UDIK Udruženje za društvena istraživanja i komunikacije
Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the murder of civilians abducted from train 671 on the route Belgrade – Bar. The crime named “Abduction in Štrpci” took place on 27 February 1993 when members of the Serbian paramilitary unit under the command of Milan Lukić, with the logistical support from the Republic of Serbia, kidnapped a group of passengers from Belgrade – Bar train at Štrpci station near Višegrad, on Bosnian territory. They kidnapped and later killed twenty civilians: eighteen Bosniaks, one Croat and one unidentified person. To date, the remains of only four victims have been found. Most of those killed were citizens of Serbia or Montenegro.
For this crime was sentenced Nebojša Ranisavljević to fifteen years in prison. Mićo Jovičić received a five-year sentence after pleading guilty before Bosnian state court in 2016. Both have already served their sentences. Last year, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted seven members of the Second Podrinje Light Infantry Brigade of the VRS. In January 2023, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Boban Inđić to fifteen years in prison for complicity in the kidnapping of civilians in Štrpci and their murder in the Višegrad area. Three years ago, Bosnian state prosecution charged Milan Lukić, the wartime leader of the Avengers paramilitary group, with crimes against twenty passengers who were abducted from a train at Štrpci and then murdered. In February of this year, the High Court in Belgrade sentenced Gojko Lukić, Duško Vasiljević and Jovan Lipovac to ten years in prison each, while Dragana Đekić was sentenced to five years in prison. The accused Ljubiša Vasiljević died in July 2021.
We hereby express our regret for the shamefully low sentences with which the court in Belgrade sentenced four participants in this war crime. With the long process for the war crime, for which Belgrade is aware that it is very responsible, and with the amount of the sentence, the Court let everyone know that all those who are not from the Serbian people cannot see a protector in the state of Serbia. Instead of prolonging the process, Serbia could show with this trial how a state deals with its war criminals. It remains for Serbia not to completely fail the test of humanity, but to recognize the status of civilian victims of war to those killed, and to provide their families with appropriate financial compensation.
On the thirtieth anniversary, we remember the victims of kidnapping in Štrpci: Esad Kapetanović, Ilijaz Ličina, Fehim Bakija, Šećo Softić, Rifet Husović, Senad Đečević, Ismet Babačić, Halil Zubčević, Adem Alomerović, Muhedin Hanić, Safet Preljević, Džafer Topuzović, Rasim Ćorić, Fikret Memović, Favzija Zeković, Nijazim Kajević, Zvezdan Zuličić, Jusuf Rastoder, and Toma Buzov.
Association for Social Research and Communication (UDIK) – Sarajevo
Center for Democracy and Transitional Justice (CDTJ) – Banja Luka
Woman’s Voice – Priboj
