In November 2010, TRIAL and six associations of families of disappeared from all Bosnia-and-Herzegovina, submitted a report on the situation of families of missing persons in this country.
To see the press release, please click here.
Author: Communication Department
On 27 October 2010, TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) has submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding the enforced disappearance of Chakra Bahadur Katwal in 2001.
On 9 December 2001, Mr. Katwal received a letter at his school asking him to go to the district’s education office in the Okhaldhunga village in order to respond to an inquiry. When Mr. Katwal arrived at Okhaldhunga a few days later, an employee of the education office told him that he had to go to the district police office in order to answer some questions. From there, Mr. Katwal was allegedly forced into one of the army buildings. The following day, witnesses saw soldiers carrying him by his arms and legs. Mr. Katwal seemed unconscious, his clothes were covered in blood and his whole body showed signs of beating. The victim was transported into the police buildings and has never been seen since.
The spouse and the daughter: Victims of abuse
Since Mr. Katwal’s disappearance, his spouse has not ceased to seek the truth about his fate and whereabouts. Not only have Mrs. Katwal’s efforts proved to be in vain, but she has also suffered from harassment by the Nepalese army. She was also abused during her arrest and detention in 2005, which aimed at silencing her on the issue of the army’s involvement in the enforced disappearance of her husband. Her daughter equally suffered from severe physical and psychological abuse during the six weeks in which she was arbitrarily detained by the army. She had to be hospitalised and is still suffering from significant long-term consequences despite medical treatment.
In July 2006, Mr. Katwal’s relatives petitioned Nepal’s Supreme Court. On 1st July 2007, the Supreme Court confirmed that Mr. Katwal had been arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Nepalese army and police and that the torture he was subjected to had led to his death. The Supreme Court ordered that the people involved in this case and who were cited in the inquiry report be prosecuted. To date, however, the Nepalese authorities have not followed-up on the decision and impunity continues to reign. Mr. Katwal’s family still does not know what has happened to his body.
On 27 October 2010, TRIAL therefore submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee asking it to recognise that Nepal violated numerous articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights subsequently to Mr. Katwal’s enforced disappearance, even though Nepal has ratified the Covenant; to require an independent inquiry in order to precisely locate the place of his remains and to exhume them in order to allow the family to organise a funeral according to their traditions; to ask Nepal to prosecute the people responsible for Mr. Katwal’s disappearance; to declare that Nepal also violated the Covenant with regard to the suffering caused by Mr. Katwal’s spouse and family owing to his disappearance; to require that Nepal offers integral, prompt, just and adequate reparation for the suffering and the loss due to Mr. Katwal’s disappearance and to pay for the exhumation and funeral costs; and to ask Nepal to provide the necessary guarantees for the non-repetition of similar acts to those suffered by Mr. Katwal and for Mrs. Katwal’s and her family’s safety during the course of the procedure.
Context
The enforced disappearance of M. Katwal is part of the context of a state of emergency that was declared by the Nepalese government in November 2001. The state of emergency allowed the State to increase its repression against persons who were suspected of helping the Maoist insurgents and to derogate from fundamental rights and liberties. The recourse to enforced disappearances, torture, summary executions and arbitrary detentions by State agents and Maoists was generalised during this period. Since it launched this project in 2007, TRIAL has submitted almost 60 cases to different international human rights bodies. These cases concern extra-judicial executions, enforced disappearances and torture in Bosnia- Herzegovina, Algeria and Libya. The present case is the first one concerning Nepal.
- For more information on the cases from Nepal that TRIAL handles, see here.
In October 2010, TRIAL and 11 associations of families of disappeared from all Bosnia-and-Herzegovina, submitted a report on the situation of the families of missing persons in this country.
Read the full report.
Sarajevo/Geneva, 8 September 2010
In November 2006 the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) adopted its concluding observations concerning the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the status of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Among other subjects, the Committee expressed its concern for the fact that the fate and whereabouts of thousands of persons who went missing during the armed conflict remains unresolved.
