FIVE SERBS MET THE CONDITIONS FOR RELEASE, MECHANISM REMAINS SILENT

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ - Six Serbs serving Hague sentences in prisons in Estonia and Norway are conducting themselves with dignity, while five of them met the conditions for release long ago after serving two-thirds of their sentences, but the Hague Mechanism remains silent on the matter, Serbia’s State Secretary for Human and Minority Rights Livija Pavićević told SRNA.

In recent days, she visited Milan Martić, General Dragomir Milošević, General Radislav Krstić and Milan Lukić in prison in Tallinn, Estonia, and Stojan Župljanin and Sredoje Lukić in Norway.

"They are conducting themselves with dignity. Conditions in Estonia are much worse than in Norway. In Estonia, they do not have open-type visits - they have only one Serbian channel, the RTS satellite channel," Pavićević said.

She pointed out that all of them, except Milan Lukić, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, have met the condition for release after serving two-thirds of their sentences, but the Hague Mechanism remains silent on all their requests for release.

She noted that General Milošević fell ill a month ago and that the Government of Serbia then provided guarantees for him to be released to receive medical treatment in Serbia. Even Estonia, where he is serving his sentence, requested his release because he had also met the relevant condition under Estonian law, but no response has been received from the Mechanism.

As for Norway, Pavićević said that Župljanin is being held in a prison in Trondheim, an hour's flight from Oslo, which makes family visits considerably more difficult. She added that he is in good health and is able to take walks, although the prison is not fully open-type.

As for Sredoje Lukić, she said that he is in good health and is held in a more open-type prison, where he can go outside, but there is also no Serbian channel. He has access to the internet in a limited form and has likewise met the condition of having served two-thirds of his sentence for release.

According to her, the prison also has some greenhouses, where inmates can work and engage in agricultural activities, so Sredoje Lukić may be in the best position of all these prisoners.

"He told me that he simply feels it is beneath his dignity to submit a request for release because he knows it will be rejected," Pavićević said.

Since there are no Serbian channels in the Norwegian prison, Pavićević said she would contact the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, while the Serbian Embassy will also write to the prison administration to resolve the issue.

Pavićević said that all this indicates the presence of selective justice, or that there is no justice for Serbs, as they are not being released after serving two-thirds of their sentences, even when they have health problems.

She stressed that the support of the state and knowing that they have not been forgotten either by Serbia or Republika Srpska means a great deal to all of them, which boosts their morale and gives them hope.

She emphasized the importance of regular visits, as this gives them the strength to endure the difficult conditions and the decades-long sentences they are serving.

Before the Hague Tribunal, Milan Lukić, commander of the "Avengers" unit from Višegrad, was sentenced to life imprisonment, while former President of the Republic of Serbian Krajina Milan Martić and Commander of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska General Radislav Krstić were each sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska General Dragomir Milošević was sentenced to 29 years in prison, Višegrad police officer Sredoje Lukić to 27 years, and head of the Centre for Security Services in Banja Luka Stojan Župljanin to 22 years.