Author: Communication Department

Introudction

In May 2008, TRIAL submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Hafsa Boudjemai, acting on behalf of her son, Djaafar Sahbi. The latter was abducted in Algiers on the 3rd of July 1995 around 10 am. He has not been seen since then. This incident occurred within the general context of the enforced disappearance of thousands of Algerian citizens at the hands of the army or various other security organs of the State between 1992 and 1998.

Djaafar Sahbi was kidnapped when leaving the Mustapha Bacha hospital where he was employed and where he had taken his 8 year old daughter for a doctor’s appointment. As they were coming out of the hospital, two policemen gave orders to follow them. Djaafar Sahbi and his daughter were taken away in a car. The girl was later brought back to her father’s office in the hospital by the policemen.

Three days later, policemen broke into the residence of the Sahbi family when no one was present. The police officers forced open several doors, at the entrance and inside the house, and took away personal effects and documents belonging to Mr. Sahbi.

Since his arrest, his family has been unable to learn anything about his fate, despite persistent attempts to do so.

Sahbi’s relatives, especially his brother Youcef, have turned to all the competent authorities in order to find him and ensure he is put under the protection of the law.

In particular, Sahbi’s case was submitted to the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Algeria, to the Public Prosecutor of the Court of El Harrach and to the General Prosecutor of the Court of Algiers. Those requests were left unanswered. The family also turned to several governmental and administrative institutions, in particular to the President of Republic and the Minister of Justice, but all in vain.

Finally, Djaafar Sahbi’s case was also submitted to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. This special procedure was also unsuccessful in clarifying the situation with respect to Sahbi’s disappearance, since the Algerian State simply omitted to respond to the requests laid before it.

Furthermore, since the promulgation of Order n° 6/01 concerning the implementation of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation in February 2006, the family faces a legal barrier in bringing its case to justice. Any person who contravenes this Order faces a prison term, and Algerian tribunals are bound to declare such a case inadmissible.

The author of the submission therefore requests the Committee to recognise Djaafar Sahbi as a victim of enforced disappearance. This crime affects the most fundamental rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR). It is submitted that the situation gives rise to violations of articles 2 § 3, 6 § 1, 7, 9 §§ 1, 2, 3 and 4, 10 § 1, 16 and 17 § 1 of the ICCPR in respect of Djaafar Sahbi and articles 2 § 3 and 7 of the ICCPR in respect of the author, as a result of the psychological suffering he has endured for so many years, caused by uncertainty as to the fate of her son.

 

General Context

According to several sources, between 7,000 to 20,000 individuals have gone missing after being arrested or abducted by the various different Algerian security services as well as by government armed militias between 1992 and 1998.

Until today, none of the families of such victims of enforced disappearances has received any information concerning the fate of their loved ones. No investigations have been opened up as a result of complaints they have lodged or other procedures taken. Despite the fact that the perpetrators of the crimes and those behind them are well known, no one has been put under investigation or brought to prosecution.

 

The decision

In June 2013, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language).

The Committee held that Algeria violated Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1, 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights taken alone or in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant with regards to M. Djaafar Sahbi.

The Committee also held that Algeria violated Article 7 and 17 of the ICCPR, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 with regards to the victim’s family.

The Committee requested Algeria to conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Djafaar Sahbi, to furnish his family with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation, to free him immediately if he is still being secretly detained or if, he is deceased, to return his mortal remains to his family.

Moreover, the Committee insisted on Algeria’s obligation to indict, try and sanction those responsible for the violations committed. Algeria was also required to pay an adequate compensation to the family of the victim for the violations endured.

 

The Case

In March 2008, TRIAL submitted a communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Aîssa Mezine, acting for his brother Bouzid Mezine. The latter was kidnapped in Algiers on 11 August 1996 between 1h30 and 2h00 am, following a police operation. He is reported to have been missing since then. This incident has occurred within the general context of the enforced disappearance of thousands of Algerian citizens at the hands of the army or security corps of the State between 1992 and 1998.

Bouzid Mezine was taken from his home, in the presence of his family, by a military detachment in the context of a police operation in the neighbourhood. The soldiers also proceeded to search his apartment.

Since his arrest, his family has never succeeded in discovering his fate, despite persistent attempts to do so. A former detainee of the military prison of Blida reportedly saw him two months after the arrest – this information was confirmed to the family by a member of the military.

Mezine’s relatives have turned to all the competent authorities in order to find him and to make sure he is under the protection of law. At the end of the time limit for police custody, they enquired about him at several military camps, police stations and prosecutor’s offices, with no success. Bouzid Mezine’s father has referred his son’s case to the prosecutors of the Hussein Dey and Algiers tribunals, as well as to the military prosecutor of Blida. The latter is believed to have opened an official enquiry, but has in fact never brought to fruition any reliable enquiry concerning the enforced disappearance of Bouzid Mezine.

His family has turned to several governmental authorities, including the Médiateur de la République, the President of the Observatoire national des droits de l’homme, the President of the Republic and the Minister of Justice. None of them have given the family any information about the victim’s fate.

Finally, Bouzid Mezine’s case has also been submitted to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. This special procedure did not assist in clarifying the disappeared’s situation, as the State decided not to answer the requests.

Furthermore, since the promulgation of Order n° 6/01 concerning the implementation of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation in February 2006, the family faces a legal barrier to bringing its case to justice. Any person who contravenes this Order faces a prison term, and Algerian tribunals are bound to declare such a case inadmissible.

The author of this submission requests the Committee to recognise Bouzid Mezine as a victim of enforced disappearance. This crime affects the most fundamental rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It is submitted that the situation gives rise to violations of articles 2 § 3, 6 § 1, 7, 9 §§ 1, 2, 3 and 4, 10 § 1, 16 and 17 § 1 of the ICCPR in respect of Bouzid Mezine and articles 2 § 3 and 7 of the ICCPR in respect of the author, as a result of the psychological suffering he has endured for so many years, caused by uncertainty as to the fate of his son. The case is pending.

 

The general context

According to different sources, between 7,000 and 20,000 people have been arrested or kidnapped and then made to disappear by the different Algerian security services or by government-armed militias between 1992 and 1998.

To date, none of the families of the victims of these enforced disappearances have received any information on the fate of their relatives. No investigations have been initiated pursuant to the lodging of criminal complaints or other procedures. Although the identity of the persons who committed and planned these crimes is widely known, none of them has been prosecuted.

 

The decision

In December 2012, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language).

The Committee held that Algeria violated Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1, 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant with regards to the victim.

The Committee also held that Algeria violated Articles 7 and 17 of the ICCPR, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3, with regards to the victim’s mother.

The Committee requested Algeria to “”to conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Mr. Bouzid Mezine”. Algeria is also requested to “provide the authors with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation”, “to free the victim immediately if he is still being secretly detained” or, “if he is deceased, to return his mortal remains to his family”. Moreover, the Committee insisted on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, try and punish those responsible for the violations committed” and to pay an appropriate compensation to the family of the victim for the violations committed.

Algeria is further requested to guarantee the effectiveness of the domestic justice system, especially with respect to victims of torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance and to take steps to avoid the recurrence of similar violations.

 

Introduction

In February 2008, TRIAL submitted an individual communication to the Human Rights Committee on behalf of Fatma Zohra Berzig, a widow acting on behalf of her son, Kamel Djebrouni. The latter was kidnapped in Algiers during the night of 19-20 November 1994 and has never been seen since. His disappearance took place within the context of thousands of other disappearances which took place at the hands of the army and various security forces in the country between 1992 and 1998.

Kamel Djebrouni was abducted from his home by a group of soldiers in the presence of his mother and his brothers. Since his arrest, his family has been unable to trace his whereabouts or to have any information concerning his fate despite significant efforts on their part. The only information available was from a former detainee, whom the family were unable to question directly, who said that he saw him in an unidentified detention centre at the beginning of 1995.

Nevertheless, Mr. Djebrouni’s close relatives had already made enquiries to all of the relevant state institutions about his fate. Immediately after his abduction, his brother went to the police station in the 8th arrondissment of Algiers. However, the police officers were unable to provide any information concerning his brother and simply advised him to await his release after the end of the legal limit of police custody.

As a first step, Djebrouni’s family addressed their enquiries to the police and the various different courts in Algiers, in order to determine if he had been brought before a prosecutor. They then requested the National Human Rights Observatory (NHRO) to initiate inquiries with a view to finding the whereabouts of Kamel Djebrouni.

It was only four years after this, and after being prompted on several occasions by the family, that the gendarmerie summoned them to give testimony. Scarcely two days later was the enquiry brought to a close with no new information being brought forward to allow the victim to be located. After several months the NHRO reported back to the family its conclusion which was essentially that Kamel Djebrouni had not been arrested, for the simple reason that there was no official arrest warrant issued against him.

With help from a well known NGO, the family took their case to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances. This special procedure also did not help to solve the situation with respect to Mr. Djebrouni, given that the State did not take the trouble to reply to the questions addressed to it.

To make matters worse, with the promulgation in February 2006 of Regulation No 6/01 concerning the implementation of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, the family were confronted with a legal ban on bringing its case before the courts at the risk of incurring a prison term if they did so. In any case, all Algerian courts would be bound to declare such a case as inadmissible.

The Communication recently submitted asks the Human Rights Committee to recognise that Kamel Djebrouni has been a victim of a forced disappearance, a crime which infringes the most fundamental of those rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The plaintiff requests that violations of articles 2 § 3, 6 § 1, 7, 9 1, § 2, § 3 and § 4, 10 § 1 and 16 of the ICCPR against Kamel Djebrouni be recognised, as well as violations of articles 2 § 3 and 7 of the ICCPR against the plaintiff as a result of the psychological suffering she has endured over the many years of uncertainty concerning the fate of her son.

 

General Context

According to several sources, from 7,000 to 20,000 individuals have gone missing after having been arrested or abducted by the various different Algerian security services as well as by government armed militias between 1992 and 1998.

Until today, none of the families having victims of enforced disappearances have received any information concerning the fate of their loved ones. No investigations have been opened up as a result of complaints they have lodged or other procedures taken. Despite the fact that the perpetrators of the crimes and those behind them are well known, no one has been put under investigation or been prosecuted.

 

The decision

In December 2011, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language).

The Committee held that Algeria violated Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1 and 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant with regards to the victim.

The Committee also held that Algeria violated Article 7 of the ICCPR, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3, with regards to the victim’s mother.

The Committee requested Algeria to “conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Kamel Djebrouni”, to “furnish his family with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation”, to free him immediately if he is still being secretly detained or, if he is deceased, to return his mortal remains to his family. Moreover, the Committee insisted on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, put on trial and punish those responsible for the violations committed”.

