Torture in Camps in Serbia Still Unpunished

On December 22nd, 2016, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented its sixth dossier in a row on possible perpetrators of war crimes committed during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje” Dossier presents evidence on the treatment of Bosniaks, who sought shelter in Serbia following the fall of Žepa in late July 1995, and on the responsibility of members of the Yugoslav Army (VJ) and the Serbian Ministry of the Interior (MUP) for the crimes committed against the arrested and detained Bosniaks during their stay in Serbia. The Dossier is founded on statements given by surviving detainees, authentic documents of the Republic of Srpska Army, and military and police documents, which were admitted as evidence in a number of cases conducted before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as on statements given by representatives of Serbian army and police and members of the international community, before the ICTY, the International Court of Justice and the First Basic Court in Belgrade.

Dossier „Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje“

After capturing Žepa in late July 1995 approximately 800 Bosniaks from Žepa crossed the River Drina and entered the territory of the Republic of Serbia, frightened for their lives after rumours had spread of the crimes committed by the Army of Republika Srpska in Srebrenica. Most of them were members of the Army of BiH, but there were also civilians, including dozens of underage boys. Almost immediately after crossing, the men were taken captive by border guards of the Yugoslav Army and members of Special Police Units.

After registration and interrogation, accompanied by ill-treatment, all detainees were taken to the Šljivovica camp in Braneško Polje, near Čajetina. As there was no room in Šljivovica for such a large number of people, a group of detainees was transferred to another camp, located in Mitrovo Polje (Aleksandrovac municipality). In both camps, detainees were subjected to torture, sexual violence, inhumane treatment, humiliation and starvation, and were robbed of their possessions. Three detainees died as a result of the torture.

The Mitrovo Polje camp was closed in February 1996. The camp in Šljivovica was closed in April 1996, when the last remaining detainees were freed.

To date, no one has been called to account for the torture, abuse and deaths of Žepa male detainees in the camps in Serbia. Although the names are known of the inspectors and guards who were in the camps, no proceedings have ever been brought before any domestic court to establish the criminal responsibility of these individuals for acting contrary to domestic and international law. Neither the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia nor the International Court of Justice has addressed the torture of the Bosniaks in Serbian camps, although both courts were presented with evidence concerning these crimes.

The dossier „Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje“ is available here.

EVENT: Presentation of the “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje” Dossier

On Thursday, 22 December 2016, the Humanitarian Law Center will present its Dossier “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje”. The event will take place at the Belgrade Media Center’s Main Hall (Terazije 3, 2^nd Floor) at 11:00 a.m.

After the fall of the protected enclave of Žepa in late July 1995, around 800 Bosniaks sought refuge in the territory of Serbia.  However, immediately after crossing into Serbia they were captured and then taken to two detention camps – Šljivovica near Čajetina and Mitrovo Polje near Aleksandrovac. Until the closure of the camps in April 1996, the detained Bosniaks were subjected to torture, sexual violence, inhumane and degrading treatment, and starvation, and robbed of their belongings.

The “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje” Dossier is based on the statements of camp survivors, authentic documents of the Army of Republika Srpska, military and police documents and documents that have been admitted as evidence in several cases conducted at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as on the testimonies of members of the Serbian Army and Serbian Police, and representatives of the international community before the ICTY, the International Court of Justice and the First Basic Court in Belgrade.

The Dossier presents evidence implicating current members of the Army of Yugoslavia and the Serbian Ministry of the Interior in criminal acts committed against the Bosniaks from Žepa during their captivity in Serbia.

Speakers:

• Milica Kostić, Legal Programme Director, HLC
• Ivana Žanić, Legal Analyst, HLC
• Senad Jusufbegović, former detainee of the Mitrovo Polje camp

Simultaneous translation into English will be provided.  

Human Losses in Wars in Former Yugoslavia: Victims Should Be Remembered By Names Not By Numbers

Following the presentations in Zagreb and Sarajevo, the results from the list of human losses during the armed conflicts in Croatia, Kosovo, and partially in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as well as the list of detention sites in the armed conflict in BiH, were presented in Belgrade on December 15^th, 2016. According to the research in progress, 13,535 persons were either killed or disappeared during the war in Kosovo, and 2,057 citizens of Serbia and Montenegro were killed or disappeared during the wars in Croatia and BiH, whereas approximately 160,000 citizens of BiH were detained in camps set up throughout the territory of that country.