On that occasion, the HRC reminded BiH that the family members of missing persons have the right to be informed about the fate of their relatives. The failure to investigate the causes and circumstances of disappearance, as well as to provide information about the burial sites of missing persons may amount to inhuman treatment because of the suffering inflicted to family members. Accordingly, the HRC recommended BiH to take immediate and effective steps to investigate all unresolved cases of missing persons and to provide relatives with adequate and fair compensation and integral reparation. In this sense the Committee called on the government to ensure without delay the full functioning of the Institute for Missing Persons (MPI); the finalization of the central database of missing persons (CEN); and the setting up of the Fund for Support to Families of Missing Persons (the Fund).
From 2006 the HRC has been monitoring the implementation by BiH of its recommendations. In September 2010, TRIAL (Track Impunity Always), the Association of Families of Killed and Missing Defenders of the Homeland War from Bugojno Municipality, the Association of Relatives of Missing Persons from Hadžići Municipality, the Association of Relatives of Missing Persons from Ilijaš Municipality, theAssociation Women from Prijedor – Izvor; the Association of Relatives of Missing Persons of the Sarajevo-Romanija Region, and the Association of Relatives of Missing Persons of the Vogošća Municipality submitted to the HRC information on the subject of missing people, in order to highlight the progresses made, as well as the remaining obstacles for the full implementation of the recommendations of the HRC.
According to Mrs. Lejla Mamut, the Human Rights Coordinator of TRIAL in Sarajevo, “this joint submission by an international NGO, along with associations representing relatives of missing people regardless of their ethnic origin, is part of a strategy to maintain the crucial subject of missing people and their relatives on the national and international agendas. In the past months, prompted by TRIAL, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance visited the country and formulated some preliminary recommendations and its full report is expected by March 2011. Relatives of missing persons are enduring a particularly difficult situation and we hope that BiH will eventually implement all the recommendations formulated by these international human rights mechanisms. This is essential to put an end to the suffering of thousands of people and to prevent future abuses”.
In the submission to the HRC, reference is made to the existing problems to the effective functioning of the MPI (e.g. failure by the Council of Ministries to elect three new members of the Steering Committee and to consider and vote on the audit report for 2009; deficiencies in the carrying out of exhumations, in the cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Offices and difficulties in the relations with the Republika Srpska Operative Team for Missing Persons; inadequate resources and problems with the personnel and the engagement of the members of the Board of Directors); to the non-completion of the CEN; and to the non-establishment of the Fund due to the lack of agreement between the entity governments on the criteria to be used for financing the Fund. The Associations submit to the HRC concrete examples of the obstacles encountered daily in the realization of their rights and formulate recommendations to overcome them.
It is noteworthy that in the next months BiH is expected to submit further information to the HRC on the situation in the country, as well as reports to the Committee against Torture, to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“TRIAL will closely follow these activities and submit relevant information to the United Nations Committees to provide them with a complete picture of the situation of relatives of missing persons in the country. After more than 18 years, they still suffer the tremendous anguish of not knowing the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones and they have not obtained justice and integral reparation for the harm suffered”, said Mr. Philip Grant, the President of TRIAL. He added that in the next future TRIAL will devote its attention also to the subject of victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war. Mr. Grant indicated that: “This is another extremely vulnerable category, whose rights have been neglected for too long, with painful consequences on the survivors, and, ultimately, on the whole BiH society. It’s time for the State to adequately address this situation and we will turn to international human rights mechanisms to call on BiH to fully respect and implement its international obligations”.
Overall 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 10,000 and 13,000 people are still missing.
In 2009 TRIAL submitted a general allegation on behalf of families of missing persons to the Working Group for Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances. Prompted by this allegation, the Working Group took the historical decision to hold its 94th session in BiH and also carried out a visit to the country in June 2010. TRIAL has also filed 35 individual complaints before the European Court of Human Rights or the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of relatives of missing persons. TRIAL will continue to resort to international mechanisms for the protection of human rights in order to turn the attention to the situation of families of missing persons in BiH and to put pressure on the government to work harder for the improvement of the current position of this group of victims.