Algeria was also required to pay an adequate compensation to the mother of the victim for the violations endured.

 

The Case

In November 2007, TRIAL lodged an application before the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Kamel Rakik. The ACT acts as a representative for Mrs. Guezout and M. Abdelrahim and Bachir Rakik, respectively the mother and the brothers of the victim. Kamel Rakik was arrested on May, 6, 1996, in Ouled Moussa, and has been reported missing ever since. This disappearance occurred in the context of the massive enforced disappearances which took place in Algeria between 1992 and 1998.

Kamel Rakik was arrested at his home, around thirty kilometers outside of Algiers, by officers of the judiciary police of Algiers’ wilaya. The policemen burst in his house, using violence and threatening to kill his wife, who they later used as a human shield in order to get to him. Even though nobody in the house was armed, they opened fire on the people present injuring Kamel Rakik. He and his wife and sister-in-law were then taken away, separately.

The three of them were taken to the Chateauneuf police officers’ school, an infamous centre for torture and incommunicado detention, in order to be questioned. After five days of detention, both women – and four other members of their family arrested on the same day – were transferred to another cell where, to their surprise, they discovered Kamel Rakik. He told them that he had been tortured, then taken to a military hospital under a false name, before being tortured again.

Rakik’s wife and sister-in-law were released after 35 days of detention.

Following Rakik’s arrest, his father, Tahar Rakik, convinced that his son had died in the attack, went on to look for him in hospitals and mortuaries. He also turned to different police stations but nobody seemed to be aware of his son’s arrest.

As his daughter-in-law returned home, Tahar Rakik contacted the public prosecutor of the Boudouaou’s tribunal to notify him his son’s disappearance and request that he be placed under protection of the law. This first request was dismissed, as were all the numerous complaints, letters and requests that Tahar Rakik kept addressing him thereafter. The public prosecutor informed him, in June 1998, that his son had been arrested by members of the security services and taken to Algiers’ police station, but kept dismissing his complaints. The public prosecutor made it clear that he was not going to prosecute the police.

Kamel Rakik’s father wrote several letters to the relevant authorities, among whom the Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior and the Ombudsman. However, he never received any answer from any of these authorities.

Tahar Rakik died on February 5, 2003 without ever having received any information on the fate of his son who had been reported missing for seven years at that time.

In 2006, the security services suggested Kamel Rakik’s mother to take the appropriate administrative measures in order to obtain reparation, in accordance with the ‘national reconciliation’ ordinance adopted that same year. However, the process implies that an official certificate of death be established, something that Mme Guezout refused to do, and so she kept asking for the truth about her son to be made.

The authors of the communication ask the Committee to recognize that Kamel Rakik was a victim of enforced disappearance, a crime that infringes the most fundamental rights guaranteed in the International covenant on civil and political rights (ICCPR), and of several other violations, due, among other reasons, to the violence he was subjected to during his arrest, and to the torture he underwent while in detention. The complainants request that violations of articles 2 (3), 6 (1), 7, 9 (1), (2), (3) and (4), 10 (1) and 16 of the ICCPR be found as regards Kamel Rakik. They also request that violations of articles 2 (3) and 7 of the ICCPR be found as regards themselves for the psychological suffering they underwent during the many years of uncertainty as regards their son and brother’s fate.

 

General context

According to different sources, as many as 7,000 to 20,000 persons were arrested or abducted by the Algerians security services as well as by the militias armed by the government between 1992 and 1998, and are reported missing.

As of today, none of the families of victims of enforced disappearance has ever received any information on the fate of their relatives, no investigation has ever been open as a result of the complaints and measures they have taken, and, even though the authors and their backer are known, none of them has ever been prosecuted or even put under investigation for those actions.

 

The decision

In September 2012, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language).

The Committee held that Algeria violated Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1 and 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant with regards to the victim.

The Committee also held that Algeria violated Article 7 of the ICCPR, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3, with regards to the victim’s mother and brothers.

The Committee requested Algeria to “conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Kamel Rakik”, to “furnish his family with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation”, to free him immediately if he is still being secretly detained or, if he is deceased, to return his mortal remains to his family. Moreover, the Committee insisted on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, put on trial and punish those responsible for the violations committed”.

Algeria was also required to pay an adequate compensation to the mother and two brothers of the victim for the violations endured.

 

The case

TRIAL lodged an individual complaint before the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Mériem Zarzi, spouse Aouabdia, in October 2007. She acts in the name of her husband, kidnapped on 30 May 1994 in Constantine, and missing since. He disappeared during a widespread campaign of forced disappearances in Algeria between 1992 and 1998.

Brahim Aouabdia was arrested on his workplace by the police of Constantine in the presence of witnesses. He was driven to the main police station of the city with many other persons arrested in the same circumstances.

Following his arrest, his wife went to the police station and the law court for several days in the hope of seeing her husband. She also asked regularly about his situation at the Prosecutor’s Office. Thereafter, she lodged a criminal complaint for abduction and illegal confinement, for which she never got any answer, and continued to alert all the competent authorities.

It is only three years later that she learned from the police that her husband had been transferred to the Territorial Research and Investigation Centre (TRIC) of the 5th military region of Constantine on 13 July 1994. Nevertheless, no one there ever admitted having seen Brahim Aouabdia at the TRIC.

Mrs Zarzi and her children never stopped to search for him and undertook all action to know the truth about his fate. Brahim Aouabdia’s disappearance also caused them a lot of administrative burden, leading Mrs Zarazi to apply for a death certificate for her husband, in the framework of the 2006 Charter for peace and national reconciliation.

In her complaint before the UN Human Rights Committee, Mrs Zarazi requests that her husband be recognized as a victim of forced disappearance and that Algeria be found in violation of articles 2 § 3, 6 § 1, 7, 9 § 1, 2, 3, and 4, and of articles 10 and 16 of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – ICCPR – (right to an effective remedy, right to life, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment , right to life and security of person, prohibition of inhuman treatment for all persons deprived of their liberty and right to recognition as a person before the law). She also asks for the violation of the articles 2 § 3 and 7 of the ICCPR to be recognized for herself and her children, the disappearance of her husband being the cause of a long and painful uncertainty for all the family.

 

General context

According to different information sources, 7.000 to 20.000 persons had been arrested or abducted by all corps of Algerian security services and the militia armed by the government between 1992 and 1998, and are missing.

To date, none of the victims’ families got information about their relatives, no investigation has ever been opened as a result of the criminal complaint and the procedure they have completed, and, thought the persons who committed the crimes and the backers are known, none of them have ever been prosecuted or troubled.

 

The decision

In May 2011, the Human Rights Committee adopted its decision in the case (called “views” in the UN language).

The Committee held that Algeria violated Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1 and 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, taken alone or in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant, with regards to the victim.

The Committee also held that Algeria violated Article 7 of the ICCPR, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3, with regards to the victim’s wife and their six children.

The Committee requested Algeria to “conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Brahim Aouabdia”, to “furnish his family with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation”, to free him immediately if he is still being secretly detained or, if he is deceased, to return his mortal remains to his family. Moreover, the Committee insisted on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, put on trial and punish those responsible for the violations committed”. Algeria was also required to pay an adequate compensation to the spouse and family of the victim for the violations endured.

 

The case

In April 2008, a joint individual communication was lodged by TRIAL and the organization Al-Karama for Human Rights before the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Tahar Mohamed Aboufaied, who acts for his brothers, Idriss and Juma Aboufaied.

Idriss and Juma Aboufaied have been arbitrarily arrested by members of the Libyan Internal Security Agency (ISA) and held incommunicado for long periods. Mr. Idriss Aboufaied has been subjected to torture while in custody. He may face the death penalty at the end of an ongoing judicial procedure which lacks the most elementary guarantees of fairness and equity. His brother, Juma Aboufaied, who has not been able to communicate with his relatives, remains in detention in an unacknowledged location. No grounds have been given for his detention and no charge has been laid against him.

Idriss Aboufaied is a renowned Libyan human rights activist who has openly called for political reform in his country. After 16 years in Switzerland as a refugee, he returned to Libya, following Colonel Khaddafi’s promises not to persecute exiled political opponents who were willing to return. He was interrogated by ISA agents upon his arrival at Tripoli Airport on 30 September 2006, and his passport was confiscated.

On 5 November 2006 he was arbitrarily arrested and held in incommunicado detention for the next 54 days, until he was freed on 29 December 2006. While in detention, he had to be transferred to a hospital as a result of the torture inflicted by his captors. After his release, having declared his determination to continue his struggle for democracy, he and other critics of the regime undertook to organise a peaceful demonstration, which was to take place on 17 February 2007 and aimed at calling for the rule of law and the respect of human rights in Libya.

The day before the date of the planned demonstration, internal security agents once again arrested Idriss Aboufaied and 11 other co-organisers of the demonstration, namely Jamal Alhaji, Fareed Azway, Almahdi Hmeed, Assadiq Hmeed, Faraj Hmeed, Adel Hmeed, Ali Hmeed, Ala Adrisi, Assadiq Gashoot, Bashir Alharis and Ahmad Alabeedi. They have all been in prison since then and have made allegations of torture.

Immediately after Idriss Aboufaied’s second detention, his brother, Juma Aboufaied, telephonically informed persons abroad about the incident. Three hours later, he was detained by internal security agents, in all likelihood in connection with these phone calls.

Another Libyan citizen, Abdelrahman Al-Gteewi, was also arrested. Neither he nor Juma Aboufaied has had any possibility of contact with the outside world. Neither of them has been charged, and the authorities have refused to deliver any information about their fate and whereabouts.

Two months after their arrest, criminal charges were laid against the 12 men detained in connection with the demonstration planned for 17 February 2007. They are currently being tried by the Revolutionary Security Court, a special tribunal for opponents of the regime. After several months of an ostensibly unfair procedure, the Court has announced that the final verdict will be pronounced on 15 April 2008. The accused may face the death penalty.

All judicial and other legal remedies provided for by Libyan legislation are de factounavailable to victims of crimes perpetrated for political reasons, due to the high risk – almost certainty – of severe reprisals against those who would bring accusations against the State and the great difficulty (within the context of the generalized terror prevailing in Libya) that such persons would have in availing themselves of the assistance of a lawyer. In addition, such legal actions would have no chance of success, owing to the lack of independence of the national tribunals.