Presentation of the research of human losses and detention sites during the wars in the former Yugoslavia

On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, the Coalition for RECOM will present its research into the human losses and detention sites during the wars in the former Yugoslavia on December 15th, 2016. The event will take place at the Belgrade Media Center at 11 a.m., and will include the participation of Nataša Kandić, the RECOM Project Coordinator, Slaven Rašković from Center for Dealing with the Past-Documenta (Croatia), Dženana Karup Druško, from the association “Transitional Justice, Accountability and Remembrance” (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Bekim Blakaj, from the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo.

Serbian Documentary “Depth Two” Awarded Prize for Best Film at Festival dei Popoli in Florence

The Serbian Documentary film “Depth Two” by Director Ognjen Glavonić won the Award for Best Documentary Film at the 57^th Documentary Film Festival dei Popoli in Florence.

Festival dei Popoli is the oldest and most important documentary film festival in Italy. It was held this year from November 25^th until December 2^nd in Florence, and “Depth Two” won the Award for the Best feature-length Documentary in the official international competition, which is the greatest prize this Festival offers.

Destruction of Cultural Heritage Works to Destroy the Unity between Peoples

A multi-media narrative titled “Targeting History and Memory” was presented in Belgrade on Tuesday, November 29th, 2016. The Narrative was created by SENSE – Center for Transitional Justice from Pula in Croatia (SENSE), and the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) organized the Presentation in Belgrade. Approximately 50 representatives of non-governmental organizations, experts for the preservation of cultural legacy, researchers, scientists, journalists and various other experts attended the Presentation.

(srpski) Predstavljanje interaktivnog narativa „Zatiranje istorije i sećanja“

Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.

Youth Activists From Serbia and Kosovo Visit HLC

A group of youth activists from Serbia and Kosovo visited the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) on November 15^th, 2016. They are visiting the relevant institutions and organizations in Serbia and Kosovo as part of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights programme „LinKS – Linking Kosovo and Serbia“, and in the process, looking at political and social aspects of the relations between the two countries and creating recommendations for the development of their mutual relations.

The HLC Outreach and Fundraising Director, Jelena Krstić, talked with the visitors about the long-lasting endeavours by the HLC to shed light on the importance of achieving justice for crimes committed during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. In reference to this, she pointed to the lack of an official strategical framework for dealing with the past, insufficiently efficient prosecution of individuals responsible for the commission of war crimes, the neglect of victims’ right to reparation, and the apathetic position of the society as a whole in relation to the crimes committed. The youth activists were particularly intrigued by the wide-spread impunity for war crimes, and they also discussed the ways in which victims of human rights violations in Serbia can acquire compensation for damages and public acknowledgment, the position of the media with regard to the crimes, the engagement of institutions, and civil society initiatives for establishing the truth about the crimes and victims.

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Public’s Right to Know of War Crimes Trials in Serbia

The report by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) analyzes how are the existing mechanisms for public access to trials for war crimes applied and recommends necessary changes in the legislative framework and practice.  

The public’s right to know about the war crimes trials, as a minimum, includes the right to access the courtroom where trials are held and documentation of war crimes cases (indictments, judgements, transcripts and audio/video records of main hearings); the right to record a trial for the purpose of public presentation and the right to keep court records from war crimes cases. Out of the stated rights, only the right to access the courtroom and monitor the trial is strictly adhered to in Serbia and, therefore, it is not specifically analyzed in the Report. The public’s right to access relevant documents from war crimes trials is limited in practice by the refusal of courts to deliver judgments from proceedings that are not final and by excessive anonymisation of data.  

The report is based on several years of practice of the HLC, that monitors national war crimes trials from the start, obtains relevant court documents and reports about them to the public.

The report “Public’s Right to Know of War Crimes Trials in Serbia” is available here.