HRA: Finally provide social protection to the families of the victims in Štrpci

Action for Human Rights (HRA) called to investigate and determine who were the organizers and instigators of the crimes in Štrpci from the political and military circles of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska, that they, together with the immediate perpetrators, be brought to justice and punished according to the law, that the remains of all the victims are found, the oldest of whom was 59, and the youngest 16, and that Montenegro, by amending the Law on Veterans and Disability Protection, finally provides social protection to the families of victims of that crime as civilian victims of war.

Today marks 29 years since members of the intervention company of the Višegrad Brigade of the Army of the Republika Srpska called "Avengers" from the high-speed train 671 "Lovćen" were at the railway station in Štrpci, on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), on the route Belgrade - Bar kidnapped and then killed 20 passengers of non-Serb nationality: Esad Kapetanović, Iljaz Ličina, Fehim Bakija, Šeć Softić, Rifat Husović, Halil Zupčević, Senad Đečević, Jusuf Rastoder, Ismet Babačić, Tom Buzov, Adem Alomerović, Muhedin Hanić, Safet Preljević, Džafer Topuzović, Rasim Ćorić, Fikret Memović, Fevzija Zeković, Nijazim Kajević, Zvjezdan Zuličić and one unknown person.

"After the abduction in Štrpci, the victims of this crime were taken to a school in the village of Prelovo near Višegrad, where they were robbed and beaten, and then transferred to the village of Mušići, near Višegradska Banja, where it is assumed that they were killed and their bodies thrown into the Drina The body of Halil Zupčević was found only in 2009 on the shore of Lake Perućac, near Višegrad, and the remains of Rasim Ćorić, Jusuf Rastoder and Ilijaz Ličina were found in the same location in 2010. The remains of the other victims of this crime have not been found to this day. ", according to HRA.

So far, only two members of the "Avengers" company have been convicted for the crime in Štrpci. "Nebojša Ranisavljević was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Montenegro, and Mićo Jovičić concluded a plea agreement with the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in 2016, based on which he was sentenced to five years in prison. The leader of this military unit, Milan Lukić, is serving a life sentence sentenced by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes committed in Visegrad, and he was never tried for the crime in Štrpci. It was only in December 2019 that the Prosecutor's Office of BiH accused Lukić of participating in of this war crime, while in Montenegro it has never been done. Nor has any other investigation been initiated in Montenegro regarding this crime, although Ranisavljević in his testimony mentioned Boban Inđić, 'the Montenegrin', Milan 'Čačko' among the participants in the action. , Acu Šimšić, the 'drunk Slovene', Željko Marjanović, Bogdan Šekarić, Vidaković and Mitra the 'Chetnik'", HRA reminds.

Also, in the criminal proceedings conducted against Nebojša Ranisavljević in Montenegro, it was established that the kidnapping in Štrpci was planned and carried out with the knowledge of the then high-ranking officials of the civil, police and military authorities of Serbia and FR Yugoslavia, the NGO points out.

"At a meeting attended by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Užice Baško Petrić, commander of the militia of the Užice region Đorđe Kerić and from ŽTP, Mitar Mandić, Drago Tadić and Vuko Mulina, it was concluded: 'The information about the intention to take passengers from the train is confirmed and added that it is a strategic operation of the Serbian army in order to create conditions for the exchange of prisoners and the dead...' The documents published at the trial in Bijelo Polje, which were collected and published by the Fund for Humanitarian Law, indicate that both Ranisavljević and his commander, Milan Lukić, were the perpetrators of the crime whose order was someone else, from the top of the government of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which consisted of Serbia and Montenegro, in cooperation with the authorities of the Republika Srpska. To date, none of the orderers and organizers of this crime have been investigated and punished." , added from HRA.

Ten defendants are still on trial for the crime in Štrpci before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the trial of five defendants is ongoing before the Special Court in Belgrade, including Gojko Lukić, the brother of Milan Lukić.

In 2021, Action for Human Rights published a publication called "Against Forgetting", which collected the testimonies of witnesses in war crimes trials. "In it, you can read testimonies that will bring you closer to the tragedy that happened on train 671. The publication presents the testimony of a man who tried to prevent the kidnapping of a young fellow passenger - 'Let the child go, what is the child's fault?', the testimony of a relative of the kidnapped passenger who managed to reach commander Milan Lukić, the tragic testimony of the wife who witnessed her husband's removal from the train, as well as the statements of civil servants: the conductor from the train who, for fear, could not remember what glory he was celebrating, and the train dispatcher from Štrpci station. Finally, he was presented and the statement of convicted Nebojša Ranisavljević, who explains how the crime was committed," concludes HRA.