"JADOVNO 1941" ASSOCIATION FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST SERBIA'S WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

BELGRADE, JULY 8 /SRNA/ – The Association of Descendants and Admirers of the Victims of the "Jadovno 1941" Ustasha camp complex from Banja Luka has filed a complaint against Serbia's Public Prosecutor's Office for War Crimes, alleging that there is an impression that the Prosecutor's Office has acted in a discriminatory manner toward Serb victims of war crimes and contrary to the public interest when it comes to identifying and prosecuting perpetrators of crimes against Serbs committed since January 1st 1991. year.

In the complaint submitted to Serbia's Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, the association states that the Yugoslav state "Committee for the Collection of Data on Crimes Committed Against Humanity and International Law" collected around 200,000 documents on crimes against the Serbian population during its work from 1992 to 2003, and that these documents were handed over to the Public Prosecutor's Office for War Crimes in 2009.

The complaint specifically refers to the "Memorandum on War Crimes and Genocide in Eastern Bosnia /the area of Bratunac, Skelani and Srebrenica/ Committed Against the Serb Population from April 1992 to April 1993," which was submitted to the UN Security Council on June 2, 1993. According to the association, the Prosecutor's Office responded that it had not found the document in the Serbian language and that it contained "no information of relevance for further action."

The association claims that the Prosecutor's Office did not answer the question of who determined, and according to which criteria, that the memorandum was irrelevant, while stating that it did not possess an electronic record of the Committee's documentation but that an electronic database of all cases would be created in the future.

According to the complaint, the Prosecutor's Office confirmed that it possesses a large number of cases related to crimes against Serb civilians in the areas of Srebrenica, Bratunac and Skelani during 1992 and 1993, but that all of them remain in the preliminary investigation stage.

Regarding crimes against the Serb population in Kravica on Orthodox Christmas Day in 1993 and other crimes covered by the memorandum, the Prosecutor's Office stated that the "Skelani" and "Bratunac" cases remain ongoing and that actions are being taken in accordance with the law. However, it said that proceedings in these cases are extremely complex due to the nature of the crimes, the complexity of the facts, the passage of time since the offences were committed, and the large number of potential participants and witnesses.

The association points out that, during the same period, the Prosecutor's Office initiated and completed numerous proceedings against senior Serb civilian and military officials, while the public, it claims, has not been informed of any convictions for crimes against Serbs in the areas of Kravica, Bratunac and Skelani, where, according to the association, 6,469 Serbs were killed during the Second World War and another 3,269 between 1992 and 1995.

The complaint states that such conduct creates the impression of discrimination against Serb victims, contributes to their being forgotten and leaves room for further demonization of the Serb people, while simultaneously "erasing the memory of victims and creating the risk that crimes against the Serb people may be repeated."

The association argues that this violates the Constitution of Serbia, which obliges the Prosecutor's Office to protect the public interest, as well as the Law on Public Prosecution, under which public prosecutors are required to perform their duties without unnecessary delay and, in particular, to prevent discrimination on any grounds, along with the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination.

The association also states that the Law on the Organization and Jurisdiction of Authorities in War Crimes Proceedings has been violated, as it obliges the Prosecutor's Office to identify and prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanity and persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed throughout the territory of the former Yugoslavia since January 1, 1991.