The Koricanske stijene case in Strasbourg
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In late September this year, a Swiss association for preventing impunity, called Trial, filed six suits against Bosnia and Herzegovina, on behalf of the families of the persons killed at Koricanske stijene, with the European Court for Human Rights.
As indicated in the Association’s announcement, the cases refer to the massacre committed on mount Vlasic on August 21, 1992, when about 200 civilians were killed.
“On that day many civilians were taken from Trnopolje detention camp in order to be released. On their way more than 200 men were separated from the rest of the group and taken to Koricanske stijene on mount Vlasic. After having being taken off the buses, the detainees were told to kneel down by the cliff edge. Serbian policemen then shot them. Only 12 persons survived. Shortly after that, the crime scene was cleaned and the victims’ bodies disappeared from it. They have still not been found,” the announcement indicates.
The families of Edin and Emir Elezovic, Fahrudin Mujkanovic, Serif and Zafir Bajric, Zijad Huskanovic, Fahrudin Elezovic and Asmir Memic, who disappeared on that day, complained about the fact that the state and local authorities failed to initiate a serious investigation in order to find the victims’ bodies, they never apprised them on the steps taken in order to find new details concerning the massacre and failed to open a criminal proceeding against the perpetrators of this crime.
Therefore, with the help of the Association of Prijedor women, called Izvor, the families asked Trial to present their case before the European Court for Human Rights. Earlier, the victims’ families presented the case before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Hague Tribunal tried Darko Mrdja for this crime. The former member of the Republika Srpska Special Police Emergency Squad was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment.
In May this year the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, arrested Zeljko Stojnic and Dusan Jankovic, under a suspicion that they participated in this crime. A few months later, on October 14, four more persons were arrested, namely Milorad Skrbic, Milorad Radakovic, Gordan Djuric and Ljubisa Cetic.
The six suits related to the Koricanske stijene case are the first suits filed by Trial against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its announcement indicates that some other cases are being prepared, which should soon be filed with the Court in Strasbourg.
