Presentation of Report on War Crimes Trials in Serbia in 2013, and ensuing Debate

On Tuesday, July 8th 2014, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented the Report on War Crimes Trials in 2013 and held a debate on the main findings of the report. The report is based on the monitoring of war crimes proceedings carried out before the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade, the War Crimes Department of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade and the courts of general jurisdiction in Požarevac, Niš and Prokuplje.

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.

Anonymization of Judgments in Cases of War Crimes is Illegal

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, acting upon the appeal filed by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), has found that the practice of anonymization of judgments is in violation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection. In his Decision, the Commissioner issued an order to the Higher Court in Belgrade to deliver to the HLC the judgment without illegal anonymization, under the threat of the imposition of a fine.

On guilty verdict in Bihać crime case

The Higher Court in Belgrade on 4 February 2014 passed a judgment convicting Đuro Tadić of the war crime against civilians committed on 23 September 1992 in the village of Duljci (municipality of Bihać, BiH), and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The Humanitarian Law Center  (HLC) points out that the judgment is based  on convincing evidence presented at the trial, and that the accountability of Đuro Tadić was proved beyond reasonable doubt, but that the sentence imposed on him is an insult to the victims.

ICTY Appeals Chamber’s Judgment against Vlastimir Đorđević

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today delivered its final guilty verdict against the former Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia and Chief of its Public Security Division (RJB) Vlastimir Đorđević, reducing his sentence to 18 years of prison, instead of 27 years as initially imposed.

Anatomy of Serbian institutions’ responsibility for crimes against Kosovo Albanians

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today passed a judgment confirming the conviction of four high-ranking government, military and police officials of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia – Nikola Šainović, Nebojša Pavković, Sreten Lukić and Vladimir Lazarević – for deportation, forcible displacement, killing, sexual assaults, persecution on political and racial grounds and other crimes against civilians (Kosovo Albanians) committed between March and May 1999. Šainović, Lukić and Lazarević had their sentences marginally reduced.

Anonymization of judgments in war crimes cases contrary to national and international regulations

 On 16 January 2014, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) appealed to the Commissioner for information of public importance against the decision of the Higher Court in Belgrade (the Higher Court) to deny the HLC access to the full text of the court judgments delivered in the Beli Manastir and Gnjilane Group cases. The HLC notes that the Serbian courts’ practice of judgment “anonymization” in war crimes cases runs contrary to the Serbian Constitution and other national and international regulations and denies victims and the society the right to know the truth about the crimes that were committed.

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.

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.