Criminal Report against Officers and Members of YA and MUP on account of Crime Committed Against 78 Kosovo Albanians

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has filed a criminal complaint against six identified officers and members of the 125^th Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav Army (125^th YA MtBr), the Commander of the 24^th Detachment of the Special Police Units (SPU), a number of unidentified members of the YA and the 24^th Detachment of the SPU, owing to the reasonable suspicion that they ordered or executed the murder of 78 men – Kosovo Albanians – in the village of Kraljane (the Municipality of Đakovica) on April 4^th, 1999. Among the accused are Dragan Živanović, the then Commander of the 125^th YA MtBr,  Žarko Braković, the then Commander of the 24^th Detachment of the SPU, Đorđe Nikolić, the Chief of Staff of the Command of the 125^th YA MtBr, and Robert Šmajcelj, the Deputy Commander of Combat Group 5 of the 125^th YA MtBr.

Statement on Commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) commemorates the International Day of the Disappeared and calls upon the successor countries of the former Yugoslavia to reinforce their efforts in establishing the fates of all persons who disappeared during or in relation to the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and to improve the legal and social status of the families of victims of enforced disappearance.

Constitutional Appeal against excessive length of proceedings in Sjeverin Case

On 19 August 2013, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) lodged an appeal with the Serbian Constitutional Court on behalf of 22 family members of victims of the war crime in Sjeverin, because of violation of their right to trial within a reasonable time. Even though six years have passed since the filing of a compensation lawsuit against the Republic of Serbia in 2007, this case has not yet resulted in a final judgment.

(srpski) Sećanje na stradanje Bošnjaka u logorima Šljivovica i Mitrovo Polje

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Letter to the Prime Minister Ivica Dačić

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

We write to you with regard to the decision recently taken by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) to revoke the status of civilian victims of war for a number of victims of serious human rights violations committed outside the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and for members of their families. The decision of the Ministry was preceded by the letter sent by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) to the municipal authorities in Priboj with the request  to grant the status of victims’ family members to family members of the victims of the war crime committed in Sjeverin (the Municipality of Priboj), pursuant to the Law on Civilian Victims of War (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia 52/96). These are the families of 16 Bosniaks from Sjeverin, who were kidnapped in October 1992 in the place known as Mioče (BiH) while travelling to work in Priboj. They were kidnapped and subsequently murdered by the notorious Bosnian Serb unit known as the “Avengers”, under the command of Milan Lukić. The bodies of 15 of these victims have not yet been found.

(srpski) NUNS i NDNV osuđuju pozive na linč Nataše Kandić

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Fictitious statement falsely attributed to the Humanitarian Law Center in Pečat Magazine

An article entitled “Humanitarian Law Center Condemns Novak Đoković’s Humanitarian Action”, authored by Pavle Ćosić, was published in Pečat magazine, issue no. 276, dated July 12^th, 2013, in the Agency News Selected by Pavle Ćosić column. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) would like to point out that the article is entirely fictitious and the HLC never wrote or published the article the author refers to.

Humiliating Compensation for Kosovo Albanians Who Survived Torture by Members of Ministry of Interior

The First Basic Court in Belgrade rendered a judgment ordering the Republic of Serbia to pay compensation to the amount of 150,000 RSD each, to three Kosovo Albanians on account of its responsibility for the abuse and inhumane treatment these victims experienced by members of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior (MoI) during their unlawful detention in 1999 and 2000. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) stresses that by granting petty compensation amounts in these cases, the courts in Serbia are trying to minimize the atrocities committed during the 1990’s against victims of serious violations of human rights for which representatives of state bodies bear responsibility.

Criminal Complaint against Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers with regard to the Murder of 21 Albanian Civilians on March 25th, 1999

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint on July 2^nd, 2013 with the Republic of Serbia Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor against Duško Šljivančanin, former Commander of the 53^rd Border Battalion of the Yugoslav Army and currently a representative of the Commander of the Yugoslav Army Land Forces Training Centre, and Vasilij Rangelov, a Sergeant in the Yugoslav Army and the Commander of the Goden Watchtower, and a number of unidentified soldiers from the 53^rd Border Battalion of the Yugoslav Army, with regard to the war crime against the civilian population committed on March 25^th, 1999 in the villages of Goden and Zulfaj/Zylfaj (the Municipality of Đakovica/Gjakovë).

Mark Kashnjeti Convicted

After a retrial, the Higher Court in Belgrade again convicted Marko Kashnjeti on June 21^st, 2013 to two years of imprisonment for a War Crime against a Civilian Population committed on June 14^th, 1999 in Prizren. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) holds that the evidence presented in the trial does not point to the conclusion that Mark Kasnjeti is responsible for the crime he was charged with and that the judgment is marked by errors made by the court in the evaluation of evidence.