For further information
- On the individual complaints filed before the European Court of Human Rights or the UN Human Rights Committee, see here.
- On the visit of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to BiH, see here.
- See also TRIAL’s website in the local language: trialinternational.org/BiH.
Thank you for your interest in TRIAL’s activities.
Unfortunately, this page does not exist in English.
The French version of the page is however available.
Geneva, 6 July 2010
During the month of June, TRIAL (Track Impunity Always-a Swiss Association against Impunity) submitted to the European Court of Human rights two individual complaints against Bosnia-Herzegovina concerning the enforced disappearances of Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic following an action carried out by Serb forces. These two cases become the 13th and 14th respectively which TRIAL has submitted to the European Court.
On 20 July 1992, during the period that ethnic cleansing operations were being carried out in the greater Prijedor region, the Yugoslav army attacked Rakovcani, a village in the “Brdo” sector of the municipality of Prijedor. The soldiers arbitrarily arrested a large number of men in the village, including Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic, and escorted them to a destination undisclosed to their families.
Several witnesses have reported to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that following the attacks which took place in the Brdo sector, the men who were arrested were taken to the Keraterm camp and held for several days in the No 3 unit. On 24 July, the soldiers opened fire against the persons being held at this unit, resulting in the death of around 130 persons. The bodies were then taken away to a place which has remained unidentified to this date.
However several eyewitnesses have reported that neither Esad Aliskovic nor Enes Ramulic was killed during this massacre. In the case of Esad Aliskovic, he was said to have been ordered, together with another twenty or so other detainees, to leave the camp on the eve of the tragic event and reportedly taken from there to an unknown destination. As to Enes Ramulic, he was indeed held in the No 3 unit on the day of the massacre but was said to have survived the shooting. A few days later he was reportedly transported, together with the other survivors, to a destination which has also remained unidentified. This is the last time that both men were seen alive: they have been missing without trace ever since.
More than 18 years after this incident, no official, prompt, impartial, comprehensive and independent enquiry whatsoever has been undertaken by the BH authorities in order to locate Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic and where appropriate to locate, identify and return their remains to their families. Nor to this date has anyone been prosecuted, judged or punished for these crimes. The close relatives of the missing men have regularly registered their condemnation of these events with the competent authorities and also with the international organizations present in Bosnia-Herzegovina and other institutes in charge of handling cases concerning missing persons.
On 16 July 2007, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina notably ordered the relevant national institutions to divulge all available information concerning the fate and whereabouts of Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic. Nevertheless, as of today’s date, the Bosnian authorities have not complied with this order nor have they supplied any noteworthy information whatsoever to the applicants.
According to Philip Grant, President of TRIAL, “the families of those disappeared are weary of the lack of cooperation on the part of the national authorities. Not only must they mourn their loved ones without having any proper information on their fate, but they must also live with the conviction that those responsible are going unpunished”.
For this reason, in June 2010, TRIAL lodged two individual complaints with the European Court requesting that it condemn Bosnia-Herzegovina for violation of Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights for not opening up the obligatory enquiries and proceedings. They also contend that they themselves are victims of violations of Articles 3 and 8 (right to respect for family and private life) due to the impassive attitude of the authorities with regard to their distress, as well as the impossibility to properly mourn and bury their loved ones according to their religious beliefs.
Overall Context
It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict in BH during the period 1992-1995 and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. As of today, between 10,000 and 13,000 people are still missing without trace.
Since its creation, TRIAL has submitted fourteen cases concerning Bosnia-Herzegovina to the European Court of Human Rights. Seven other cases are the subject of proceedings before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Overall, these proceedings concern 55 victims of enforced disappearances or massacres, as well as their close relatives.
TRIAL is also active on other cases of enforced disappearances or torture whether it be in Algeria, Libya or Nepal and has taken action on behalf of more than twenty families before the various relevant international legal instances.
For further information
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearancesundertook a country visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina form 14 to 21 June 2010 and met with the government, national and local authorities, international institutions, as well as with human rights NGOs and associations of families of victims.
