American investigators have expanded their list of witnesses after interviewing eight Serb survivors of wartime detention camps in Derventa at the end of July.
The investigators have requested contact information for additional survivors from the Derventa Association of Former Camp Inmates, with further testimonies expected to be conducted by telephone with the assistance of interpreters.
The investigation concerns alleged abuses committed during the 1992–1995 war in BiH and individuals currently residing in the United States who may have concealed their wartime involvement when applying for immigration documents.
Survivor recalls torture and starvation in Derventa camps
Among those awaiting contact from American investigators is Ostoja Šarčević, who spent nearly two months in detention camps in Derventa.
Šarčević says he is prepared to recount how former neighbors took him to a detention camp on Orthodox Easter in 1992, where he was subjected to beatings, starvation and other forms of mistreatment.
“It was horrific. There was suffering, starvation and beatings. Eventually, I managed to escape,” Šarčević recalled.
He explained that he escaped while being taken to dig trenches.
“After 55 days, I weighed just 48 kilograms, compared with my usual weight of around 70 to 80 kilograms,” he said.
U.S. investigators seek additional witnesses
The initial round of testimonies concluded on July 24 at the Basic Court in Derventa, when Momir Lazić became the eighth Serb former detainee to testify before American investigators.
The witnesses described alleged abuses committed in the Derventa area while it was under the control of Croat and Muslim forces during the war.
Drago Knežević, president of the Derventa Association of Former Camp Inmates, confirmed that investigators had requested additional witnesses.
“They asked to expand the number of witnesses. I do not know whether this concerns one individual or several people, because they did not want to discuss those details,” Knežević said.
He suggested that proceedings could eventually take place in the United States, potentially requiring witnesses from Derventa to travel there.
“I assume that a trial will take place in America and that witnesses from here will travel to testify. However, I do not know how many will be called or whether the investigation will be expanded to include additional individuals connected with the detention camps at the former Yugoslav People’s Army House and Rabić,” he explained.
Investigation focuses on alleged false statements to U.S. authorities
According to the report, American investigators traveled to Derventa to examine the wartime activities of individuals currently living in the United States who allegedly provided false information to American authorities when obtaining work and residence permits.
The individuals under investigation are suspected of having concealed their participation in the war during immigration procedures.
Viktor Nuždić, acting director of the Republika Srpska Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Missing Persons, emphasized the importance of documenting survivors’ experiences while distinguishing the American investigation from direct war crimes prosecutions.
“This case is important because the voices of Serb detention camp survivors will be heard. However, we cannot regard it as the prosecution of war criminals, because that is not what these proceedings will be,” Nuždić said.
He also criticized the pace of investigations into crimes committed against Serbs during the war.
“The essential question is what the judicial institutions at the BiH level have been doing for the past 34 years,” he stated.
Referring specifically to Derventa, Nuždić said that at least 72 Serb civilians were killed over several months in early 1992.
Concerns grow as surviving witnesses pass away
Representatives of former detention camp inmates have expressed growing concern that the number of surviving witnesses is steadily declining.
According to the report, four former wartime prisoners from Derventa have died in the past month, raising fears that valuable firsthand accounts of detention, abuse and suffering may be lost permanently.
The report also criticized BiH judicial institutions for what it described as prolonged inaction in cases involving crimes against Serbs, suggesting that unresolved investigations risk remaining dormant until witnesses are no longer alive to testify.
For the surviving former detainees, the renewed interest from American investigators represents another opportunity to place their experiences on the official record, more than three decades after the events they describe.
Source: RTRS
