Uzamnica camp
Encyclopedia
Uzamnica camp was a concentration camp established in 1992 by JNA forces for the Bosniak
civilian
prisoners during the Bosnian war
.
Many of the Bosniaks
who were not immediately killed in the Višegrad massacre
were detained at various locations in the town, including the former JNA military barracks and warehouse at Uzamnica, 5 kilometres outside of Visegrad
. Some of these detainees were kept at this site for over two years. Serb soldiers raped many women and beat and terrorised non-Serb civilians. Widespread looting and destruction of non-Serb homes and property took place daily and the two Bosniak mosques in town were destroyed.
s; Serb paramilitaries were also permitted to enter the camp to beat and torture
the prisoners at will. As a result of these assaults, many of the victims suffered serious and permanent injuries. Many prisoners, even little children, were used for hard forced labour projects. The only food the Serbs provided for their Bosniak prisoners was forbidden pork.
Each week, convoys of male prisoners would leave the camp, heading into Serbia
, never to be seen again.
, was found guilty of 12 counts of crimes against humanity and nine counts of violations of the laws of war
for his alleged involvement in atrocities, including murder
, torture
, persecution
, looting
and destruction of property, and was sentenced to life imprisonment on July 20 2009.
The Trial Chamber found Sredoje Lukić
guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment.
In relation to the Uzamnica camp, the evidence showed that both Milan Lukić and Sredoje Lukić were opportunistic visitors to the camp, although Sredoje Lukić came to the camp less frequently than Milan Lukić. When at the camp, both Milan Lukić and Sredoje Lukić severely and repeatedly kicked and beat the detainees with their fists, truncheons, sticks and rifle butts. Several victims testified before the Trial Chamber about these brutal beatings and the grave and permanent injuries they sustained and the suffering they endured.
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
prisoners during the Bosnian war
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
.
Many of the Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
who were not immediately killed in the Višegrad massacre
Višegrad massacre
The Višegrad massacres also known as the Visegrad Genocide were acts of mass murder committed against the Bosniak civilian population of the town and municipality of Višegrad during the ethnic cleansing of eastern Bosnia by Serb police and military forces during the spring and summer of 1992, at...
were detained at various locations in the town, including the former JNA military barracks and warehouse at Uzamnica, 5 kilometres outside of Visegrad
Visegrad
Visegrad is a name of Slavic origin meaning "the upper castle" or "the upper settlement/town/fortification".There are several places that may be spelt Visegrad in English:-Places:* Višegrad, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
. Some of these detainees were kept at this site for over two years. Serb soldiers raped many women and beat and terrorised non-Serb civilians. Widespread looting and destruction of non-Serb homes and property took place daily and the two Bosniak mosques in town were destroyed.
The camp
Those Bosniaks detained at the Uzamnica were subjected to inhumane conditions. Many were subjected to regular beatingAssault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
s; Serb paramilitaries were also permitted to enter the camp to beat and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
the prisoners at will. As a result of these assaults, many of the victims suffered serious and permanent injuries. Many prisoners, even little children, were used for hard forced labour projects. The only food the Serbs provided for their Bosniak prisoners was forbidden pork.
Each week, convoys of male prisoners would leave the camp, heading into Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, never to be seen again.
Recent developments
Milan LukićMilan Lukic
Milan Lukić is a former head of the paramilitary group known as White Eagles who was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in July 2009 of crimes against humanity and violations of war customs committed in the Višegrad municipality of Bosnia and...
, was found guilty of 12 counts of crimes against humanity and nine counts of violations of the laws of war
Laws of war
The law of war is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct...
for his alleged involvement in atrocities, including murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
, looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
and destruction of property, and was sentenced to life imprisonment on July 20 2009.
The Trial Chamber found Sredoje Lukić
Sredoje Lukić
Sredoje Lukić is a Bosnian Serb war criminal, the cousin and associate of Milan Lukić....
guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment.
In relation to the Uzamnica camp, the evidence showed that both Milan Lukić and Sredoje Lukić were opportunistic visitors to the camp, although Sredoje Lukić came to the camp less frequently than Milan Lukić. When at the camp, both Milan Lukić and Sredoje Lukić severely and repeatedly kicked and beat the detainees with their fists, truncheons, sticks and rifle butts. Several victims testified before the Trial Chamber about these brutal beatings and the grave and permanent injuries they sustained and the suffering they endured.
See also
- Bosnian GenocideBosnian GenocideThe term Bosnian Genocide refers to either the genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995 or the ethnic cleansing campaign that took place throughout areas controlled by the Bosnian Serb Army during the 1992–1995 Bosnian War....
- Visegrad massacreVišegrad massacreThe Višegrad massacres also known as the Visegrad Genocide were acts of mass murder committed against the Bosniak civilian population of the town and municipality of Višegrad during the ethnic cleansing of eastern Bosnia by Serb police and military forces during the spring and summer of 1992, at...
- Paklenik MassacrePaklenik MassacreThe Paklenik Massacre is the massacre of at least 50 Bosniaks by Army of the Republika Srpska in the Rogatica Municipality on 15 June 1992.-Background:...
- Bosanska Jagodina massacreBosanska Jagodina massacreThe Bosanska Jagodina Massacre refers to the execution of 17 Bosniak civilians from Višegrad on 26 May 1992, all of which were men. This war crime was most probably carried out by paramilitary forces "Avengers" led by Milan Lukić, under the control of the Army of Republika Srpska. In 2006 the...
- VisegradVisegradVisegrad is a name of Slavic origin meaning "the upper castle" or "the upper settlement/town/fortification".There are several places that may be spelt Visegrad in English:-Places:* Višegrad, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
- Dretelj campDretelj campDretelj camp was a concentration camp run by the Croatian Defence Forces and later by the Croatian Defence Council during the Bosnian War.-The camp:The camp was located near Čapljina and Medjugorje in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina...
- Gabela campGabela campGabela camp was a concentration camp run by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatian Defence Council in Gabela, the camp was located several kilometres south of Čapljina.-The camp:...
- Heliodrom campHeliodrom CampHeliodrom camp was a concentration camp operated between September 1992 and April 1994 by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatian Defence Council to detain Bosniaks and other non-Croats during the Bosnian War, it was located in Rodoc, just south of Mostar town, in Mostar...
- Keraterm campKeraterm campKeraterm camp was a concentration camp near the town of Prijedor in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War and genocide from 1992 to 1995. The camp was founded by the authorities of Republika Srpska and was used to collect and confine civilians of Bosniak and Bosnian Croat...
- Manjača campManjaca campManjača camp was a concentration camp on mountain Manjača near the city of Banja Luka in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Croatian War and Bosnian War from 1991 to 1995...
- Omarska campOmarska campOmarska camp was a concentration camp run by Bosnian Serb forces, in Omarska, a mining town near Prijedor in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, set up during the Prijedor massacre for Bosniak and Croat men and women. Functioning in the first months of the Bosnian War in 1992, it was one of 677...
- Trnopolje campTrnopolje campTrnopolje camp was a concentration camp established in the village of Trnopolje near the city of Prijedor in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first months of the Bosnian War.-History:...
- Vilina VlasVilina VlasVilina Vlas is a health spa that served as one of the main detention facilities where Bosniak prisoners were beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted during the Bosnian War, it is located about seven kilometers south-east of Višegrad, on the way to Gorazde....
- Vojno campVojno campVojno camp was a detention camp set up by the Croatian Defence Council from June 1993 to March 1994, to detain tens of thousands of Bosniaks in the Mostar municipality...