TRIAL, whose June 2009 general allegation prompted the Working Group to request the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to invite it to for the first country visit after 13 years of absence, also met with the Working Group on Monday June 14.
Lejla Mamut, Advocacy Center TRIAL (ACT) representative in Sarajevo, Gabriella Citroni, ACT legal adviser and Philip Grant, ACT Director, met with members of the Working Group to explain in details the legal and practical problems faced by relatives of victims of enforced disappearances, whatever their ethnic background may be. Absence of information regarding investigations and searches for the bodies; lack of prosecuting of those responsible for such acts; absence of a comprehensive reparations scheme: almost 15 years since the war ended, numerous victims’ relatives are still waiting to recover the remains of their loved ones and to obtain justice and redress.
ACT also organised trainings with members of its partner organisations to prepare them for the meetings these associations would be having with the Working Group.
The Working Group will issue a thorough report on its visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the end of the year and make recommendations to the government. The report will be discussed before the UN Human Rights Council in March 2011. TRIAL will closely monitor all upcoming developments and will intervene before local and national authorities to see that the Working Group’s recommendations are fully implemented.
More
- Press release of the Working Group, 21 June 2010
- ACT’s general allegation of June 2009
- ACT’s website in Bosnian
- ACT’s case in Bosnia Herzegovina
Thank you for your interest in TRIAL’s activities.
Unfortunately, this page does not exist in English.
The French version of the page is however available, and possibly, the German version as well
Thank you for your interest in TRIAL’s activities.
Unfortunately, this page does not exist in English.
The French version of the page is however available.
The Advocacy Center – TRIAL (ACT) lodged an application before the United Nations Human Rights Committee following the enforced disappearance – on two occasions – and the torture endured by Mr Abdeladim Ali Mussa Benali. The case was prepared in partnership with the NGO Al Karama for human rights.
In May 2008, the Advocacy Center – TRIAL (ACT) introduced a case against Lybia before the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of Abdeladim Ali Mussa Benali’s brother.
Mr Benali has disappeared on a first occasion from 1995 to 2000. He was later freed in 2002 without any charges laid against him. Arrested a second time by Libyan security agents in October 2005, Mr Benali was first held at the Abu Slim prison until March 2007. He then went missing again, his family since that date having received no information whatsoever about his fate.
During his two periods of detention, Mr Benali was subjected to terrible acts of torture.
The ACT requests the Human Rights Committee to declare that Libya violated the fundamental rights of Mr. Benali as well as his brother’s, and that, as a result, redress should be granted.
Thank you for your interest in TRIAL’s activities.
Unfortunately, this page does not exist in English.
The French version of the page is however available, and possibly, the German version as well.
Geneva / Sarajevo, 12 May 2010
TRIAL (Track Impunity Always – Swiss Association against Impunity) recently filed a communication before the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning 12 cases of enforced disappearances carried out in Vogošća by Serb forces in June 1992. The NGO is acting on behalf of 25 relatives of the disappeared persons.
On 4 May 1992, during the first wave of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” perpetrated by Serb forces, Himzo Hadžić, Safet Hodžić, Mensud Durić, Rasim Selimović, Abdulah Jelašković, Sinan Salkić, Idriz Alić, Hasan Abaz, Hakija Kanđer, Emin Jelečković, Esad Fejzović and Đemo Šehić were arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in Svrake village, near Vogošća (BH), by members of the Serb army of the Republika Srpska (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS) together with several hundred inhabitants of the same village.
A few days later, the women, children and elderly people were freed, whereas the men were taken to the “Nakina garaza” concentration camp where they were held prisoner for almost 20 days, after which several of them were released under the condition that they report twice a day to members of the VRS. After a few days, the reporting centre was changed to a concentration camp known as “Planjina kuća”, located in the municipality of Vogošća, where they were again kept as detainees. During their detention in this camp the men were subjected to ill-treatment and forced labour.
The first victim, Sinan Salkić, was released around 14 May 1992, under the condition that he reports three times a day to the Planjina kuća concentration camp. On the morning of 10 June 1992 three or four men came to his house and put him under arrest. Subsequent reports indicate that he was then executed and his body thrown into the river Bosna.
