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22/12/2024PROTEST AGAINST THE DENIAL OF WAR CRIMES COMMITTED IN LORA

Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past from Zagreb, the Center for Peace, Nonviolence, and Human Rights from Osijek, and the Human Rights Action from Podgorica are protesting the fact that during the recent commemoration of the anniversary of the founding of the 72nd Military Police Battalion of the Croatian Army in Split, the film “Truth” was shown, once again ignoring the judicially established facts of the war crimes committed at the Military Investigative Center Lora.
To speak about Lora after three decades and claim that no war crime took place there primarily constitutes a denial of the rule of law, which, one would hope, all citizens of the Republic of Croatia, including individuals mentioned in the film, support and advocate. It calls into question the work of the police and the state prosecutor’s office, who completed the investigation, as well as the competent judicial authorities of the Republic of Croatia – primarily the County Court in Split, the High Criminal Court in Zagreb, and the Supreme Court of Croatia, which lawfully, impartially, and professionally determined the victims of the committed war crimes, the perpetrators, as well as the time and place of the criminal acts.
The claim that no war crime occurred is directly contrary to the facts established by the judicial institutions of the Republic of Croatia. To remind the public, two cases were conducted before the County Court in Split – “Lora 1” and “Lora 2.” The first case concerned the war crime against civilians under Article 120, Paragraph 1 of the Croatian Criminal Code, and the second concerned the war crime against prisoners of war under Article 122 of the Croatian Criminal Code. In both criminal proceedings, the accused were found guilty and sentenced to unconditional prison sentences.
Survivors testified about “Block C” of the Lora prison and the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war by guards and civilians who entered the prison. They testified about connecting prisoners to an induction phone, beating, pouring cold water on them, and extinguishing cigarette butts on their forearms. These actions are difficult to describe as “abuse of authority.”
During the criminal proceedings for the aforementioned crimes, judicial-medical experts gave testimonies, and medical documentation was reviewed, which outlined the injuries, the mechanisms of their occurrence, and the causes of death of two civilians and prisoners of war. The perpetrators were convicted for the illegal detention of 12 civilians, mostly of Serbian nationality, due to suspicion that they were involved in hostile activities against the Republic of Croatia. During this, their human dignity was insulted, they were humiliated, physically and psychologically abused, tortured, and corporally punished. As a result of the abuse, Gojko Bulović and Nenad Knežević died.
The second criminal case was conducted against five defendants for the war crime against prisoners of war under Article 122 of the Croatian Criminal Code. They were charged with humiliation, physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, torture, and corporal punishment of 37 prisoners of war. As a result of the abuse, three prisoners of war died: Bojan Vesić, Dušan Jelić, and Vlado Savić. In this case as well, the accused were found guilty and sentenced to unconditional prison sentences.
Commanders of the Military Police were orally and in writing informed about the problems in the treatment of prisoners by certain guards and military police officers, whether civilians or prisoners of war, and according to the testimony of one of the witnesses, even the President of the Republic of Croatia.
Once again, there is an attempt to obscure the truth that has been established and which is part of the history of the Republic of Croatia, whether some like it or not.
Of additional concern is the possibility of pardons for the final convictions of the perpetrators of these war crimes by the President of the Republic of Croatia. Such actions would represent a new disgraceful phase in the heroization of perpetrators, especially problematic since, in 2016, a monument was build in front of Lora dedicated to all members of the 72nd Battalion, including convicted individuals.
This would cause significant harm to the judiciary of the Republic of Croatia. It could also seriously affect the long-awaited investigation into unprosecuted crimes committed against members of the so-called “Nikšić-Šavnik Group” from Montenegro, which the State Prosecutor’s Office in Split has failed to conduct for years without legal grounds or justification.
Furthermore, the assertion that the state, and thus taxpayers, should take responsibility for damages and compensate the families of those killed at the Military Investigative Center Lora is more than legally and lawfully unfounded. Why should the taxpayers of the Republic of Croatia be obliged to settle the debts of the perpetrators of the crimes? The crimes were certainly not committed on behalf of the citizens of Croatia, nor can they be justified in this way. This is just cheap politicking and pandering to the veterans’ population. It is particularly concerning that the decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia to write off claims for the costs of civil proceedings awarded to the Republic of Croatia for compensation of damages and other claims awarded to the Republic of Croatia in certain cases (adopted on December 28, 2023) has been applied. By this decision, among other things, the convicted perpetrators of war crimes have been freed from the burden of liability for damages to victims and their families.