A three-day programme of monitoring of and learning about trials for war crimes consists of an informative lecture one day before the hearing (Tuesday, February 18), going to the trial for the Štrpci case (February 19) and a discussion after going to the court at YIHR’s office (February 20).
Trial for the crime in Štrpci started on March 4 2019, three and a half years after the first charges were filed. All the accused pleaded not guilty. Charges against the five accused was filed for the first time in March 2015, after they were arrested, together with ten other persons who were prosecuted in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a coordinated action of Serbian and BiH police and judicial authorities on December 5 2014. The accused in the Štrpci case are charged with war crime against civilian population, as co-perpetrators, in Štrpci, Prelovo and Mušići, Bosnia and Herzegovina. On February 27 1993, 20 passengers were abducted from a Belgrade-Bar train at Štrpci station. They were then killed and their bodies were thrown into the Drina River.
Victims of this crime are: Esad Kapetanović, Ilijaz Ličin, Fehim Bakija, Šećo Softić, Rifat Husović, Halil Zupčević, Senad Đečević, Jusuf Rastoder, Ismet Babačić, Toma Buzov, Adem Alomerović, Muhedin Hanić, Safet Preljević, Džafer Topuzović, Rasim Ćorić, Fikret Memović, Fevzija Zeković, Nijazim Kajević, Zvjezdan Zuličić and one unidentified person.
The remains of only four victims have been found so far. Halil Zupčević’s body was found in late 2009 at the banks of Lake Perućac, while the remains of Rasim Ćorić, Jusuf Rastoder and Ilijaz Ličin were found in the same lake in 2010. Other victims are still missing.
Only Nebojša Ranisavljević and Mićo Jovičić have been finally convicted for this crime to date. In the proceedings against Nebojša Ranisavljević conducted before the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje (Montenegro), it was established that a group of members of the Višegrad Brigade of the Republic of Srpska Army, under command of Milan Lukić, forcefully stopped the train at the Štrpci station and took out 18 Bosniak passengers, one Croat and one unidentified person. They were transferred by a military truck to the building of the primary school in Prelovo near Višegrad. First they were stripped of all valuables and beaten up, then they were tied with wire and taken to a vacant building in the nearby village of Mušići, where they were ordered to lie down, and Milan Lukić and Boban Inđić killed them. During that time, Ranisavljević was keeping guard in front of the house. When one of abducted passengers tried to escape, Ranisavljević wounded him. The wounded passenger was then killed by Milan Lukić. In 2003, Ranisavljević was sentenced to imprisonment of 15 years.
All interested persons can apply by filling in a short on-line form until Friday, February 15 at 12 o’clock. For other information, please contact [email protected].
