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Report on War Crimes Trials In 1 Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Confédération suisse Confederazione Svizzera Confederaziun svizra Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA Funded by the European Union Mission to Serbia The report was published with the support of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. Monitoring of war crimes trials in Serbia was supported through the EU-funded project “Support to monitoring of national war crimes trials” implemented by the OSCE Mission to Serbia. The views herein expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, OSCE Mission to Serbia and the European Union. 2 Report on war crimes trials in Serbia during 2014 and 2015 CONTENT Introduction and methodology...................................................................................................................................7 I. General findings and social-political context............................................................................................8 1. Inefficient work of the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office..........................................................................8 2. Modest effects of regional cooperation....................................................................................................12 4. Unreasoned sentencing decisions of the courts.....................................................................................13 5. Inappropriately long proceedings for war crimes...................................................................................17 6. The system of allocation of judges is harmful to war crimes proceedings.........................................18 7. The application of international humanitarian law – qualification of an armed conflict................21 8. Pressure on Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes.....................................................................................21 9. The election of the new Prosecutor for War Crimes..............................................................................23 10. Action Plan for Chapter 23..........................................................................................................................25 11. National Strategy for War Crimes Prosecution......................................................................................26 12. Related proceedings......................................................................................................................................28 13. Unlawful practice of anonymization of judgments in war crimes cases............................................33 3 14. Proceedings before courts of general jurisdiction below the standard of a fair trial.........................34 First instance proceedings before the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade.......35 I. Case Bosanski Petrovac – Gaj.....................................................................................................................35 II. Case Sanski Most – Kijevo.............................................................................................................................38 III. Case Bihać II...................................................................................................................................................41 IV. Case Ternje/Trnje...........................................................................................................................................44 V. Case Gradiška.................................................................................................................................................49 VI. Case Bosanski Petrovac................................................................................................................................53 VII. Case Qyshk/Ćuška.........................................................................................................................................58 VIII. Case Lovas.......................................................................................................................................................67 First instance proceedings before courts of general jurisdiction..................................................................76 I. Case Cobras....................................................................................................................................................76 II. Case Kushnin/Kušnin....................................................................................................................................80 III. Case Spider Group.........................................................................................................................................85 Report on war crimes trials in Serbia during 2014 and 2015 First instance judgments passed by the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade....................................................................................................................................91 I. Case Luka Camp............................................................................................................................................91 II. Case Sotin........................................................................................................................................................97 III. Case Bijeljina II...........................................................................................................................................105 IV. Case Sanski Most.........................................................................................................................................111 V. Case Skočić...................................................................................................................................................116 VI. Case Beli Manastir.......................................................................................................................................125 Hearings before the War Crimes Department of the Appellate Court in Belgrade.................................130 I. Case The Tuzla Column..............................................................................................................................130 II. Case Ovčara..................................................................................................................................................137 Final judgments in cases before the War Crimes Departments....................................................................142 I. Case Tenja II.................................................................................................................................................142 II. Case Sremska Mitrovica.............................................................................................................................148 III. Case Bihać I...................................................................................................................................................152 4 IV. Case Čelebići.................................................................................................................................................157 V. Case Ovčara V..............................................................................................................................................163 VI. Case Prizren..................................................................................................................................................167 Final judgments in cases before courts of general jurisdiction....................................................................172 I. Case Rahovec/Orahovac.............................................................................................................................172 II. Case Miloš Lukić..........................................................................................................................................178 Appendices.....................................................................................................................................................................183 Statistics for the years 2014 and 2015........................................................................................................................183 Candidate: Snežana Stanojković................................................................................................................................186 Candidate: Dejan Terzić...............................................................................................................................................197 Report on war crimes trials in Serbia during 2014 and 2015 Abbreviations used in the text B&H Bosnia and Herzegovina BIA The Security Information Agency CC FRY Criminal Code of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Official Gazette of the SFRY, No. 44/76, 36/77, 56/77, 34/84, 37/84, 74/87, 57/89, 3/90, 38/90, 45/90, 54/90 and Official Gazette of FRY, No. 35/92, 37/93 and 24/94) CPC The Criminal Procedure Code (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 72/2011, 101/2011, 121/2012, 32/2013, 45/2013 and 55/2014) DORH The State Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Croatia ECHR The European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR The European Court of Human Rights EU The European Union HLC The Humanitarian Law Center ICRC The International Committee of the Red Cross ICTY The International Criminal
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