Local Justice: In Pursuit of Truth and Justice

“My husband, brother-in-law and many friends were killed. Eighteen years have passed, but neither I nor my children have found inner peace. There is still no grave for my husband that my children can visit,” Emina Masinovic from Kulen-Vakuf told Justice Report.

“Awful things happened – so many murders and disappearances… It is such a shame that nobody has been brought to trial for those crimes even though so many years have passed since they were committed,” she continued.

Masinovic explained that she left her home, together with other residents of Kulen-Vakuf, Orasac, Curkovi and Klise, on June 10, 1992. Those that left say that, while on their way to seek refuge in Croatia, “about 30 persons” were killed.

They add that more than 200 men were separated from other refugees on a bridge in Strbacki buk, near Orasac, and detained at various locations.

Emina Masinovic’s husband was among the men who were separated on the bridge in Strbacki buk. He was last seen in the Prekaja detention camp, Drvar municipality. His remains have not yet been found.

Merima Nihanovic tells a similar story. She says that her brother, Dedo Zulic, was detained and then killed after he was arrested in Strbacki buk, adding that investigators found his remains in the Bezdan mass grave. Nihanovic says the fact that nobody has been brought to trial for his death hurts more than anything else.

“All we want is to see the truth being determined and the perpetrators of the crime punished,” Nihanovic said.

Every year in June, the families of victims, along with former detainees and Ljutocka Dolina residents, mark the anniversary of the killing of civilians from that area. They have also gathered in front of the Una-Sana Cantonal Prosecution several times to protest the stalled processing of the crimes committed in the region.

Former detainee Hilmo Kozlica says the victims are disappointed with the work of the judicial institutions, but they will continue insisting that justice be carried out.

“We are totally disappointed. We, the residents of Ljutocka Dolina, are humiliated. We have not been given justice, but we shall continue insisting on the search for perpetrators and the launch of new trials until we see justice being carried out,” says Kozlica, who spent five months in various detention centres, where he says he was physically and psychologically mistreated.

The Una-Sana Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office says it has not filed any indictments for crimes committed in Ljutocka Dolina, while the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina says that there are a few cases that are ongoing and several suspects.

“In most of these cases, there was an order to conduct an investigation against specific suspects. In addition, there are several cases in which we have received some pieces of information or reports about certain incidents, but we have yet to determine whether they contain elements of war crimes,” says Boris Grubesic, Spokesperson of the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The Prosecution is conducting investigations into some incidents where the perpetrators have still not been identified,” he added.

Grubesic explained that “several dozen suspects and several hundred injured parties” from the area have been registered up to the present date.

Victims’ families hope that the first indictment for crimes committed in Ljutocka Dolina will be filed soon, but still, they fear they may not live to see justice carried out.

“We are terribly disappointed. I am afraid that, at this pace, my children will never have a chance to visit their father’s grave,” Masinovic says.

Data available to the Research and Documentation Center suggest that 1,547 persons were killed or disappeared in Bihac municipality during the course of the war in Bosnia.

Ljutocka Dolina residents continue to search for the remains of 40 persons, including 21 civilians, who, they say, were killed and their bodies burnt in September 1992.

The remains of victims from the town have been found in mass graves in Tihotina, Bezdan, Duliba, Bisovacki most and Golubnjaca.

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This article is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID.) The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of Balkan investigative reporting network (BIRN) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.