The author of the communication requests the Committee to recognize that Libya has violated, as a result of the facts described above:

  • with regard to Idriss Aboufaied: his rights to an effective remedy; to life; not to be subject to torture or ill-treatment; to freedom and security of the person; to be treated with respect for his human dignity while in detention; to freedom of movement; to a fair trial, and to be recognized in all circumstances as a legal person (articles 2 § 3, 6 § 1, 7, 9 §§ 1, 2, 3 and 4, 10 § 1, 12 § 2, 14, 16, 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights),
  • as to Juma Aboufaied: the rights to an effective remedy; to life; not to be subject to torture or ill-treatment; to freedom and security of the person; to be treated with respect for his human dignity while in detention; and to be recognized in all circumstances as a legal person (articles 2 § 3, 6 § 1, 7, 9 §§ 1, 2, 3 and 4, 10 § 1 and 16 of the Covenant) and,
  • finally, regarding the author himself, the rights to an effective remedy and not to be subject to torture or ill-treatment (articles 2 § 3 and 7).

 

The general context

These facts come within the context of the relentless repression suffered by those who dare to criticize the regime of Colonel Khadafi, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly 40 years now. The security forces – especially the Internal Security Agency – have notoriously committed the worst abuses on a large scale and with total impunity. Opponents of the government are the main targets of such practices.

Heavy punishments imposed after procedures which grossly disregard basic procedural guarantees – such as the ongoing trial against the abovementioned 12 accused men – constitute a common instrument of repression against dissidents in Libya.

The practice of incommunicado detention for long periods is also common, and past experiences can only give rise to pessimism concerning the fate of Juma Aboufaied and Abdelrahman Al-Gteewi, who still remain missing today.

 

The decision

In May 2012, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language).

The Committee held that Libya violated Articles 7, 9, 10 § 1 and 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with regard to Idriss and Juma Aboufaied. It also found a violation of Articles 12 § 2 and 14 § 1, 3(a) and 3(d) vis-à-vis Idriss Aboufaied. The Committee further found a violation of Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant, read in conjunction with Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1, 12 § 2 and 16.

The Committee also held that Libya violated Article 7 of the ICCPR, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3, with regards to the author of the communication.

The Committee requested Libya to provide the author and his brothers with an effective remedy, including “a thorough and effective investigation into the disappearance of Idriss and Juma Aboufaied and any ill-treatment that they suffered in detention”, to give them “detailed information on the results of its investigation” and to prosecute, try and punish those responsible for the disappearance or other ill-treatment of Idriss and Juma Aboufaied. Libya was also required to pay an appropriate compensation to the author and his brothers for the violations endured.

 

The case

In September 2012, TRIAL submitted a communication to the UN Human Rights Committee concerning the alleged arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of the remains of Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović in the municipality of Trnovo in August 1992. TRIAL acts on behalf of Mr. Vide Lale and Mrs. Milojka Blagojević, who are respectively the son of Mrs. Anđa Lale and the daughter of Mrs. Staka Popović.

Following the Bosnian military attack against the town of Trnovo in mid-July 1992, Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović, together with other six people, fled the town and reached the nearby village of Širokari seeking refuge in a weekend cottage they found empty in the village. On the 2nd August 1992, as they were setting out to have dinner in the weekend cottage in Širokari, Mr. Rajko Lale – another son of Mrs. Anđa Lale who was himself in the house – heard and saw dozens of Bosnian soldiers approaching. When Mr. Rajko Lale realised that the soldiers were about to reach and enter the house, he escaped through the window and hid in a bush very close to the cottage. He stayed in the bush all night, he was frightened and petrified and the only thing he could see was that the weekend house was set on fire by soldiers. He thought that all the persons had been burned inside the house. There was no trace of them in the cottage the following morning.

The fate and whereabouts of Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović remain unknown since then and they are officially registered as ‘missing persons’ before domestic and international institutions. More than 20 years after the events, no investigation has been launched to establish what happened to Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović nor to identify, judge and sanction those responsible for their alleged arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of their remains.

Since 1992, Mr. Vide Lale and Mrs. Milojka Blagojević have been suffering from deep and severe psychological distress trying to cope with what has happened to their mothers, the lacerating uncertainty of their fate and whereabouts, the State’s attitude of indifference towards their plight and the absence of compensation or reparations. Moreover their family life was disrupted as a consequence of the arbitrary killing of their mothers and the subsequent concealment of their mortal remains, which have prevented the authors from burying their mothers in accordance with their religious customs and beliefs.

On 13 July 2005 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), seized by several families of missing persons, including Mr. Vide Lale and Mrs. Milojka Blagojević, declared that BiH violated the right not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life of the relatives of missing persons. Accordingly, the Court ordered the domestic institutions concerned to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the missing people, including Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović. To date, Mr. Vide Lale and Mrs. Milojka Blagojević have not received any relevant information about their mothers from the institutions concerned.

In September 2012, TRIAL therefore submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee asking it:

to find that Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović are victims of a violation of Art. 6 (right to life) in conjunction with Art. 2.3 (right to a remedy) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct an ex officio, prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on their alleged arbitrary killing and the subsequent concealment of their mortal remains in order to establish their whereabouts and to locate, exhume, identify and return their mortal remains to the respective families, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them.

To find that Mr. Vide Lale and Mrs. Milojka Blagojević are victims of a violation of Art. 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) in conjunction with Art. 2.3 (right to a remedy) of the Covenant because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the alleged arbitrary killing and the subsequent concealment of the mortal remains of Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović. Moreover, Mr. Vide Lale and Mrs. Milojka Blagojević allege that the above mentioned provisions are violated also in conjunction with Art. 17 and 23.1 of the Covenant, because of the disruption of their family life as a consequence of the arbitrary killing of their mothers and the subsequent concealment of their mortal remains, which have prevented the authors from burying their mothers in accordance with their religious customs and beliefs.

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to establishing the fate and whereabouts of Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović and to locate, exhume, identify and respect their mortal remains and to return them to the authors of the communication.

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the alleged arbitrary killing and the subsequent concealment of the mortal remains of Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović before the competent authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay.

to request BiH to ensure that Mr. Vide Lale and Mrs. Milojka Blagojević obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation.

 

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 10,000 people remain missing to date.

The alleged arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of the remains of Mrs. Anđa Lale and Mrs. Staka Popović took place in the context of the military operations between the Bosnian Serb Army and the Green Berets in the municipality of Trnovo during the summer 1992.

 

The Decision

On 17 March 2017 the UN Human Rights Committee issued a decision on the case, finding BiH responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In particular, it declared a violation of the right to life and the right to an effective remedy with regard to Mrs. Lale and Mrs. Blagojević, due to the lack of information on their fate and whereabouts. Moreover, the Committee found that this entails a form of inhuman and degrading treatment for their relatives.

The Committee requested BiH to:

  • Intensify its investigation to establish the fate and whereabouts of Mrs. Lale and Mrs. Blagojević;
  • Bring to justice those responsible for the crimes committed against Mrs. Lale and Mrs. Blagojević;
  • Provide the relatives of Mrs. Lale and Mrs. Blagojević with adequate compensation and measures of satisfaction;
  • Provide the relatives of Lale and Mrs. Blagojević with the necessary psychological rehabilitation and medical care;
  • Prevent similar violations in the future and ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance and arbitrary executions are accessible to the families of victims.

BiH has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement this decision.

 

The case

In March 2012, TRIAL submitted a communication to the UN Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Mr. Salih Dovadžija occurred in October 1992. TRIAL acts on behalf of Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija and Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija, who are respectively the wife and the daughter of Mr. Salih Dovadžija.

On or around 10 August 1992, Mr. Salih Dovadžija was seen for the last time alive by his wife and his daughter (at the time 5-month old), while he was serving as a member of the Territorial Defence of the BiH Army. According to eye-witnesses, Mr. Salih Dovadžija was seen for the last time alive in October 1992 at the frontline in Žuč. He was held by members of the Bosnian Serb forces (VRS) in life-threatening circumstances, subjected to ill-treatment and forced labour. The fate and whereabouts of Mr. Salih Dovadžija remain unknown since then and he is officially registered as a missing person before domestic and international institutions. To date, no one has been judged and sanctioned for the enforced disappearance of Mr. Salih Dovadžija.

Almost 20 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by BiH authorities to locate the mortal remains of Mr. Salih Dovadžija or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible for the mentioned crimes. Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija and Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija have undertaken several steps to obtain information about their loved one.

Since 1992 Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija and Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija are undergoing deep and severe psychological stress to try to cope with what has happened to their family and the lacerating uncertainty on the whereabouts of Mr. Salih Dovadžija. As a consequence of her precarious state of health, Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija has been diagnosed and is being treated for “mixed dissociative conversion disorder”. In the case of Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija, who was a few months old when these tragic events took place, she was forced to grow up without her father and even in the impossibility to adequately mourn him. This situation has affected her whole family life.

On 16 July 2007, the Constitutional Court of BiH, seized by several families of missing persons, including Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija, declared that BiH violated the right not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life of the relatives of missing persons.Accordingly, the Court ordered the domestic institutions concerned to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the missing people, including Mr. Salih Dovadžija.

In March 2011, TRIAL therefore submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee asking it:

  • to find that Mr. Salih Dovadžija is a victim of a violation of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), 9 (right to liberty and security of person), 10 (right to human treatment of people deprived of their liberty), and 16 (right to be recognized as a person before the law) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct an ex officio, prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on his arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment, and subsequent enforced disappearance, in order to establish his fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;
  • to find that they are victims of a violation by BiH of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Article 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Covenant, because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the violations committed against Mr. Salih Dovadžija and the ongoing lack of information about the causes and circumstances of these events as well as on the progress and results of the investigations carried out by BiH authorities. Moreover, Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija and Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija allege that the mentioned provisions are violated also in conjunction with Articles 17 and 23.1 of the Covenant, because of the disruption of their family life as a consequence of the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the subsequent enforced disappearance of Mr. Salih Dovadžija. The mentioned violations have prevented Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija and Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija from burying their loved one in accordance with their religious customs and beliefs. In the case of Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija, until 31 March 2010, all the mentioned provisions were violated in conjunction with Article 24.1 of the Covenant, as she was a minor.
  • to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to exhume, identify, respect and return to the family the mortal remains of Mr. Salih Dovadžija;
  • to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment, and subsequent enforced disappearance Mr. Salih Dovadžija before the competent ordinary tribunals for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and
  • to request BiH to ensure that Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija and Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

 

The Decision

On 22 July 2015 the UN Human Rights Committee issued a decision on the case,finding BiH responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the rights to life, personal liberty, and the prohibition of torture with regard to Mr. Salih Dovadžija. The Committee declared that the State is responsible for not providing information on the progress of the investigation into Mr. Dovadžija’s disappearance to his loved ones. The failure of the State to unveil the truth on Mr. Dovadžija’s fate and whereabouts exposed his wife and daughter to anguish and distress amounting to inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested BiH to:

  • Establish the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Salih Dovadžija;
  • Bring to justice without unnecessary delay those responsible for Mr. Dovadžija’s enforced disappearance;
  • Provide the wife and daughter of Mr. Dovadžija with adequate compensation and measures of satisfaction;
  • Provide the wife and daughter of Mr. Dovadžija with the necessary psychological rehabilitation and medical care;
  • Prevent similar violations in the future and ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance are accessible to the families of missing persons.

