Joševica massacre

Joševica on the map of Croatia, 1991/1992. Serbian-held territories are highlighted in red.

The Joševica massacre was a war crime committed by the paramilitary forces of the rebel Serbs in the Croatian village of Joševica during the Croatian War of Independence. The atrocities took place on December 16 of 1991.[1]

The Serb paramilitary forces killed 21 Croatian civilians in village of Joševica near the city of Glina. One civilian survived the attack with serious wounds. After a few weeks, Serb paramilitary forces perpetrated another massacre, killing another 3 Croats.[1] In total, 32 residents of Joševica out of 133 that had lived in Joševica (census 1991) were killed.

At the time there was no active combat in the Joševica area, as the forces of rebel Serbs had already occupied the area. Serb military commanders had also made guarantees to the local Croats that they would enjoy peace and safety if they didn't partake in armed resistance.[2]

Investigation

At the time, one Nikola Sužnjević, an investigating judge in the employ of the then-Republic of Serbian Krajina (in 2008 a member of the city council of Glina) had investigated the events and made a detailed record with a precise list of victims and the description of how those persons were killed. Despite that, the occupation authorities of RSK hadn't done any further actions, and the perpetrators weren't legally processed, despite the existence of witnesses that named the victims.[1]

The State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia (DORH) has indicted six citizens of the Republic of Serbia for the Joševica case. All of them had left for Serbia in 1995 after the Croatian Operation Flash, where they took permanent residence.[3] DORH brought the indictment forward almost 17 years after the events.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Optužnica protiv šestorice državljana Srbije, ubojica iz Gline 1991.". Slobodna Dalmacija. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2011-01-23. (contains the forensic analysis done by Serb authorities)
  2. ↑ (Croatian) Domovinski rat On Line! Za stravičan masakr u selu Joševica još nitko ne odgovara
  3. ↑ Index.hr Srpska šestorka optužena za pokolj u Joševici, June 12, 2008. Accessed November 12, 2009

Coordinates: 45°18′13″N 16°06′25″E / 45.303687°N 16.10689°E / 45.303687; 16.10689

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