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.

Criminal charges for the murder of Matijević familly in April 1992

On October 16, 2018, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) of the Republic of Serbia against several unknown persons, for killing three members of the Matijević family in April 1992 in Kukujevci (Municipality of Šid, Serbia).

In the late evening hours of April 20, 1992, several unknown persons entered the courtyard of the Croatian family Matijević in Kukujevci. They took Ana, Joza and their son Franjo Matijević, a minor, from the house, and drove them to an unknown destination. Several years later, their mortal remains were exhumed from the cemetery in Mohovo (Municipality of Ilok, Croatia). To date, no one has been charged for this crime before the courts in Serbia.

Criminal complaint against Svetozar Andrić

On March 2 2018, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) submitted a criminal complaint against Svetozar Andrić, former commander of the Birač Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army (VRS), and later Chief of Staff of the VRS Drina Corps, to the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Serbia. The criminal complaint was filed for several crimes committed during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

On May 28, 1992, Svetozar Andrić ordered the “eviction” of the Bosniak population from Zvornik, as the then commander of the VRS Birač Brigade, in whose area of responsibility were the municipalities of Vlasenica and Zvornik, among others. This resulted in the departure of more than 10,000 Bosniaks to Mali Zvornik, Kalesija, and the villages of Snagovo and Kula Grad.

Criminal complaint for rape of Roma women in 1993

On January 29, 2018, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) against several unidentified members of the Secretariat of the Interior (SUP) of Beli Manastir, for the rape of six Roma women (including one pregnant woman and three minors) in the basement of the SUP Beli Manastir, in the summer of 1993.

Criminal charges for crimes in Skabrnja and Nadin

On November 21, 2017, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint with the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor (WCP) against six identified and several unidentified members of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and Territorial Defense Unit (TO), for the killings of 48 Croatian civilians in the villages of Skabrnja and Nadin (Croatia) in November 1991.

Namely, on November 18, 1991, together with the Benkovac TO, the JNA entered the village of Skabrnja in the municipality of Zadar. After entering the village, they destroyed the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After that, 41 Croat civilians were killed in various locations in Skabrnja. The next day, in the nearby Nadin, seven more civilians were killed.

Criminal charges against members of the Red Berets (“Crvene beretke”) for crimes committed in Doboj in 1992

On June 21st 2017, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor of the Republic of Serbia (OWCP) against Radojica Božović, a former high-ranking member of the Red Berets, as well as against two other members of this unit, for crimes committed in Doboj (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the period from May to August 1992.

The persons charged are suspected of the expulsion of several hundred Bosniaks from the village of Bukovačke Čivčije (Municipality of Doboj) in the period from May to August 1992, killing one member of the Croatian National Guard, robbing civilians, and abusing and torturing prisoners in the Doboj district prison.

Criminal Complaint for Crime at Golo Brdo in 1993

On January 31^st, 2017, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor for a crime against prisoners of war committed against members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in July 1993, at Golo Brdo on Mount Igman in Bosnia.

The complaint was filed against the then Commander of the Republic of Srpska Army (VRS) Igman Brigade Quick Reaction Unit, Miroslav Škorić, and five identified and a number of unidentified members of the VRS.

After taking control of Golo Brdo on July 17^th, 1993, members of the VRS Igman Brigade Quick Reaction Unit, under the command of Miroslav Škorić, detained four members of the Army of BiH in two bunkers. They immediately killed Robert Kahrimanović, and took the remaining three prisoners to the base of Mount Igman, not far from Blažuj, where they were met by the former Commander of the Quick Reaction Unit, Branislav Gavrilović. On Gavrilović’s orders, two of the prisoners, Živko Krajišnik and Rusmir Hamalukić, were killed, whilst the fourth prisoner, Perica Koblar, was taken to the Military Police HQ in Blažuj and handed over to members of the VRS. Koblar spent seven days in prison in Blažuj, where he endured torture on a daily basis. After seven days in prison, Koblar was released.

Perica Koblar testified about this event for two days before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, in the Vojislav Šešelj case (Koblar testified in this case on June 10^th and 11^th, 2008). No one has been prosecuted in Serbia for this crime to date.

Criminal Complaint for Crime in Lovas Committed In 1991

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint on November 2, 2016, with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor of the Republic of Serbia, for a war crime committed in October 1991 against Croat civilians in the village of Lovas in Croatia (CRO).

The complaint was filed against the former Commander of the Second Proletarian Elite Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA 2^nd PEMBR), Dušan Lončar.

On October 9^th, 1991, Dušan Lončar ordered an attack on the village of Lovas (East Slavonia) and the cleansing from the terrain of members of the Croatian National Guard and of the Republic of Croatia Ministry of the Interior, as well as of population ”showing hostility”. Early in the morning the following day, Lončar ordered the Howitzer Division of the JNA 2^nd PEMBR to open fire and launch an artillery attack on Lovas, in which two Croat civilians were killed. Soon after this, members of the Dušan Silni (‘Dušan the Mighty’) volunteer unit entered Lovas, as part of the execution of the order issued by Lončar, and started shooting at random, and throwing hand grenades into backyards and houses. They killed several civilians while they were in their homes, and took others outside their houses and killed them in the street or other places, which resulted in the destruction and damaging of civilian property and the death of 21 civilians.

Criminal Complaint For Crimes Committed In Ilijaš In 1992

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and the Association of Family Members of Missing Persons from Ilijaš filed a criminal complaint with the Republic of Serbia Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor on May 17th, 2016, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during 1992 against the non-Serb population in the Municipality of Ilijaš, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H).

Criminal charges against police officers for crimes against 53 Albanian civilians in Poklek

On 17 August 2015, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed criminal charges against two unidentified members of the 86^th Detachment of the Special Police Unit (SPU) of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia (MoI), on reasonable suspicion that they killed 53 ethnic Albanian civilians, including 24 women and 23 children, on 17 April 1999 in the village of Poklek (Municipality of Glogovac). Criminal charges were also filed against Dragan Obradovic, former commander of the 86^th Detachment of the SPU, and against the commander of the company which the perpetrators belonged to, on the charges of not preventing the crime and not punishing the perpetrators.