In early 2016, the remains of Mr. Salih Dovadžija were found in Pale, near Sarajevo. In November 2016, his wife and daughter were finally able to bury him.

Since then, Ms Dovadžija has also been allowed a monthly pension.

 

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 10,000 people remain missing to date.

To date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and sanctioned for the enforced disappearance of Mr. Salih Dovadžija, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity. Up to this day, Mrs. Sakiba Dovadžija and Ms. Dalisa Dovadžija have not received any information on whereabouts of the mortal remains of Mr. Salih Dovadžija and they have not had the possibility to mourn and bury him in accordance with their religious customs and beliefs.

 

The case

In April 2011 TRIAL submitted a communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of the mortal remains of Mr. Božo Mandić.

On or around 24 June 1992 Mr. Božo Mandić was arbitrarily killed by a sniper in the suburban neighbourhood of Sarajevo known as Vojničko Polje. The mortal remains of Mr. Božo Mandić were buried by a gentleman who was forced to do so by a member of the Bosniak Territorial Defence. In 1998, exhumations were carried out in the area around Lukaviča Road and, according to the reconstruction of the facts realised by the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office in Sarajevo, it is most probable that on such occasion also the remains of Mr. Božo Mandić were exhumed. After that, all traces of Mr. Božo Mandić’s mortal remains were lost and continue unknown as of today.

TRIAL acts on behalf of Mr. Milan Mandić, who is the son of Mr. Božo Mandić.

In spite of numerous attempts from Mr. Mandić to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of the mortal remains of his father Mr. Božo Mandić, the fate and whereabouts of the latter and the progress and results of the investigations remain unknown.

Indeed, more than 19 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been carried out by BiH authorities and no one has been prosecuted, judged and sanctioned for the crimes concerned, thus fostering an ongoing climate of impunity. Although Mr. Milan Mandić has provided DNA samples to international mechanisms and national institutions dealing with the subject of missing persons, to date the mortal remains of Mr. Božo Mandić not been duly located, exhumed, identified and returned to the family. In addition, as of today, Mr. Milan Mandić still has not received reparation or compensation for the harm suffered by him and his father.

TRIAL therefore submitted an individual communication to the United Nation Human Rights Committee asking it:

to recognise that BiH violated numerous articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights subsequently to Mr. Božo Mandić’s arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of his mortal remains;

to declare that BiH also violated the Covenant with regard to the suffering caused to Mr. Milan Mandić by his father arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of his mortal remains;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to launch independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locating the mortal remains of Mr. Božo Mandić and exhuming, identifying, respecting and returning them to the Mr. Milan Mandić;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to identify those responsible for the arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of the mortal remains of Mr. Božo Mandić, and to judge and sanction them;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary actions to guarantee that Mr. Milan Mandić obtains without any further delay fair and adequate compensation and, in particular, access to medical and psychological care free of charge.

 

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance.

The arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of the mortal remains of Mr. Božo Mandić took place within the general context of the siege of the city of Sarajevo and, in particular, in the area of Lukavica, in East Sarajevo.

In 2011 the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that around 10,000 people remain disappeared in BiH.

 

The Decision

On 5 November 2015 the UN Human Rights Committee issued a decision on the case, finding BiH responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the right to life and to an effective remedy with regard to Mr. Božo Mandić. The Committee declared that the State is responsible for not providing information on the progress of the investigation into the crimes committed against Mr. Mandić and for the anguish and distress caused to his loved ones by the continuing uncertainty resulting from not knowing where his mortal remains may be and the impossibility to bury him in accordance with his faith.

The failure of the State to unveil the truth on what happened to Mr. Mandić exposed his son to anguish and distress amounting to inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested BiH to:

Locate the mortal remains of Mr. Mandić;

Bring to justice without unnecessary delay those responsible for the crimes committed against Mr. Mandić;

Provide the son of Mr. Mandić with adequate compensation and measures of satisfaction;

Provide the son of Mr. Mandić with the necessary psychological rehabilitation and medical care;

Prevent similar violations in the future and ensure that investigations into allegations of arbitrary executions are accessible to the families of victims.

BiH has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement this decision.

 

The Case

In January 2011, TRIAL lodged an application before the UN Human Rights Committee concerning the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and alleged subsequent death of Ermin Kadirić in July 1992, on behalf of Dino Kadirić and Emira Kadirić, son and wife of the victim.

On 20 July 1992, Rizvanovići members of the Bosnian Serb forces (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS) and of paramilitary groups surrounded the village of and apprehended many civilians, including Ermin Kadirić, who was staying at his house with his wife and children, including five year old Dino. Together with other men from the neighborhood, was ill-treated for hours and eventually arbitrary killed by members of the VRS.

Before being forced to leave the area and being taken away, together with her children, to the concentration camp of Trnopolje, Mrs. Kadirić and other eyewitnesses could see the body of Ermin Kadirić lying on the ground. Allegedly, the mortal remains of her husband were subsequently removed and concealed and, to date, they have not been located, exhumed, identified and returned to his family. Ermin Kadirić is registered as “missing” before international organizations and domestic institutions, which formally consider his case “still open”.

Almost 18 years after the events, no effective investigation has been carried out by BiH authorities and no one has been prosecuted, judged or sanctioned for these crimes. In 2001, the victim’s relatives have provided institutions dealing with missing persons cases with their DNA samples. Nevertheless, to date the mortal remains of Ermin Kadirić have not been identified nor located.

Dino Kadirić and Emira Kadirić live in a lacerating situation of uncertainty as they were never informed about his whereabouts nor about the progress and results of the investigations.

In January 2011, TRIAL therefore submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee asking it:

to find that BiH has violated numerous articles the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights  with regard to Ermin Kadirić, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct an ex officio, prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation into the events, in order to establish the whereabouts of his body, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that BiH has violated several articles of the Covenant in respect of the victim’s wife and son;

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locating, exhuming, identifying, respecting and returning the mortal remains of Mr. Ermin Kadirić to his family;

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, arbitrary execution and the subsequent removal and concealment of the mortal remains of Mr. Ermin Kadirić before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction, and to disseminate publicly the results of this measure.

 

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 13,000 people remain disappeared to date.

The case of Ermin Kadirić occurred in the context of a first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army in the spring and summer of 1992.

Notwithstanding the existence of strong evidences on the identity of those responsible for the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and arbitrary execution and the subsequent concealment of the mortal remains of Ermin Kadirić, to date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and sanctioned for the mentioned crimes, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity.

 

The Decision

On 5 November 2015 the UN Human Rights Committee issued a decision on the case, finding BiH responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the rights to life, personal liberty, and the prohibition of torture with regard to Mr. Ermin Kadirić. The Committee declared that the State is responsible for not providing information on the progress of the investigation into the crimes committed against Mr. Kadirić to his loved ones. The failure of the State to unveil the truth on what happened to Mr. Kadirić exposed his wife and son to anguish and distress amounting to inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested BiH to:

Locate the mortal remains of Mr. Ermin Kadirić;

Bring to justice without unnecessary delay those responsible for the crimes committed against Mr. Kadirić;

Provide the wife and son of Mr. Kadirić with adequate compensation and measures of satisfaction;

Provide the wife and son of Mr. Kadirić with the necessary psychological rehabilitation and medical care;

Prevent similar violations in the future and ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance and arbitrary executions are accessible to the families of victims.

BiH has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement this decision.

Read the decision

 

The Facts

In December 2010, TRIAL submitted an application to theUnited Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Fadil Ičić, on behalf of his mother, Mrs. Mevlida Ičić.

On 20 June 1992, when ethnic cleansing operations were taking place in Trnopolje (Bosnia and Herzegovina – BiH) and in the surrounding area, members of the Bosnian Serb forces arbitrarily deprived Fadil Ičić of his liberty as he was working in the field outside his house. He was taken to the concentration camp known as “Omarska”. In Omarska, Fadil Ičić and other men were living in inhumane conditions and they were frequently beaten and ill-treated. Fadil Ičić was last seen alive by another prisoner, in the hands of the guards of the concerntration camp. The fate and whereabouts of Fadil Ičić remain unknown since then.

Mrs. Mevlida Ičić lives in a lacerating situation of uncertainty, in spite of numerous attempts to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of Fadil Ičić, his fate and whereabouts and the progress and results of the investigations. Almost 18 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been carried out by BiH authorities and no one has been prosecuted, judged and sanctioned for the crimes concerned, thus fostering an ongoing climate of impunity. Although Mrs. Mevlida Ičić and the other members of the family have given their DNA samples to international mechanisms and national institutions dealing with the subject of missing persons, to date the mortal remains of Fadil Ičić have not been duly located, exhumed, identified and returned to the family.

Besides, Mrs. Mevlida Ičić has still not received integral reparation or compensation for the harm suffered by her and her son.

In March 2008 Mrs. Mevlida Ičić submitted an application to the Constitutional Court of BiH. On 13 May 2008 the Constitutional Court adopted a ruling on the case, finding a violation of various provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights because of the lack of information on the destiny of Fadil Ičić. Therefore it ordered the authorities to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of Fadil Ičić.

As of today, Mrs. Mevlida Ičić has still not received any information. Consequently TRIAL submitted an individual communication to the United Nation Human Rights Committee asking it:

to recognise that BiH violated numerous articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights subsequently to Fadil Ičić’s enforced disappearance;

to declare that BiH also violated the Covenant with regard to the suffering caused by Fadil Ičić’s mother owing to his disappearance;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to launch independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locating Fadil Ičić and, in the event of his death, exhuming, identifying, respecting and returning his mortal remains to the authors;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to identify those responsible for his arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment and subsequent enforced disappearance, judge and sanction them;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to guarantee that Mrs. Mevlida Ičić obtain without any further delay fair and adequate compensation and, in particular, access to medical and psychological care free of charge.

