Hague Convict Who Apologised for War Crimes Dies

Hague Tribunal convict and wartime manager of the Bosnian Serb-run Susica detention camp, Dragan Nikolic, also known as Jenki, was buried in the town of Vlasenica on Wednesday.

Nikolic was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Hague Tribunal in 2005 after admitting he was guilty of participating in the murders, rape and torture of Bosniak prisoners at the Susica camp in Vlasenica in 1992.

In a statement to the judges at his trial, Nikolic said he “sincerely repented” of the crimes in which he had participated.

“My regret comes from my inner self, because I had known the vast majority of those people [held in the detention camp] since childhood. We grew up together, some of them were my neighbours,” he told the judges.

“I shall use this opportunity to apologise, deeply apologise, to all the victims and all those who I hurt directly, whose lives and fates I influenced, and all those who were in Susica, be it for one day, one month or longer,” he added.

After having served two-thirds of his sentence, Nikolic was granted early release in 2013.