Musala camp

Musala camp
Detainment camp
Musala camp is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Musala camp
Musala camp
Location of Musala camp within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates43°39′05″N 17°57′52″E / 43.65139°N 17.96444°E / 43.65139; 17.96444
LocationKonjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Operated byArmy of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
OperationalMay 1992–October 1994
InmatesBosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats
Killed13

The Musala camp was a prison camp in Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina operated by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) that was used to detain Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats.[1]

History

The Serb prisoners were initially captured during joint military operations conducted by joint Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and Bosnian Territorial Defence Forces (TO) in villages surrounding the municipality of Konjic in May 1992.[2] While many of the men were taken to the Čelebići camp, some were transported to the Musala sports hall in Konjic.[2] The sports hall was converted into a detention facility.[3] With the Croat-Bosniak War, the camp would also be used for the detainment of Croats by the ARBiH.

According to witnesses, on 15 June 1992, detainees were ordered to take their seats in the camp gym during a shelling of the camp by the ARBiH, thus preventing them to take cover while the camp guards went to take cover in a safer place.[4] As a result, 13 Serb prisoners were killed while dozens of others were severely or lightly wounded.[4]

In July 2013, Ibro Macić, a former ARBiH member, was charged with inhumane treatment and mistreatment of prisoners at the camp from April to October 1993.[5] According to the indictment, Macić, along with some other Bosnian Army servicemen, ordered sexual assaults on four prisoners.[6] They were beaten, sexually abused and had their genitals burned.[6] In 2015, Macić was sentenced to ten years in prison after being found guilty of participating in the mistreatment and physical, mental, and sexual abuse of several Serb and Croat prisoners.[7] Macić was also found guilty for the massacre of four elderly Serb women in the village of Blaca.[7]

In 2016, former military policeman Edhem Žilić was charged with war crimes against civilians in the Konjic area, including the beating and abuse of Croat and Serb detainees at the camp.[8] Žilić, who was the acting manager of the facility, was convicted in November 2017 and sentenced to nine years; his sentence was reduced following an appeal to six years in May 2018.[9]

References

  1. ^ Musala Sports Hall
  2. ^ a b "Delalic et al. Judgement - Part II". ICTY.org. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
  3. ^ "Bosnia Activists Mark More Wartime 'Suffering Sites'". BalkanInsight. BIRN. 8 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Report Against Commander of Guard in Camp Musala for Abuse of Serbs". SRNA.rs. 23 November 2017.
  5. ^ Brkanic, Dzana (5 July 2013). "Trial of Brkan and Macic Begins". justice-report.com. BIRN.
  6. ^ a b "Bosniak Troops 'Sexually Abused Prisoners at Sports Centre'". BalkanInsight. BIRN. 17 January 2014.
  7. ^ a b Brkanic, Dzana (17 April 2015). "Macic Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison". justice-report.com. BIRN.
  8. ^ "Bosniak Military Policeman Indicted for Prisoner Abuse". BalkanInsight. BIRN. 11 January 2016.
  9. ^ Dizdarevic, Emina (25 May 2018). "Bosniak Ex-Soldier Jailed for Prisoner Abuses". BalkanInsight. BIRN.