Serb former detainees will soon testify before US prosecutors about the torture and abuse they endured in Derventa during the war in the 1990s, when the town was under the control of Croatian-Muslim forces, Drago Knežević, president of the Derventa Association of Former Camp Detainees, told Srna.
“I have reliable information that one of the suspects in war crimes against Serbs in Derventa has already been detained in the United States,” Knežević said.
He explained that American investigators and prosecutors who visited Derventa in late July contacted the Association of Former Camp Detainees and expressed interest in obtaining additional testimony from several more Serb former detainees.
According to Knežević, these interviews are expected to take place by telephone in the coming days, with the assistance of an interpreter.
“I am convinced that justice, although sometimes slow, will eventually reach those who committed crimes against the Serb people and those who ordered them. This would provide a measure of satisfaction for surviving Serb detainees and their families,” Knežević said.
On July 24, the testimony of Momir Lazić before the Basic Court in Derventa concluded a series of interviews in which eight Serb former detainees testified before American investigators and prosecutors about the torture they experienced in the area while it was under the control of Croatian-Muslim forces.
Knežević previously stated that American investigators and prosecutors had come to Derventa to investigate the wartime backgrounds of individuals currently residing in the United States who allegedly provided false information to US authorities when applying for work and residence permits, claiming they had not participated in the war.
The three largest detention camps for Serbs in Derventa were located at the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) Center, a military warehouse in Rabić and a school in Poljari. Several hundred Serb civilians were held at these facilities during the war.
Source: RTRS