 

The Decision

On 30 March 2015 the UN Human Rights Committee issued a decision on the case, finding BiH responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the rights to life, personal liberty, and the prohibition of torture with regard to Mr. Fadil Ičić. The Committee declared that the State is responsible for not providing information on the progress of the investigation into Mr. Ičić’s enforced disappearance to his loved ones. The failure of the State to unveil the truth on Mr. Ičić’s fate and whereabouts exposed his mother to anguish and distress amounting to inhumane and degrading treatment. Similarly, the fact that in order to obtain social allowances Mrs. Mevlida Ičić was forced to declare her missing son dead, while there was no certainty on his fate and whereabouts, constitutes inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested BiH to:

  • Establish the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Fadil Ičić;
  • Bring to justice without unnecessary delay those responsible for Mr. Ičić’s enforced disappearance;
  • Ensure that Mrs. Mevlida Ičić receives the necessary psychological rehabilitation and medical care, adequate compensation and appropriate measures of satisfaction;
  • Prevent similar violations in the future and ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance are accessible to the families of missing persons;
  • Amend the existing legal framework so that relatives of missing persons are not forced to obtain a certificate of death of the victim as a condition to receive social benefits.

BiH has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement this decision.

 

The General Context

During the summer 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina experienced the most violent phases of its history. The armed conflict between the Bosnian Serb forces and the Bosnian government forces generated the worst atrocities : operations of ethnic cleansing took place, concentration camps were set up and entire populations were forced to internally displace.

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance.

In 2010 the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that around 10,000 people remain disappeared in BiH.

 

The case

In November 2010, TRIAL submitted a communication to theUnited Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Mr. Husein Hamulić.

On 20 July 1992, when ethnic cleansing operations were taking place in Hambarine and in the surrounding area, members of the Yugoslav National Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) went to the house of the Hamulić family. Mr. Husein Hamulić tried to hide behind the house and to escape in the woods near Hambarine. Three other men trying to escape capture and who were also hiding in the woods saw there Mr. Husein Hamulić alive for the last time. To avoid looking suspicious, Mr. Husein Hamulić and the other three men decided to split up. The whole area was under the control of the JNA and paramilitary groups. Mr. Husein Hamulić was then allegedly apprehended by members of the JNA. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown since then.

In spite of numerous attempts from his relatives to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the subsequent enforced disappearance of Mr. Husein Hamulić , his fate and whereabouts and the progress and results of the investigations remain unknown. Since then, Mrs. Halima Hodžić and Mrs. Nura Hamulić, who are respectively the sister and the mother of Mr. Husein Hamulić have lived in a lacerating situation of uncertainty.

Indeed, more than 18 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been carried out by BiH authorities and no one has been prosecuted, judged and sanctioned for the disappearance of Mr. Husein Hamulić, thus fostering an ongoing climate of impunity. Although the victim’s relatives have provided DNA samples to international mechanisms and national institutions dealing with the subject of missing persons, to date the mortal remains of Mr. Husein Hamulić have not been duly located, exhumed, identified and returned to the family. In addition, as of today, Mrs. Nura Hamulić and Mrs.Halima Hodžić still have not received reparation or compensation for the harm suffered by them and their loved one.

TRIAL therefore submitted an individual communication to the United Nation Human Rights Committee asking it :

to recognise that BiH violated numerous articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights subsequently to Mr. Husein Hamulić’s  enforced disappearance;

to declare that BiH also violated the Covenant with regard to the suffering caused by Husein Hamulić s mother and sister owing to his disappearance;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to launch independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locating Mr. Husein Hamulić and, in the event of his death, exhuming, identifying, respecting and returning his mortal remains to the authors;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to identify those responsible for his arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment and subsequent enforced disappearance, judge and sanction them;

to request that BiH undertake all necessary action to guarantee that Mrs. Halima Hodžić and Mrs. Nura Hamulić obtain without any further delay fair and adequate compensation and, in particular, access to medical and psychological care free of charge.

 

The Decision

On 30 March 2015 the UN Human Rights Committee issued a decision on the case, finding BiH responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the rights to life, personal liberty, and the prohibition of torture with regard to Mr. Husein Hamulić. The Committee declared that the State is responsible for not providing information on the progress of the investigation into Mr. Hamulić’s disappearance to his loved ones. The failure of the State to unveil the truth on Mr. Hamulić’s fate and whereabouts exposed his mother and sister to anguish and distress amounting to inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested BiH to:

  • Establish the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Husein Hamulić;
  • Bring to justice without unnecessary delay those responsible for Mr. Hamulić’s enforced disappearance;
  • Provide the mother and the sister of Mr. Hamulić with adequate compensation and measures of satisfaction;
  • Prevent similar violations in the future and ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance are accessible to the families of missing persons.

BiH has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement this decision.

 

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance.

The disappearance of Mr. Husein Hamulić took place within the general context of the “ethnic cleansing” operations that occurred in July 1992 in the area surrounding Prijedor, including the village of Hambarine. On 20 July 1992 Hambarine, as well as other villages on the left bank of the Sana river was the object of an armed attack by Serb forces.

To date, no one has been convicted, prosecuted and punished for the enforced disappearance of Mr. Husein hamulić, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity.

In 2010 the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that around 10,000 people remain disappeared in BiH.

 

The case

In September 2010, TRIAL submitted an individual complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee against Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) concerning the enforced disappearance of Mensud  Rizvanović, which occurred in July 1992. In this case, ACT is acting on behalf of Mrs Fatima Rizvanović and Mrs. Ruvejda Rizvanović, who are respectively the mother and the wife of Mr. Mensud Rizvanović.

On 20 July 1992 Mr. Mensud Rizvanović was arbitrarily deprived of his liberty in Rizvanovići (BiH) by members of the army of the Republika Srpska (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS) taking part in ethnic cleansing operationsperpetrated in that area. He was afterwards taken to the detention camp Keraterm, where he was subjected to ill treatment and inhumane conditions. He was seen alive for the last time by eyewitnesses in the hands of the guards of the facility in life threatening circumstances. The fate and whereabouts of Mr. Mensud Rizvanović remain unknown since then.

In spite of numerous attempts from his relatives to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the subsequent enforced disappearance of Mr. Mensud Rizvanović, his fate and whereabouts and the progress and results of the investigations remain unknown. Since then, Mrs. Fatima Rizvanović and Mrs. Ruvejda Rizvanović have lived in a lacerating situation of uncertainty.

Indeed, 18 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been carried out by BiH authorities and no one has been prosecuted, judged and sanctioned for the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, the ill-treatment and the enforced disappearance of Mr. Mensud Rizvanović, thus fostering an ongoing climate of impunity. Although both the authors have provided their DNA samples to international mechanisms and national institutions dealing with the subject of missing persons, to date the mortal remains of Mr. Mensud Rizvanović have not been duly located, exhumed, identified and returned to the family.

To date, Mrs. Fatima Rizvanović and Mrs. Ruvejda Rizvanović have not received reparation or compensation for the harm suffered by them and their loved one.

TRIAL therefore submitted an individual communication to the United Nation Human Rights Committee asking it :

to recognise that BiH violated numerous articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights subsequently to Mr. Rizvanović’s  enforced disappearance, even though BiH has ratified the Covenant;

to declare that BiH also violated the Covenant with regard to the suffering caused byRizvanović‘s mother and spouse owing to his disappearance;

to request BiH undertake all necessary  action to launch independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locating Mr. Mensud Rizvanović and, in the event of his death, exhuming, identifying, respecting and returning his mortal remains to the authors;

to request BiH undertake all necesary action to identify those responsible for his arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment and subsequent enforced disappearance, judge and sanction them;

to request BiH undertake all necesary action to guarantee that Mrs. Fatima Rizvanović and Mrs. Ruvejda Rizvanović obtain without any further delay fair and adequate compensation and, in particular, access to medical and psychological care free of charge.

 

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance.

The disappearance of Mr. Mensud Rizvanović took place within the general context of the “ethnic cleansing” operations that occurred in July 1992. To date, no one has been convicted, prosecuted and punished for his enforced disappearance, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity.

In 2010 the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that around 10,000 people remain disappeared in BiH.

 

The decision

In March 2014, the UN Human Rights Committee released its decision for the case of Mensud Rizvanović.

According to the Committee, Bosnia and Herzegovina violated several articles of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In particular rights to:

  • life
  • prohibition of torture
  • personal liberty

In addition, the fact that the authors of the complaint were forced to declare their disappeared family member dead in order to receive compensation is another violation of the Covenant.

The Committee requested Bosnia and Herzegovina to:

establish the fate and whereabouts of Mensud Rizvanović

bring to justice those responsible for his enforced disappearance by the end of 2015

ensure adequate compensation

ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances are accessible to missing persons’ families

amend the legal framework so that relatives do not have to obtain a declaration of death to their due social benefits

The author of the complaint, Fatima Rizvanović, a relative of Mensud Rizvanović sadly passed away before the adoption of the Human Rights Committee’s decision.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement the decision.

 

In May 2010, TRIAL submitted a communication to the Human Rights Committeeconcerning 12 cases of enforced disappearance wich occured in June 1992 in Svrake village in Vogošća. TRIAL represents 25 relatives of the disappeared persons. The twelve victims are:

Rasim Selimović (45 years whent he went missing)

Mensud Durić (24 years)

Safet Hodžić (37 years)

Himzo Hadžić (35 years)

Abdulah Jelašković (49 years)

Sinan Salkić (52 years)

Idriz Alić (28 years)

Emin Jelečković (52 years)

Hasan Abaz (32 years)

Hakija Kanđer (31 years)

Esad Fejzović (46 years) and

Demo Šehić (49 years).

On 4 May 1992 these persons were deprived of their liberty in Svrake (BiH) by members of the army of the Republika Srpska (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS) together with most of the inhabitants of the same village (approximately 850 people). A few days later, women, children and elderly persons were freed, while the men were taken to a concentration camp named “Nakina garaža”, where they stayed for almost 20 days. Afterwards, many prisoners were released and could go home under the condition to report twice a day to members of the VRS. After a few days, the place where they were supposed to report was changed and they had to report to the concentration camp known as “Planjina kuća”, located in the municipality of Vogošća, where they were also forced to sleep. While being held in the different concentration camps, the men were subjected to ill-treatment and forced labour.

Six of the victims (Himzo Hadžić, Safet odžić, Mensud Durić, Idriz Alić, Emin Jelečković and Hakija Kanđer) were last seen on 16 June 1992 in Planjina kuća, when they were taken away on a truck by Serb soldiers towards an unknown destination, together with other prisoners. Four other victims, Rasim Selimović, Abdulah Jelašković, Hasan Abaz and Esad Fejzović were last seen in the same concentration camp on 18 June 1992 when they were taken away in a truck towards an unknown destination by Serb soldiers with a group of other prisoners. After having witnessed the first group of men being taken away from Planjina kuća to an unknown destination on June 16 1992, Đemo Šehić, decided to escape towards a near village, which was under the control of the BiH army in order to save his life. Allegedly, he was also captured and arbitrarily executed by members of the Serb army. For his part, Sinan Salkić had been released on 14 May 1992, under the condition that he should report three times a day to Planjina kuća. On the morning of 10 June 1992 three or four men went to his house and arrested him without charge. Allegedly, he was arbitrarily executed by the same men on the bridge near the entrance of the village of Svrake and his body was thrown into the River Bosna.

