War Criminals Belong in Prison, Not in Public Spaces

War Criminals Belong in Prison, Not in Public Spaces

Saopštenje - 3The Humanitarian Law Center filed a request for action on the war crimes criminal complaint against Ratko Adžić, who attacked students during a blockade in Belgrade:

Following media reports of Ratko Adžić’s violent behavior against students and high schoolers peacefully commemorating victims of the canopy collapse in Novi Sad and calling for institutional accountability, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), on 19 December 2024, submitted a request to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes (PPOWC) seeking concrete information on the handling of the criminal complaint filed by the HLC and the Association of Families of Missing Persons from Ilijaš Municipality (Bosnia and Herzegovina) against Adžić in 2016.

The criminal complaint was submitted on reasonable suspicion that Ratko Adžić and others were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the non-Serb population in the Ilijaš municipality in 1992. Action by the Public Prosectutor’s Office for War Crimes on this criminal complaint would benefit Serbian society in multiple ways. Establishing individual responsibility for serious crimes removes war criminals from public spaces, making these safer for citizens. In this specific case, it would also prevent someone reasonably suspected of involvement in killings, rapes, abuse, and looting of civilians from engaging in educational work with high school students. Timely, efficient, and appropriate punishment for past human rights violations also fosters accountability in society and strengthens the rule of law, where all are equal before the law and everyone is being held accountable. If Ratko Adžić had been prosecuted for the war crimes with which he is associated, he would not pose a threat to citizens today, nor would impunity be possible for incidents such as the canopy collapse.


First Instance Judgment in the Jajce Case – Unacceptably Low Sentences for Murder of Civilians

First Instance Judgment in the Jajce Case – Unacceptably Low Sentences for Murder of Civilians

Copy of Saopštenje - 8On 16 December 2024, the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade delivered a judgment finding Jovo Jandrić and Slobodan Pekez guilty of the murder of 23 civilians, including 4 minors and 10 women, residents of the villages Čerkazovići and Ljoljići (Jajce Municipality), which constitutes a war crime against the civilian population. Jovo Jandrić was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment, while Slobodan Pekez received a 10-year prison sentence.

The judgment established that, late on the evening of 10 September 1992, a group of approximately 10 armed members of the military and police, including Slobodan Pekez, Mirko (Špiro) Pekez, Mirko (Mile) Pekez, Simo Savić, Milorad (Đura) Savić, Zoran Marić, Ilija Pekez, Milorad (Ljupko) Savić, and Blagoje Jovetić, organized and led by Jovo Jandrić, unlawfully detained and forcibly removed Bosniak civilians from their homes in the villages of Čerkazovići and Ljoljići, mostly women, children, and elderly people. Under a threat of death, they confiscated all valuables from the civilians, physically assaulting them with rifles and kicking them, and then transported them to the location known as “Tisovac”. There, the civilians were ordered to line up next to a ravine, after which the perpetrators opened fire and killed 23 civilians.


‹1234567›»