U.S. investigators have concluded interviews with former Serb detainees at the Basic Court in Derventa as part of an ongoing inquiry.
Momir Lazić of Derventa was the final witness to testify before the investigators, completing testimony from eight former Serb detainees regarding their experiences in detention camps in the area while it was under the control of Croatian and Bosniak forces during the war.
Drago Knežević, President of the Derventa Association of Former Detainees, said he remains optimistic that war crimes committed against Serbs in Derventa will be prosecuted following the completion of the witness interviews.
“The U.S. investigators came to Derventa to examine the wartime backgrounds of individuals currently residing in the United States who allegedly provided false statements to U.S. authorities, claiming they had not participated in the conflict when applying for work and residence permits,” Knežević explained.
After completing the interviews, the investigators also visited the former military warehouse at Rabić, he added.
Knežević recalled that the three largest detention camps for Serbs in the Derventa area were the former Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) barracks, the military warehouse at Rabić, and the school in Poljari.
During the 1992–1995 conflict, before the Army of Republika Srpska had been formally established, Croatian and Bosniak forces attacked the local Serb population in Derventa.
Several detention camps for Serbs were subsequently established, with the most notorious located at the former Army Hall and the Rabić military facility.
According to Knežević, around 120 Serbs were detained at the Rabić camp, while several hundred Serb civilians passed through detention camps in the Derventa area during the conflict.
Source: RTRS