For their part, Himzo Hadžić, Safet Hodžić, Mensud Durić, Idriz Alić, Emin Jelečković and Hakija Kanđer were last seen on 16 June 1992 in Planjina kuća, when they were forcibly taken away on a truck by Serb soldiers to an unknown destination.
Rasim Selimović, Abdulah Jelašković, Hasan Abaz and Esad Fejzović were last seen in the same concentration camp on 18 June 1992 and have since disappeared without a trace.
The last victim, Đemo Šehić, having seen the first group of men being forcibly led away from Planjina kuća on 16 June 1992, tried to escape to the nearby village of Paljevo. However, he was allegedly captured and arbitrarily executed by members of the Serbian army.
What has become of these twelve men remains officially unknown to this date.
Almost 18 years later, no prompt, impartial, thorough and independent investigation has been undertaken by the authorities to locate the 12 missing men or to exhume, identify, and hand over their mortal remains to their families. No proceedings have been instituted, and no one has been prosecuted despite available evidence concerning the identity of the perpetrators. In addition, the relatives of those missing have undertaken several administrative procedures to obtain information about their loved ones, and have consistently raised these cases with the BiH authorities and the international organizations present in the country. To date, all of these initiatives have been in vain.
On 23 February 2006, the Constitutional Court of BiH ordered the relevant domestic institutions to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the twelve missing persons.
On 16 November 2006, the Constitutional Court issued a judgment that ruled that the concerned authorities had failed to enforce its previous decision. The result is that as of this day the victims’ relatives have received no information whatsoever from BiH authorities concerning their loved ones.
For Ema Čekić, the President of the Vogošća Association of Families of Missing Persons, who receives legal support form TRIAL, “It is now time for the authorities to take into serious consideration the demands of the victim’s close relatives. We have waited long enough; justice must be done”. According to Philip Grant, President of TRIAL, “The complete absence of any investigation or prosecution is a continual ordeal for the close relatives of those missing. It has become essential that the authorities take resolute action, now!”.
At the beginning of May 2010, TRIAL filed a communication before the Human Rights Committee on behalf of 25 close family members, requesting the Committee to rule that BiH violated several articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, notably the inherent right to life (article 6), the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment (article 7), the right to liberty and security of person (article 9), the right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person (article 10). These violations have been invoked in the name of those missing. Their close relatives also consider themselves victims of violations of the Covenant due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities to their pain and anguish, and to their inability to mourn properly and to bury their loved ones according to their customs and beliefs.
The General Context
According to sources, between 100,000 and 200,000 people were killed between 1992 and 1995 during the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and an additional 25,000 to 30,000 were victims of forced disappearances. Almost 10,000 people remain unaccounted for since then.
Since its creation, TRIAL has petitioned the European Court of Human Rights in twelve cases involving Bosnia and Herzegovina. Six other cases were brought before the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
The organization is also active in cases of forced disappearances or torture in Algeria, Libya, and Nepal and represents more than twenty families before various international bodies.
- More on the case here.
Geneva/Sarajevo, 30 April 2010
TRIAL (Track Impunity Always – the Swiss Association against Impunity) recently filed three applications before the European Court of Human Rights against Bosnia-Herzegovina regarding the massacre of the Bačić and Horozović families, and the forced disappearance of Refik Bačić, perpetrated by Serb forces in 1992.
In July 1992, as ethnic cleansing operations occurred in the region of Prijedor, members of the Serbian army attacked two homes in which the extended Bačić and Horozović families had sought refuge. With only unarmed women and children inside, the soldiers opened fire on the homes, killing 29 people including 21 members of the Bačić and Horozović families (10 women and 11 children). The bodies were then taken to an unknown location. Only three people survived the massacre, including Zijad Bačić and Hidajet Horozović, children at the time and, today, two of the three applicants before the Court. The third petitioner, Fikre Bačić, who was abroad at the time, personally lost 12 family members in the massacre.
