In camps located in the municipality of Odžak (in the Federation of BiH), 140 Serb children were imprisoned — two of them only five and a half months old — yet to this day, there is no justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the psychological, physical, and sexual abuse they endured, according to the Odžak ’92 Camp Inmates Association.
The association recalls that during their imprisonment, two girls, aged 10 and nearly 15, were raped.
“The majority of the detained children were between 8 and 15 years old. They were initially held in a primary school building and later transferred to private homes guarded by the HVO military police,” the association reported.
Through prisoner exchanges, 105 children were released, while the others regained their freedom when the Serb army liberated the municipality on July 15, 1992. Just days earlier, on July 4, 50 women and 53 children were exchanged.
“If there’s no justice for the adult Serbs from the Odžak municipality, is there at least justice for the children who were subjected to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse?” the association asked.
They also noted that previous records listed 104 children imprisoned in the Odžak camps, but further research has revealed the actual number to be 140.
Recalling the horrors endured, Serb former detainees say that during the occupation of Odžak, 429 Serb women and girls were also imprisoned in private houses and subjected to sexual abuse.
“A total of 68 Serb women were raped,” the Odžak ’92 Association added.
Serbs from Odžak were first imprisoned in camps at the local elementary school and the Strolit factory. In total, 1,294 Serbs were detained—860 men, and the rest women and children.
After the liberation of Odžak on July 15, 1992, 410 detained men and 35 women were transferred to camps in Bosanski Brod, located at Gik’s depot, a department store warehouse, and the sports hall of the local high school center.
Following the liberation of Brod on October 7, 1992, 208 men and one woman were sent to a camp in Orašje, and 54 men were taken to a camp in Slavonski Brod, where they spent at least 90 days detained in the Bardak tavern, which had been owned by a Serb before the war.
The last Serb detainee from Odžak, who had been transferred to Orašje, was exchanged in Čelebići on June 19, 1993.
The association reported that between May 8, 1992, and June 19, 1993, a total of 42 Serb detainees from Odžak were killed, and that there was no Serb village in the municipality left untouched by violence and death.
They recalled that only a handful of former members of the 102nd HVO Brigade have been convicted—receiving a total of 85.6 years in prison. Some have been indicted but are unreachable by the BiH judiciary, while others have been acquitted.
The Court of BiH has issued six rulings for war crimes committed against imprisoned Serbs in Odžak, sentencing the perpetrators to a total of 37 years in prison.
For rape, Josip Tolić was sentenced to 10 years, Ilija Jurić and Jozo Đojić to six years each, Marijan Brnjić to two sentences of six years (total 12), and Albina Terzić served a three-year sentence for physical abuse.
The District Court in Doboj sentenced three men to a total of 36 years: Ferid Halilović received 15 years for physical abuse (he has since died), Senahid Ribić received 13 years for murder, abuse, and arson, and Mirsad Brkić was sentenced to eight years for abuse, arson, looting, and murder.
The Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH sentenced Rešad Mujkić to six and a half years for abuse of imprisoned Serbs.
Mirko Ćulap was sentenced to one year by the Cantonal Court in Odžak for physical abuse. Saša Ćalušić was acquitted, while Božo Matanović was sentenced to five years for rape by the Cantonal Court in Tuzla, a verdict later upheld by the Federation’s Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of the Federation recently confirmed the acquittal of Omer Šaldić, who was charged with war crimes and abuse in the Odžak school camp, where he had served as a guard.
The Odžak ’92 Association believes that assigning such cases to cantonal courts has been disastrous and amounts to whitewashing the biographies of members of the 102nd HVO Brigade who committed war crimes.
In the Cantonal Court in Odžak, where survivors are summoned to testify, three defendants have been acquitted and only one convicted—with a sentence of just one year.
“And the one who was sentenced can buy out his sentence and walk free, while the victims are left with nothing but bitterness and anger,” say the survivors.
The Association notes that indictments have been filed against Mate Dragičević and Zdenko Mikulić, both of whom are unreachable to BiH authorities. An indictment has also been filed against Jure Ćalušić, whose trial is pending.
All three are accused of physical abuse in the Odžak camps.
The Association stated that Mikulić fled to Croatia after the indictment was filed.
Indictments have also been filed against Ante Golubović and Jurica Božić, but they too are out of reach of the BiH judiciary.
This year marks 33 years since these tragic events. Survivors will once again remember what they endured—and those who did not survive.
On Thursday, May 8, at 1:00 p.m., Serb former detainees will lay wreaths at the central memorial in Vukosavlje, followed by a memorial service at 2:30 p.m. at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Novi Grad.
Source: Glas Srpske
