HLC Submits Criminal Complaints for War Crimes in Kalesija and Vlasenica in 1992

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has filed criminal complaints with the Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes of the Republic of Serbia, against Slobodan Pajić and Vlastimir Bećarević, former officers of the First Birač Infantry Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), on reasonable suspicion that they ordered and/or committed war crimes in the municipalities of Vlasenica and Kalesija during May and June 1992.

The criminal complaints against Pajić and Bećarević are the result of the Humanitarian Law Center’s research into war crimes committed in the zone of responsibility of the First Birač Infantry Brigade under the command of Svetozar Andrić. The HLC presented the findings of this research to the public in late February 2024 in the Dossier “Svetozar Andrić“. The First Birač Infantry Brigade of the VRS, formed in May 1992, participated in the expulsion of the non-Serb population from the municipalities of Zvornik, Vlasenica, and Kalesija, the killing of civilians during the occupation of the territory, and the burning and destruction of villages.

The Commander of the 4th Infantry Battalion Vlasenica of the First Birač Infantry Brigade, whose zone of responsibility was the municipality of Vlasenica, was Major Slobodan Pajić. Members of this battalion, in cooperation with the Special Police Platoon, carried out several armed attacks on the non-Serb civilian population of the municipality of Vlasenica in late May and June 1992, during which they killed at least 20 Bosniaks, whilst other civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, were expelled to the territory under the control of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or unlawfully imprisoned in detention facilities. The criminal complaint against Slobodan Pajić also includes a reference to his role and responsibility in organizing the custody facilities and conditions of detention – within the Sušica camp. The Sušica camp was established on the orders of Svetozar Andrić on May 31, 1992, and during its four months of operation between 2,000 and 2,500 prisoners, mostly civilians, passed through it. At least 160 prisoners were killed or died as a result of beatings inside the camp.

Under the command of Vlastimir Bećarević, members of the 1st Infantry Battalion Osmaci of the First Birač Infantry Brigade, carrying out the orders of Svetozar Andrić for May 26, 1992, attacked several places in the municipality of Kalesija, including the villages of Šeher and Like, whence they forcibly expelled women and children, whilst the men, previously separated, were imprisoned in a number of detention facilities, where guards beat and mistreated them, and kept them in inhumane conditions.

To date, no high-ranking officer of the First Birač Infantry Brigade or the East Bosnian Corps of the VRS has been held accountable for the crimes herein described. The HLC filed a criminal complaint against Svetozar Andrić, the Commander of the First Birač Infantry Brigade, with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor back in 2018, but the case is still in the investigation phase.

In addition to the criminal complaints against Pajić and Bećarević, the HLC has submitted over 30 pieces of evidence, including witness and survivor statements, as well as military and police documents, which have been accepted as evidence before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.