Several days before the massacre, a group of approximately ten men, including Refik Bačić, the brother of Fikre Bačić, were stopped by Serb forces, allegedly for questioning. That was the last time Refik Bačić was seen. He has been missing ever since.
Almost 18 years later, no impartial, independent and thorough investigation has been undertaken into Refik Bačić`s disappearance, and no effort has been made to locate his body. Nor has there been an attempt to uncover, exhume, and identify the remains of the victims of the massacre, so that they can be returned to the families. At present, none of the perpetrators of the massacre have been prosecuted or punished for the crimes, although witnesses have identified several suspects. The three applicants have raised the case with the Bosnian authorities, international organizations present in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and other bodies responsible for disappearances, but with little response.
On July 16, 2007, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina ordered the local authorities to turn over all available information in the cases of Refik Bačić and the massacre. To date, the Bosnian authorities have not executed this order and have not forwarded the information requested by the applicants.
“Impunity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, unfortunately, is all too common,” said Philip Grant, President of Trial. “The victims simply cannot take it any more – the bodies of their loved ones still have not been found, while the perpetrators of these crimes, some of whom continue to live in the area, remain undisturbed.” According to Lejla Mamut, coordinator of TRIAL in Sarajevo, “the authorities are not doing their job. It is important in these circumstances that the victims can petition an independent body outside of the country to force the authorities to respect and enforce their rights.”
In late April 2010, TRIAL brought the three applications before the European Court requesting a judgment against Bosnia-Herzegovina for the violation of Article 2 (the right to life) and Article 3 (the prohibition on torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights for its failure to undertake the necessary investigations and prosecutions. The applicants also assert that they are victims of violations of Articles 3 and 8 (right to the respect for family life) due to the official indifference to the case and their inability to mourn and bury their loved ones in accordance with their beliefs.
Context
According to sources, between 100,000 and 200,000 people were killed between 1992 and 1995 during the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and an additional 25,000 to 30,000 were victims of forced disappearances. Almost 10,000 people have never been found.
Since its creation, TRIAL has petitioned the European Court of Human Rights in twelve cases involving Bosnia-Herzegovina. Six other files were brought before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The condemnation of Bosnia-Herzegovina for these human rights violations would be a first, as no decision on such cases have yet been made by any internatoinal human rights body, which lends these cases a particular importance.
The organization is also active in cases of forced disappearances or torture in Algeria, Libya, and Nepal and represents more than twenty families before various international bodies.
For more information
trialinternational.org/en/act/acts-cases-on-bosnia-herzegovina.html
Common press release by the Society for Threatened Peoples (Switzerland) and TRIAL (Track Impunity Always – Swiss association against impunity)
In an article in the bi-monthly newspaper La Nation, two authors qualify the genocide in Srebrenica as a “pseudo-massacre.” In response, the Society for Threatened Peoples and the Swiss Association Against Impunity (TRIAL) filed today a criminal complaint before the investigative judge of the Canton of Vaud (Switzerland) for denial of genocide and other crimes against humanity. The case is only the third time the Swiss judiciary has been called on to decide a case of genocide. The other cases involved the Shoah and the Armenian genocide.
In La Nation, a right-wing newspaper, two regular contributors deny:
- The genocide in Srebrenica and the murder of over 8,000 Muslim men;
- The atrocities committed in concentration camps run by Serbian forces and other crimes against humanity;
- Mass rapes committed by the Bosnian Serbs;
- The shelling of civilians at the Sarajevo market place by Serbian forces.
The article was published after Kosovo`s declaration of independence on 17 February 2008. Shortly thereafter, La Nation, the official newspaper of La Ligue vaudoise, published a series of articles on the so-called “media lynching of Serbs.” Two months later, the inflammatory articles remain on the Ligue vaudoise website.
“After the horrors which victims have gone through, the denial of these crimes is unacceptable and prevents a general reconciliation as well as a peaceful coexistence in the future,” says Fadila Memišević, the President of the Society for Threatened Peoples for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The President of TRIAL, Philip Grant, added that, “the arguments used by the authors are identical to those used by Radovan Karadžić in The Hague. They deny the suffering of victims and exonerate the perpetrators of thesecrimes.”
