War Criminals Belong in Prison, Not in Public Spaces

The 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.

Facts

During May and June 1992, Serbian security forces commanded by Ratko Adžić and the Crisis Staff conducted mass killings, rapes, abuses, and lootings of civilians during attacks on non-Serb villages in Ilijaš municipality. On 4 June 1992, during the attack on the village of Lješevo, following shelling, Serbian forces killed 22 civilians, including three women. Civilians, including women and children, were unlawfully detained in at least seven detention facilities, primarily schools and factories, where they were subjected to abuse and inhumane treatment. These facilities held over 300 Bosniaks and Croats, residents of Ilijaš municipality.

The criminal report against Adžić also includes the killings and forced disappearances of at least 67 civilians during attacks on villages or while detained in camps. The remains of the victims were discovered in 1996 in two mass graves in Ilijaš municipality—Lješevo and Žerovanj—while many others remain missing.

Additionally, in 1992, the Crisis Staff implemented a series of discriminatory measures against the residents of Ilijaš, such as dismissals from work, confiscation of property, and forced displacement of

the non-Serb population from Ilijaš. During this period, Serbian armed forces destroyed numerous historical and religious sites in Ilijaš.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes has not yet filed an indictment against Ratko Adžić or other perpetrators for whom evidence exists regarding their involvement in the crimes described in the HLC’s criminal complaint.

Today, Ratko Adžić is a retired physics professor, having taught students at the Philological High School in Belgrade, where he resides.