Acquittal in Gradiška Case: New Instance of Omissions in Work of Prosecutor’s Office and Court

The Higher Court in Belgrade rendered a judgment in the Gradiška Case on October 13^th, 2016, acquitting the accused Goran Šinik of charges that he had committed an act of war crime against a civilian population. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) emphasizes that this judgement is the outcome of an unfounded indictment filed by the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP), as well as of inadequate control exercised by the Trial Chamber of the Higher Court in Belgrade in the phase of judgment confirmation; and that this case represents a paradigmatic example of how an image of productivity of the war crimes judiciary is being fabricated, by raising indictments which are doomed to failure.

Consequences of Political Tensions on Prosecution of War Crimes: For the first time, Serbia does not participate in the regional conference of war crimes prosecutors

After 12 years of contacts between prosecution offices in the region within the framework of cooperation in the prosecution of war crimes, the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) of the Republic of Serbia for the first time did not participate in the regional conference of war crimes prosecutors, the tenth in the series, which began on the 5th September 2016 in Brijuni, Croatia. This is a dramatic change in long-standing practices, and it is happening at a moment of severely undermined bilateral relations (available in Bosnian) between Serbia and Croatia, and a political crisis (available in Serbian) in the region. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) feels that this is an alarming indicator of political influence being exerted on the judiciary, and points out that the decision on non-participation by the OWCP at the conference is in direct conflict with the obligations which the Republic of Serbia committed itself to with the Action Plan for Chapter 23 and the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes.

Discourses on war crimes trials in Serbia

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented on 21st November 2014 the Analysis of media discourses on war crimes trials in Serbia 2003-2013 and the Analysis of political discourses on domestic war crimes trials in Serbia 2003-2013. The main findings of the analyses were presented by the author, Dr Katarina Ristić, a researcher at the University of Leipzig. Before that, HLC Executive Director Sandra Orlović in her introductory remarks stressed that the Serbian media reporting seldom represented the cathartic element that opens the broader social dialogue about the past, and that the institutions themselves also did not perceive the trials as something that can generate dealing with the past. Thus war crimes trials, the only functional mechanism of transitional justice in Serbia, are unable to fully contribute to dealing with the past in Serbia.

Analysis of the Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia 2004-2013

The Analysis contains 15 chapters that portray the work of key institutions in the prosecution of war crimes, putting forward the issues important for the credibility of war crimes trials in Serbia, such as the compliance of indictments and convictions in domestic cases, with the facts established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The Analysis concludes with 75 recommendations to state bodies of the Republic of Serbia and international stakeholders on how to improve almost all aspects of the prosecution of war crimes in Serbia.

You can download the Analysis of the Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia 2004-2013 here.

Report on War Crimes Trials in Serbia in 2013

The Report on War Crimes Trials in 2013 is based on the monitoring and analysis of war crimes trials before the Higher Court in Belgrade, Court of Appeal in Belgrade and the courts of general jurisdiction in Nis, Pozarevac and Prokuplje.

You can download the Report on War Crime Trials in Serbia in 2013 here.

Acquittal in Case Against Samir Hondo

The Trial Chamber of the Higher Court in Belgrade rendered an acquittal on November 22^nd, 2013, in the case of Samir Hondo, indicted for war crimes against the civilian population in the Čelebići Camp, near Konjic (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) stresses that the court rendered a correct ruling, because the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) failed to provide credible evidence during the trial which would have pointed to the responsibility of the accused for the crimes he had been charged with.

Mark Kashnjeti Convicted

After a retrial, the Higher Court in Belgrade again convicted Marko Kashnjeti on June 21^st, 2013 to two years of imprisonment for a War Crime against a Civilian Population committed on June 14^th, 1999 in Prizren. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) holds that the evidence presented in the trial does not point to the conclusion that Mark Kasnjeti is responsible for the crime he was charged with and that the judgment is marked by errors made by the court in the evaluation of evidence.

Reactions to Judgment in Skočić Case

The Higher Court in Belgrade trial chamber rendered a judgment on February 22^nd, 2013 convicting members of the “Sima’s Chetniks” paramilitary group, because of war crimes against a civilian population, committed against a group of Roma in 1992 in the vicinity of Zvornik. Zoran Stojanović and Zoran Đurđević from Šabac were sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment each, Zoran Alić and Tomislav Gavrić were sentenced to ten years of imprisonment each, Dragana Đekić and Đorđe Šević were sentenced to five years of imprisonment each, and Damir Bogdanović was sentenced to two years of imprisonment. Zoran Alić was released from detention, but confined to his place of residence.

Report on war crime trials in Serbia in 2012

You can download the Report on War Crime Trials in Serbia in 2012 here.

Judgment in Mark Kashnjeti Case based on unconvincing evidence