The Society for Threatened Peoples, Switzerland, is a human rights organization that defends the rights of exiled minorities and indigenous people. The Swiss Association Against Impunity (TRIAL) fights against impunity for initiators and perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and enforced disappearances.
- For more information, please refer to the Press information packet (in French).
The Advocacy Center – TRIAL (ACT) submitted this week a communication to the Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance and alleged arbitrary execution and the subsequent concealment of the mortal remains of Mr. Sejad Hero and Mr. Ramiz Kožljak occurred in July 1992.
Since its creation, ACT has submitted nine cases to the European Court of Human Rights and six cases to the UN Human Rights Committee, in relation to the disappearances of 19 people.
The Hero and Kožljak case
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 Mr. 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 Mr. 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 mean, in order to save his life Mr. Ramiz Kožljak decided to escape towards the nearby village of Vrapče, which was under the control of the Bosnian army. 
The whole area surrounding Vrapče was under the control of the JNA. Allegedly, Mr. Ramiz Kožljak was also captured and allegedly 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 on the case here.
Geneva, 19 March 2010. Yesterday, the Council of States – Parliament’s higher chamber – passed a federal law incorporating into the Swiss penal code crimes provided for by the Statute of the International Criminal Court. TRIAL (Track Impunity Always – Swiss association against Impunity) takes note that Switzerland shall soon have at its disposal a more precise law to prosecute perpetrators of the most serious crimes, but deplores the fact that the law will only apply to those crimes committed in the future. Switzerland thereby endorses impunity and remains a haven for international criminals.
Almost 8 years after the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into force, Switzerland will soon have at its disposal a law which will introduce crimes defined under the ICC Statute into its penal code. Crimes against humanity will at last become part of Swiss legislation and war crimes will be defined much more precisely than is currently the case. Henceforward, according to the new code, genocide will also be considered as being committed against members of a “political or social” group, and not solely against members of a national, racial, religious or ethnic group. Except in cases where they are committed by Swiss or foreign military personnel, or against the Swiss military, such crimes shall be prosecuted and judged by the ordinary authorities of the Confederation and not by military courts.
A law with limited application
The Council of States did not follow the propositions put forward by its Legal Affairs Committee, which would have allowed the possibility to prosecute in Switzerland acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes committed after 31 December 1990.The Committee, in conformity with international law (1), had rightly judged that such proceedings should be possible “to the extent that, at the time and place the crime was committed, the act or omission which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal under international conventional law or according to the general principles of law recognised by civilised nations”. TRIAL deplores the fact that the Council of States, by allowing the law only to be applied to instances occurring after it comes into effect, has in doing so voided the text of any current practical application. Philip Grant, President of Trial, states that “by deciding that the law will have no application to the horrors committed for example in Rwanda, in the Congo or in the former Yugoslavia in the nineties, the Council of States has issued a disturbing signal: it endorses impunity for these acts and allows Switzerland to serve as a haven for the perpetrators of such crimes. We now have a brand new law at our disposal but which will be of no use for the foreseeable future.”
In the future criminal proceedings will be possible if the presumed perpetrator “is to be found in Switzerland and is not awaiting extradition or to be handed over to an international criminal tribunal whose competence is recognized by Switzerland”, notably the ICC. As was the case with the National Council, the Council of States also discarded the additional requirement that the presumed perpetrators have “close ties” to Switzerland. This provision, which was introduced in 2003 in relation to the prosecution of war crimes, was fiercely opposed by TRIAL, which, along with around sixty law professors from numerous Swiss universities, considered that such requirement was contrary to international law and made illusory the prosecution of war criminals in Switzerland.
The National Council had already voted the project on 4 March 2009. Due to small differences between the texts passed by both Councils, the National Council will, in a forthcoming session, have examine the divergences existing between its version and the one adopted yesterday by the Council of States.
(1) See, for example, article 7 paragraph 2 of the European Human Rights Convention and article 15 paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights both ratified by Switzerland.
Thank you for your interest in TRIAL’s activities.