The fate and whereabouts of the 12 mentioned men remain unknown since then.

Almost 18 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by BiH authorities in order to locate the mentioned 12 men or their mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible. The relatives of the disappeared people have taken several steps to obtain information about their loved ones, through the police in Visoko and Vogošća, the State Commission for Tracing Missing Persons, the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, and the Red Cross Society of BiH.To date, these initiatives have proved vain.

On 23 February 2006, the Constitutional Court of BiH judged that BiH has violated the right of the families of the missing persons not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect their private and family life. Accordingly, the Court ordered the relevant domestic institutions to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared people. On 16 November 2006, the Constitutional Court adopted another ruling, whereby it declared that the concerned authorities failed to enforce its previous decision. Nevertheless, the authors of the communication have not received any information about their loved ones from the mentioned institutions.

Having exhausted all domestic legal remedies, the 25 applicants request the Human Rights Committee:

to find that the 12 disappeared men are victims of a violation of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), 9 (right to liberty and security of person), 10 (right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person) and 16 (right to be recognized as a person before the law) of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH aut Ihorities to conduct an ex officio, prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on their arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance, in order to establish their fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that they are victims of a violation by BiH of Article 2.3 in conjunction with Article 7 of the Covenant, because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the enforced disappearance of their loved ones and the ongoing lack of information about the cause and circumstances of their loved ones’ disappearance as well as on the progress and results of the investigations carried out by BiH authorities;

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locate the 12 men subjected to enforced disappearance and, if necessary, to exhume, identify, respect and return their mortal remains to the families;

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of the 12 men before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and

to request BiH to ensure that all the authors of the communication obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100.000 and 200.000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25000 an.d 30.000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 10,000 people are missing to date.

The cases of these victims occurred in the context of the first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army in the spring and summer of 1992.

 

The Decision

On 17 July 2014, the UN Human Rights Committee adopted its decision (called “views” in the UN jargon) on the case Selimović and others. The Committee found Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In particular, the Committee declared that the State is responsible for not having effectively investigated the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of the 12 men, and also for having subjected the 25 applicants to inhumane and degrading treatment because it has not unveiled the truth about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. Moreover, the Committee affirmed that forcing relatives of disappeared persons to declare their family members dead in order to receive compensation constitutes an inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested Bosnia and Herzegovina to:

– Establish the fate and whereabouts of the 12 disappeared men;

– Bring to justice those responsible for the crimes concerned without unnecessary delay;

– Ensure that the applicants receive adequate compensation;

– Amend the existing legal framework to make sure that compensation for relatives of disappeared people is not conditioned upon obtaining a death certificate.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement the decision.

 

In April 2010, TRIAL submitted a communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance and alleged arbitrary execution and the subsequent concealment of the mortal remains of Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak occurred in July 1992.

On 4 July 1992 members of the Yugoslav National Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) surrounded the village of Tihovići and arbitrarily apprehended about 13 civilians, including Sejad Hero. Accordingly to eyewitnesses, the men were taken to a meadow in Tihovići where they were tortured and mutilated. Allegedly, they were afterwards arbitrarily executed by members of the JNA, who then set fire to the dead bodies and finally transferred the mortal remains to a nearby stream in Tihovići. The fate and whereabouts of Sejad Hero remain unknown since he was apprehended by members of the JNA and his mortal remains have not been located, identified and returned to the family for mourning and burial. After having learned about the massacre of the 13 men, in order to save his life Ramiz Kožljak decided to escape towards the nearby village of Vrapče, which was under the control of the BiH army. The whole area surrounding Vrapče was under the control of the JNA. Allegedly, Ramiz Kožljak was also captured and arbitrarily executed by members of the JNA. However, his mortal remains have not been located, exhumed, identified and returned to his family and his fate and whereabouts remain unknown since then.

More than 18 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by BiH authorities to locate Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak or their mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible for the mentioned crimes. Tija Hero, Ermina Hero, Armin Hero, Emina Kožljak and Sinan Kožljak have taken several steps to obtain information about their loved ones, through, among others, the police of Visoko, Ilijza and Vogošća, the State Commission for Tracing Missing Persons, the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, and the Red Cross Society of BiH. To date, these initiatives have proved vain.  Tija Hero, Ermina Hero, Armin Hero, Emina Kožljak and Sinan Kožljak are all active members of the Association of Families of Missing People from Vogošća.

On 23 February 2006 the Constitutional Court of BiH, seized by several families of victims of enforced disappearance from Vogošća, including Mrs. Tija Hero and Mrs. Emina Kožljak declared a violation by BiH of the right not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life of the relatives of disappeared persons. Accordingly, the Court ordered the domestic institutions concerned to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared people, including Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak. On 16 November 2006 the Constitutional Court adopted another ruling, whereby it declared that the Council of Ministers of BiH, the government of the Republika Srpska, the government of the Federation of BiH and the government of the Brčko District of BiH failed to enforce its previous decision. Nevertheless, Tija Hero, Ermina Hero, Armin Hero, Emina Kožljak and Sinan Kožljak have not received any relevant information about their loved ones from the mentioned institutions.

Consequently, Tija Hero, Ermina Hero, Armin Hero, Emina Kožljak and Sinan Kožljak request the Human Rights Committee:

to find that Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak are victims of a violation of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), 9 (right to liberty and security of person), and 16 (right to be recognized as a person before the law) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct an ex officio, prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on their apprehension and alleged ill treatment and arbitrary execution, in order to establish their fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that they are victims of a violation by BiH of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Article 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Covenant, because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the enforced disappearance and alleged arbitrary execution and the subsequent concealment of the mortal remains of Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak and the ongoing lack of information about the cause and circumstances of their loved ones’ disappearance and alleged arbitrary execution as well as on the progress and results of the investigations carried out by BiH authorities; and that, in the cases of Ermina Hero and Armin Hero, until 21 June 2004 and 28 December 2008 respectively, the mentioned provisions were violated in conjunction with Article 24.1 of the Covenant, as they were minors;

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locate Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak and, if necessary, to exhume, identify, respect and return to the families their mortal remains;

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, enforced disappearance and alleged arbitrary execution of Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and

to request BiH to ensure that Tija Hero, Ermina Hero, Armin Hero, Emina Kožljak and Sinan Kožljak obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 10,000 people remain disappeared to date.

The cases of Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak occurred in the context of a first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army in the spring and summer of 1992.

Notwithstanding the existence of strong evidences on the identity of those responsible for the enforced disappearance and alleged arbitrary execution and the subsequent concealment of the mortal remains of Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak, to date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and sanctioned for the mentioned crimes, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity. Up to this day, the families of men disappeared and arbitrarily executed in Tihovići have not received any information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones and have not had the possibility to mourn and bury their relatives in accordance with their religious customs and beliefs

 

The Decisions

The UN Human Rights Committee dealt with the cases separately. On 28 October 2014, it adopted two decisions respectively on the case of Mr. Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak. The Committee found Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the rights to life and personal liberty and the prohibition of torture. In particular, the Committee declared that the State is responsible for not having effectively investigated the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance of Mr. Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak, and also for having subjected their relatives to inhumane and degrading treatment because it has not unveiled the truth about their fate and whereabouts. Moreover, the Committee affirmed that forcing relatives of disappeared persons to declare their family members dead in order to receive compensation constitutes an inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested Bosnia and Herzegovina to:

– Establish the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Sejad Hero and Ramiz Kožljak;

– Make sure that its investigators contact the applicants as soon as possible to gather the information they can contribute to the investigation, and bring to justice those responsible for the crimes concerned without unnecessary delay;

– Ensure that the applicants receive adequate compensation;

– Amend the existing legal framework to make sure that compensation for relatives of disappeared people is not conditioned upon obtaining a death certificate.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has now 180 days to inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement the decisions.

 

 

In January 2010, TRIAL submitted a communication to theHuman Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Ibrahim Durić occurred in May 1992. TRIAL acts on behalf of Nevzeta Durić and of NedžadDurić, respectively mother and brother of Ibrahim Durić.

On 14 May 1992 Ibrahim Durić was stopped and interrogated at a check point in Kasindolska Street held by members of the army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) in the suburban neighbourhood of Sarajevo known as Dobrinja. He was in his car together with a friend (Zelimir Vidović) and they were returning from Sarajevo’s Hospital, where they had taken a neighbour who had been heavily wounded in a shelling. That was the last time that Ibrahim Durić was seen alive. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown since then. After the war, Zelimir Vidović’s mortal remains were located, exhumed and identified in Ilidža, another suburban neighbourhood of Sarajevo that was under the control of the Serb army (VRS) during the conflict.

More than 18 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by BiH authorities in order to locate Ibrahim Durić or his mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible. Nevzeta Durić and Nedžad Durić have taken several steps to obtain information about their loved one, through domestic authorities (in particular, the police, the Red Cross of Sarajevo and the State Commission for Tracing Missing Persons) and international organizations (International Committee of the Red Cross). These initiatives have proved vain.

On 23 February 2006 the Constitutional Court of BiH, seized by several families of victims of enforced disappearance, including Nevzeta Durić declared a violation by BiH of the right not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life of the relatives of disappeared persons. Accordingly, the Court ordered the domestic institutions concerned to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared people, including Ibrahim Durić. On 16 November 2006 the Constitutional Court adopted another ruling, whereby it declared that the Council of Ministers of BiH, the government of the Republika Srpska, the government of the Federation of BiH and the government of the Brčko District of BiH failed to enforce its previous decision. Nevertheless, NevzetaDurić and Nedžad Durić have not received any information about their loved one from the mentioned institutions.

Consequently, Nevzeta Durić and Nedžad Durić request the Human Rights Committee:

to find that Ibrahim Durić is victim of a violation of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), 9 (right to liberty and security of person), 10 (right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person) and 16 (right to be recognized as a person before the law) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on his arbitrary deprivation of liberty and his subsequent enforced disappearance, in order to establish his fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that Nevzeta Durić and Nedžad Durić are themselves victims of a violation by BiH of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Article 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Covenant, because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by Mr. Ibrahim Durić’s enforced disappearance and the ongoing lack of information about the cause and circumstances of Ibrahim Durić’s disappearance as well as on the progress and results of the investigations carried out by BiH authorities;

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locating Ibrahim Durić and, if necessary, exhuming, identifying, respecting and returning his mortal remains;

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary arrest and subsequent enforced disappearance of Ibrahim Durić before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and

to request BiH to ensure that Nevzeta Durić and Nedžad Durić obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 13.000 people remain disappeared to date.

