should Be Suspended from Serbian Army

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) demands that the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Ljubiša Diković, suspends Pavle Gavrilović and Rajko Kozlina, persons indicted for the crime in Trnje committed against Kosovo Albanians on March 25^th, 1999, from the Serbian Armed Forces, until the completion of the proceedings.

Request to the Republic of Serbia to enable CSOs to access the documents on the contents of laws

The Coalition for Access to Justice requires that the Republic of Serbia immediately allows the civil society organizations (CSOs) to access the documents related to the contents of laws prepared to be adopted. In line with the strategic orientation of the Republic of Serbia, CSOs should have a key role in the legislative reforms and other aspects of the process of joining the European Union.

Family Members of Victims of War Crime from Sjeverin Seek Justice before Constitutional Court

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed another appeal with the Constitutional Court of Serbia in the Sjeverin case. Namely, the HLC filed a constitutional appeal on behalf of 20 family members of war crime victims from Sjeverin against the ruling of the Court of Appeals in Belgrade, in which their claims for compensation of non-material damages against the Republic of Serbia were dismissed.

Courts in Serbia Continue Practice of Granting Low Compensation Amounts to Victims of Crimes Committed During 1990’s

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a complaint against the verdict rendered by the First Basic Court in Belgrade obliging the Republic of Serbia to pay the amount of 210,000 RSD to Kosovo Albanians, Jahir Krasniqi and Jakup Tahiri, as compensation for being found responsible for the inhumane treatment and torture that these victims were exposed to by members of the Ministry of Interior (MUP) during their unlawful detention in 1999 and 2000. HLC highlights that this is one of the lowest compensation amounts granted by courts in Serbia in cases of serious human rights violations committed during 1990’s thus relativizing the responsibility of the state for crimes for which representatives of institutions of Serbia are found responsible.

Constitutional Court: Right to Fair Trial Violated In Case of Families of Victims from Sjeverin

The Constitutional Court of Serbia established that the right of the family members of the victims of the war crime in Sjeverin to a trial within a reasonable time, in the compensation lawsuit initiated by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) on their behalf in 2007 against the Republic of Serbia, was violated. With this ruling, the Constitutional Court of Serbia granted compensation of 600 Euros to each of the 22 applicants.