Unfortunately, this page does not exist in English.
The French version of the page is however available, and possibly, the German version as well
Thank you for your interest in TRIAL’s activities.
Unfortunately, this page does not exist in English.
The French version of the page is however available, and possibly, the German version as well
The Advocacy Center – TRIAL (ACT) submitted this week an application to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the enforced disappearance of Mr. Emir Hodžić occurred in May 1992. Last month, ACT submitted a communication to the Human Rights Committee concerning the enforced disappearance of Mr. Ibrahim Durić occurred in May 1992.
Since its creation, ACT submitted nine cases to the European Court of Human Rights and five cases to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in relationthe conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Hodžić case
Mr. Emir Hodžić, reservist member of the local police, was captured by the Serb army while the the take over of Kozarac. He was seen for the last time on 26 May 1992 together with a group of colleagues, who later on were all captured and executed by members of the army of the Republika Srpska. His fate and whereabouts 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 to locate Mr. Emir Hodžić or his mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible.
Familly members of Mr. Emir Hodžić live in a lacerating situation of uncertainty, in spite of numerous attempts to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance of their relative, their fate and whereabouts and the progress and results of the investigation.
- Read more on Hodžić case
The Durić case
On 14 May 1992, returning with a friend (Mr. Zelimir Vidović) from Sarajevo’s Hospital to take a neighbour who had been heavily wounded in a shelling, Mr. Ibrahim Durić was stopped and interrogated at a check point held by members of the army of the Republika Srpska (VRS). That was the last time that Mr. Ibrahim Durić was seen alive. 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 in order to locate Mr. Ibrahim Durić or his mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible.
Familly members of Mr. Ibrahim Durić live in a lacerating situation of uncertainty, in spite of numerous attempts to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance of their relative, their fate and whereabouts and the progress and results of the investigation.
- Read more on Durić case
The Advocacy Center TRIAL (ACT) submitted in the past week two new applications to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the enforced disappearances of Mr. Edin Mahmuljin in June 1992 and of Mr. Nedžad Fazlić in May 1992. ACT also submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding the enforced disappearance of Mr. Salih Čekić in June 1992.
They are the 7th and 8th cases brought by TRIAL to the European Court of Human Rights, respectively the 4th case to be taken to the UN Human Rights Committee. In all of those cases, TRIAL acts on behalf of close family members of the disappeared.
The Mahumulin and Fazlić cases
After the takeover of the town of Kozarac by the Serb army, Mr. Edin Mahmuljin and Mr. Nedžad Fazlić escaped, trying to reach Croatia. 
Mr. Nedžad Fazlić was seen the last time on 28 May 1992, while he had been arrested by members of the police of the Republika Srpska and taken to the police station of Aleksandrovac, near Gradiška. Mr. Nedžad Fazlićand other men were taken to an unknown destination.
For his part, Mr. Edin Mahmuljin was last seen on 24 June 1992 in life-threatening circumstances in the hands of members of the army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) in a region between Bosanska Dubica and Bosanska Gradiška.
Mr. Edin Mahmuljin and Mr. Nedžad Fazlić were never again seen alive. 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 Mr. Edin Mahmuljin and Mr. Nedžad Fazlić or their mortal remains or to identify, prosecute and sanction those responsible.
Both families live in a lacerating situation of uncertainty, in spite of numerous attempts to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance of their relative, their fate and whereabouts and the progress and results of the investigation.
- Read more on the Mahmuljin case
- Read more on Fazlić case
The Čekić case
Mr. Salih Čekić was last seen on 16 June 1992 in the concentration camp known as “Planjina kuca”, located in the municipality of Vogošća. He had been arrested on 4 May 1992 by members of the VRS, along with his family members, who were later freed. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown since then.
His wife and children have for years been living ln a lacerating situation of uncertainty, in spite of numerous attempts to establish the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance of their loved one, his fate and whereabouts and the progress and results of the investigations.
More than 17 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 enforced disappearance of Salih Čekić, thus fostering an ongoing climate of impunity.
- Read more on the Čekić case