The case of Ibrahim Durić occurred in the context of a first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army in the spring and summer of 1992.

To date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and sanctioned for the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and subsequent enforced disappearance of Ibrahim Durić, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity. Up to this day, the family of Ibrahim Durić still has not received any information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved one.

 

The Decision

On 16 July 2014, the UN Human Rights Committee adopted its decision on the case of Mr. Ibrahim Durić. The Committee found Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In particular, the Committee declared that the State is responsible for not having effectively investigated the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of Mr. Ibrahim Durić. Moreover, BiH subjected Mr. Durić’s mother and brother to inhumane and degrading treatment because it has not unveiled the truth about the fate and whereabouts of their loved one. The Committee reiterated that forcing relatives of disappeared persons to declare their family members dead in order to receive compensation constitutes a form of inhumane and degrading treatment.

The Committee requested Bosnia and Herzegovina to:

– Establish the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Ibrahim Durić;

– Bring to justice those responsible for the crimes concerned without unnecessary delay;

– Ensure that the applicants receive adequate compensation;

– Amend the existing legal framework to make sure that compensation for relatives of disappeared people is not conditioned upon obtaining a death certifica

 

In December 2009, TRIAL submitted a communication to the Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Salih Čekić which occurred in June 1992, acting on behalf of Ema Čekić,  Sanela Bašić, Sead Čekić and Samir Čekić who are respectively the wife, the daughter and the sons of  Salih Čekić.

On 4 May 1992 Salih Čekić was arrested in Svrake (Bosnia and Herzegovina, hereafter: BiH) by the Serb army together with Ema Čekić and their children Sanela Bašić (then 16 years old), Sead Čekić (then 15 years old) and Samir Čekić (then 13 years old) and most of the inhabitants of the same village. They were all taken to the concentration camp known as Kasarna JNA in Semizovac. A few days later, Ema Čekić, together with her children Sanela Bašić, Sead Čekić and Samir Čekić and other women and children, were freed. Salih Čekić was kept prisoner and transferred to different concentration camps, where he was subjected to torture and forced labour. Salih Čekić was last seen on 16 June 1992 in the concentration camp known asPlanjina kuca, located in the municipality of Vogošća. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown since then.

More than 17 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by BiH authorities in order to locate Salih Čekić or his mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible. Ema Čekić, Sanela Bašić, Sead Čekić and Samir Čekić have taken numerous steps to obtain information about their loved one, through the police of Visoko and Vogošća, the State Commission for Tracing Missing Persons, the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, and the Red Cross Society of BiH. To date, these initiatives have proved vain. Ema Čekić is the President of the Association of Families of Missing People from Vogošća while her children are active members of the same organization.

On 23 February 2006, the Constitutional Court of BiH, seized by several families of victims of enforced disappearance from Vogošća, declared that BiH had violated the right of the relatives of disappeared persons not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment as well as their right to respect for their private and family life. Accordingly, the Court ordered the relevant domestic institutions to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared people, including Salih Čekić. On 16 November 2006, the Constitutional Court adopted another ruling, whereby it declared that the Council of Ministers of BiH, the government of the Republika Srpska, the government of the Federation of BiH and the government of the Brčko District of BiH had failed to enforce its previous decision. Nevertheless,  Ema Čekić, Sanela Bašić, Sead Čekić and Samir Čekić have not still received any information about their loved one from the mentioned institutions.

Consequently, Ema Čekić, Sanela Bašić, Sead Čekić and Samir Čekić request the United Nations Human Rights Committee:

to find that Salih Čekić is a victim of a violation of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), 9 (right to liberty and security of person), 10 (right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person) and 16 (right to be recognized as a person before the law) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct anex officio, prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on his arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance, in order to establish his fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that Ema Čekić and her children Sanela, Sead and Samir are victims of a violation by BiH of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Article 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Covenant, because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the enforced disappearance of Mr. Salih Čekić and the ongoing lack of information about the cause and circumstances of their loved one’s disappearance as well as on the progress and results of the investigations carried out by BiH authorities; and that, in the case of Samir Čekić, until 17 August 1996, the mentioned provisions were violated in conjunction with Article 24.1 of the Covenant, as he was a minor (for their part, Sanela Bašić and Sead Čekić were minors when their father was subjected to enforced disappearance, but they attained the majority before BiH ratified the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, this explaining why a violation of Article 24.1 of the Covenant is not alleged in respect to them);

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locate Salih Čekić and, if necessary, to exhume, identify, respect and return his mortal remains;

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of Salih Čekić before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and

to request BiH to ensure that Ema Čekić, Sanela Bašić, Sead Čekić and Samir Čekić obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

The General Context

According to sources, it is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 13,000 people remain disappeared to date.

The case of Salih Čekić occurred in the context of a first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army in the spring and summer of 1992.

Notwithstanding the existence of strong evidence about the identity of those responsible for the enforced disappearance of Mr. Salih Čekić and eye-witnesses of the events, to date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and sanctioned for the alleged crimes, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity. Up to this day, the families of men disappeared in Vogošća have not received any information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.

 

The decision

In March 2013, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language). The Committee held that Bosnia-Herzegovina violated Article 2.3 in conjunction with Article 6, 7 and 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with regards to the authors and their disappeared relative. The Committee also found a violation of Article 24 of the Covenant with regard to Samir Čekić.

The Committee requested Bosnia-Herzegovina to continue the efforts to establish the fate and whereabouts of Salih Čekić as required by the Missing Persons Act of 2004, to continue the efforts to bring to justice those responsible for his disappearance and to do so by 2015, as required by the National War Crimes Strategy, to abolish the obligation for family members to declare their missing relatives dead to benefit from social allowances and to ensure adequate compensation.

Moreover, the Committee insisted on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s obligation to prevent similar violations in the future and to ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances be accessible to the missing persons’ families.

 

In November 2009, TRIAL submitted a communication to the Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Safet Kozica that occurred in June 1992. TRIAL acts on behalf of  Mirha Kozica, Bajazit Kozica and Selima Kozica, who are respectively mother, brother and sister of Mr. Safet Kozica.

On 4 May 1992, Safet Kozica was arrested in Svrake (BiH) by the Serb army together with Mirha Kozica and her husband Aziz Kozica and most of the inhabitants of the same village. They were all taken to the concentration camp known as Kasarna JNA in Semizovac. A few days later, Mirha Kozica, together with her husband Aziz Kozica and other women, elderly men and children, were freed. Safet Kozica was kept prisoner and transferred to different concentration camps, where he was subjected to torture and forced labour. Safet Kozica was last seen on 16 June 1992 in the concentration camp known as “Planjina kuca”, located in the municipality of Vogošća. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown since then.

More than 17 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by BiH authorities in order to locate Safet Kozica or his mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible. Mirha Kozica, Bajazit Kozica and Selima Kozica have taken numerous steps to obtain information about their loved one, through the police of Visoko and Vogošća, the State Commission for Tracing Missing Persons, the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, and the Red Cross Society of BiH. To date, these initiatives have proved vain. Mirha Kozica, Bajazit Kozica and Selima Kozica are active members of the Association of Families of Missing People from Vogošća.

In particular, Mirha Kozica is now 80 years old and she fears that she may die without having established the truth about what has happened to her son and having obtained justice and redress.

On 23 February 2006, the Constitutional Court of BiH, seized by several families of victims of enforced disappearance from Vogošća, declared a violation by BiH of the right not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life of the relatives of disappeared persons. Accordingly, the Court ordered the relevant domestic institutions to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared people, including Safet Kozica. On 16 November 2006, the Constitutional Court adopted another ruling, whereby it declared that the Council of Ministers of BiH, the government of the Republika Srpska, the government of the Federation of BiH and the government of the Brčko District of BiH failed to enforce its previous decision. Nevertheless, Mirha Kozica, Bajazit Kozica and Selima Kozica have not received any information about their loved one from the mentioned institutions.

Consequently, Mirha Kozica, Bajazit Kozica and Selima Kozica request the Human Rights Committee:

to find that Safet Kozica is a victim of a violation of Article 2 § 3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), 9 (right to liberty and security of person), 10 (right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person) and 16 (right to be recognized as a person before the law) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on his arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance, in order to establish his fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that they are victims of a violation by BiH of Article 2 § 3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Article 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Covenant, because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the enforced disappearance of Safet Kozica and the ongoing lack of information about the cause and circumstances of their loved one’s disappearance as well as on the progress and results of the investigations carried out by BiH authorities;

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locate Safet Kozica and, if necessary, to exhume, identify, respect and return his mortal remains;

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of Safet Kozica before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and

to request BiH to ensure that Mirha Kozica, Bajazit Kozica and Selima Kozica obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 13,000 people remain disappeared to date.

The case of Safet Kozica occurred in the context of a first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army in the spring and summer of 1992.

Notwithstanding the existence of strong evidences on the identity of those responsible for the enforced disappearance of Safet Kozica and eye-witnesses of the events, to date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and sanctioned for the alleged crimes, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity. Up to this day, the families of men disappeared in Vogošća have not received any information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.

 

The decision

In March 2013, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language). The Committee held that Bosnia-Herzegovina violated Article 2.3 in conjunction with Article 6, 7 and 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with regards to the authors and their disappeared relative.

The Committee requested Bosnia-Herzegovina to continue the efforts to establish the fate and whereabouts of Safet Kozica as required by the Missing Persons Act of 2004, to continue the efforts to bring to justice those responsible for his disappearance and to do so by 2015, as required by the National War Crimes Strategy, to abolish the obligation for family members to declare their missing relatives dead to benefit from social allowances and to ensure adequate compensation.

Moreover, the Committee insisted on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s obligation to prevent similar violations in the future and to ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances be accessible to the missing persons’ families.

 

August 2009, TRIAL submitted a communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Huso Zlatarac and Nedžad Zlatarac occurred in June 1992. TRIAL acts on behalf of Hasiba Zlatarac and Alma Čardaković, wife and daughter respectively of Huso Zlatarac and mother and sister respectively of Nedžad Zlatarac.

The case

On 4 May 1992, Huso Zlatarac was arrested in Svrake (BiH) by the Serb army together with Hasiba Zlatarac and their sons Nedžad and Alma (then 14 years old) and most of the inhabitants of the same village. They were all taken to the concentration camp known as Kasarna JNA in Semizovac. A few days later, Hasiba Zlatarac, together with her daughter Alma and other women and children, were freed. Huso Zlatarac and his son Nedžad were kept prisoners and transferred to different concentration camps, where they were subjected to torture and forced labour. Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac were last seen on 16 June 1992 in the concentration camp known as “Planjina kuca”, located in the municipality of Vogosca. Their fate and whereabouts remain unknown since then.

More than 17 years after the events, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by BiH authorities in order to locate Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac or their remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible. Mrs. Zlatarac has taken several steps to obtain information about her husband and son, through the police of Visoko and Vogosca, the State Commission for Tracing Missing Persons, the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, and the Red Cross Society of BiH. These initiatives have proved vain. Mrs. Čardaković has constantly supported her mother in the filing of complaints and in the searching activities in order to locate her father and brother. Both Hasiba Zlatarac and Alma Čardaković are active members of the Association of Families of Missing People from Vogosca.

On 23 February 2006, the Constitutional Court of BiH, seized by several families of victims of enforced disappearance from Vogosca, declared a violation by BiH of the right not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life of the relatives of disappeared persons. Accordingly, the Court ordered the relevant domestic institutions to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared people, including Huso Zlatarac and Nedžad Zlatarac. On 16 November 2006, the Constitutional Court adopted another ruling, where it declared that the Council of Ministers of BiH, the government of the Republika Srpska, the government of the Federation of BiH and the government of the Brčko District of BiH failed to enforce its previous decision. Nevertheless, Hasiba Zlatarac and Alma Čardaković have not received any information about their loved ones from the mentioned institutions.

Consequently, Hasiba Zlatarac and Alma Čardaković request the Human Rights Committee:

to find that Huso Zlatarac and Nedžad Zlatarac are victims of a violation of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Articles 6 (right to life), 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), 9 (right to liberty and security of person), 10 (right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person) and 16 (right to be recognized as a person before the law) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on their arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance, in order to establish their fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that they are victims of a violation by BiH of Article 2.3 (right to a remedy) in conjunction with Article 7 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Covenant, because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by their loved ones’ enforced disappearance and the ongoing lack of information about the cause and circumstances of their loved ones’ disappearance as well as on the progress and results of the investigations carried out by BiH authorities;

to find that, in the case of Alma Čardaković, until 4 March 1996 (when she attained the majority), she is also victim of a violation by BiH of Article 24.1 (rights of the child) in conjunction with Articles 2.3 and 7 of the Covenant, because she was a minor when the events took place and, as such, she was entitled to the adoption of special measures of protection by the State that BiH failed to undertake;

to request BiH to order independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to locate Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac and, if necessary, exhume, identify, respect and return their mortal remains;

to request BiH to bring the perpetrators of the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and

to request BiH to ensure that Hasiba Zlatarac and Alma Čardaković obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

 

The General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict (1992-1995) in BiH and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. Approximately 13,000 people remain disappeared to date.

The case of Huso Zlatarac and Nedžad Zlatarac occurred in the context of a first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army in the spring and summer of 1992.

Notwithstanding the existence of strong evidences on the identity of those responsible for the enforced disappearance of Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac and eye-witnesses of the events, to date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and sanctioned for the alleged crimes, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity. Up to this day, the families of men disappeared in Vogosca have not received any information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.

 

The decision

In March 2013, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language). The Committee held that Bosnia-Herzegovina violated Article 2.3 in conjunction with Article 6, 7 and 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with regards to all of the authors and their disappeared relatives. The Committee also found a violation of Article 24 of the Covenant with regard to Alma Čardaković.

The Committee requested Bosnia-Herzegovina to continue the efforts to establish the fate and whereabouts of Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac as required by the Missing Persons Act of 2004, to continue the efforts to bring to justice those responsible for their disappearance and to do so by 2015, as required by the National War Crimes Strategy, to abolish the obligation for family members to declare their missing relatives dead to benefit from social allowances and to ensure adequate compensation.

Moreover, the Committee insisted on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s obligation to prevent similar violations in the future and to ensure that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances be accessible to the missing persons’ families.

 

In July 2012 TRIAL submitted a collective application to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the enforced disappearance of 39 men whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown to date.

The application refers to events that took place within the armed conflict (1992-1995). In particular, the facts occurred in June 1992 in the barracks of the Yugoslav National Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) known as “Slaviša Vajner Čiča”, located in Lukavica.

These events must be read in the general context of the attack carried out between May and June 1992 by Serb forces on a number of villages and towns surrounding Sarajevo, including Hadžići.

TRIAL acts on behalf of 53 applicants, who are relatives of the 39 disappeared men. According to one of the 53 applicants in the case and direct witness of the events, on 22 June 1992, around 12 a.m., Mr. Alija Kardaš was called out from the room where prisoners were kept by an officer and he was taken away. The other prisoners heard the sound of gun-shots. The fate and whereabouts of Mr. Alija Kardaš remain unknown since then.

In the early morning of 23 June 1992 a member of the reserve structure of the Bosnian Serb forces (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS), Mr. Vojo Vukotić, read a list containing 48 names. These detainees were subjected to torture and insults. They were last seen in life-threatening circumstances in the hands of their captors. Indeed, out of the mentioned 48 persons, 45 have never been seen again, while one was freed and survived; and in 2011 the mortal remains of other two persons were exhumed in a mass grave in Đurđevača, near Hadžići. Allegedly, the other disappeared men may have been taken to the Ravna Romanija Mountain and arbitrarily executed by soldiers at the orders of Mr. Tomo Kovač and Mr. Momo Mandić. Nevertheless, this information has not been investigated and corroborated to date by the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

Over the past 20 years, the applicants in the present case have repeatedly reported the events, including the identity of some of the perpetrators, both before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and domestic authorities (Commission for Exchange of Prisoners and Missing Persons, police, State Commission for Missing Persons, Prosecutor’s Office, Ministry of Interior, Missing Persons Institute) and international organizations present in BiH and working on the issue of missing persons (International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Commission on Missing Persons), calling for a prompt, independent, impartial and thorough investigation.

Nevertheless, more than 20 years later, no one has been judged and sanctioned for the crimes concerned. Moreover, as mentioned, the fate and whereabouts of the 39 victims remain unknown and, in the unfortunately likely event of their death, their mortal remains have not been located, exhumed, identified and returned to the families. The latter cannot bury their loved ones and mourn them in accordance with their customs and beliefs. Furthermore, relatives have not received prompt, fair and adequate compensation and integral reparation for the harm suffered.

Given the state of impunity on the enforced disappearance of the 39 men from the Slaviša Vajner Čiča barracks on 22 and 23 June 1992 and the ongoing lack of information from BiH authorities on the fate and whereabouts of the men concerned, the relatives of the disappeared persons decided to bring complaints before the Constitutional Court of BiH.

On 23 February 2006 the Constitutional Court of BiH issued a decision on the case, whereby it found violations of various provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, because of the lack of information on the destiny of, among others, the 39 men from the Slaviša Vajner Čiča barracks.

Accordingly, the Constitutional Court of BiH ordered the competent authorities to provide information to the applicants within a given deadline on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. Indeed, no decision was made on the issue of compensation, as the Constitutional Court of BiH deemed that it would have been solved with the establishment of the Fund for Support of Relatives of Missing Persons pursuant to the Law on Missing Persons (entered into force on 17 November 2004).

On 18 November 2006 the Constitutional Court of BiH adopted a ruling of non-implementation, where it declared that the Council of Ministers of BiH, the government of the Federation of BiH, and the government of the Brčko District failed to enforce the decision issued on 23 February 2006. In the same ruling it was also established that the government of the Republika Srpska failed to fully enforce the decision concerned. This ruling was delivered to the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH.

In fact, the non-implementation of Constitutional Court’s decisions is a criminal offence codified under Article 239 of the BiH Criminal Code.

Nevertheless, to date, no one has been judged and sanctioned for the non-implementation of the decision issued by the Constitutional Court of BiH on 23 February 2006.

Having seen all their efforts frustrated, the 53 applicants decided to turn to the European Court of Human Rights, requesting:

to find that the 39 disappeared men are victims of a violation of the procedural aspect of Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of torture) and 5 (right to personal liberty) in conjunction with Articles 1 (obligation to respect rights) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights, due to the ongoing failure of BiH authorities to conduct an ex officio, prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation on their enforced disappearance and, in the event of their death, to locate, exhume, identify and return to the families their bodies as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and sanction them;

to find that the 53 applicants are victims of a violation by BiH of Articles 3 and 8.1 (right to private and family life) in conjunction with Articles 1 and 13 of the Convention because of the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the enforced disappearance their loved ones and the ongoing impossibility, in the event of their death, to have their remains duly located, exhumed, identified, respected and returned so as to allow them to adequately mourn and give them a dignified burial in accordance with their religious customs and beliefs;

to order BiH to launch independent investigations as a matter of urgency with a view to establishing the fate and whereabouts of the 39 disappeared men, and, in the event of their death, to locate, exhume, identify, respect and return to the families their mortal remains;

to order BiH to bring the perpetrators of the enforced disappearance of the 39 men before the competent authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction without any further delay; and

to order BiH to ensure that the 53 applicants obtain integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

On 11 December 2014, the European Court of Human Rights, sitting in a single-judge formation, declared the application inadmissible, finding that the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the European Convention on Human Rights are not met. No further details on this decision were provided. The decision is final and is not subject to appeal.

General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict in BiH during the period 1992-1995 and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. As of today, between 8,000 and 10,000 people are still missing without trace. The enforced disappearance of the 39 victims in this case took place during the first wave of the “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army during the military attack on a number of villages and towns surrounding Sarajevo between May and June 1992.

 

Names of the persons

The names of the 39 disappeared persons are: Mr. Miralem Musić, Mr. Esad Murtić, Mr. Mehmed Karavdić, Mr. Fadil Nizić, Mr. Adem Beća, Mr. Salko Dželilović, Mr. Ćamil Ismić, Mr. Suad Hrgić, Mr. Midhat Hrgić, Mr. Edib Durmo, Mr. Enes Hrnjić, Mr. Zaim Musić, Mr. Suad Musić, Mr. Irfan Musić, Mr. Šefik Musić, Mr. Vahid Musić, Mr. Ćamil Tahirović, Mr. Adil Kadrić, Mr. Edin Kadrić, Mr. Ahmet Rizvo, Mr. Adnan Musić, Mr. Nijaz Čiko, Mr. Huso Murtić, Mr. Mujo Musić, Mr. Džemal Beća, Mr. Vezir Kahrica, Mr. Salem Kadrić, Mr. Sakib Altoka, Mr. Džafer Telarević, Mr. Alija Kardaš, Mr. Rasim Karavdić, Mr. Salih Dupovac, Mr. Aćif Alić, Mr. Osman Hasanović, Mr. Almir Oručević, Mr. Ismet Zekiri, Mr. Adil Musić, Mr. Ismail Mehdi, and Mr. Ibrahim Mehdi.