Željko Mejakić

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Željko Mejakić
Жељко Мејакић
Omarska concentration camp
Date apprehended
1 July 2003

Željko Mejakić (born 2 August 1964) is a convicted

Omarska concentration camp in Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War
.

Mejakić was born, raised and worked as a policeman in and around the town of Prijedor. In late May 1992 he was the commander of the police station at the town of

Bosnian Croats and others held in the camp through various forms of physical, mental and sexual violence. He had the authority and duty to improve the conditions of the camp which were brutal and degrading, but did not do so, resulting in an atmosphere of terror. While he was de facto commander of the camp, detainees were kept without the basic necessities of life such as adequate food, drinking water, medicines and medical care. They were also kept in unhygienic and cramped conditions, and subjected to interrogations, beatings, torture, harassment, humiliation and psychological abuse on a daily basis, living in constant fear of their lives. At least one hundred detainees were killed or died in the camp during his period as chief of security, including killings by guards over whom Mejakić had effective control, and deaths as a result of denial of medical care. Mejakić also participated directly and personally in beatings, and had effective control of guards who beat and sexually assaulted detainees. The camp was closed in late August following international outcry in the wake of a visit and reporting by British journalist Ed Vulliamy
.

Mejakić was

indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in February 1995. On 1 July 2003, he surrendered to the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro and was transferred into ICTY custody on 4 July. He made his first appearance before the court on 7 July, when he entered pleas of not guilty to all five counts under the indictment. On 7 April 2006, the ICTY appeals chamber decided to transfer the prosecution of Mejakić and his Omarska co-accused Momčilo Gruban, Dušan Fuštar and Dušan Knežević to the Court of BiH so that the men could be tried in the country where the alleged offences had occurred. On the same day, Peter Kidd
, the prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued an indictment charging Mejakić, Grubann, Fuštar and Knežević with crimes against humanity, which was confirmed a week later. All four accused pleaded not guilty on 28 July. On 20 December 2006 the trial began, but the court separated Fuštar from the case on 17 April 2008 as he wished to enter into a plea agreement. The trial of Mejakić, Gruban and Knežević continued and the court rendered its first instance verdict on 30 May 2008. It found all three guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced Mejakić to imprisonment for 21 years. On 16 July 2009, the appellate division of the Court of BiH confirmed Mejakić's sentence. On 25 January 2019, Mejakić was granted conditional release as he had served two-thirds of his sentence, including time served between his surrender and sentencing.

Early life and career

Željko Mejakić was born on 2 August 1964 in the village of Petrov Gaj near

SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, the son of Blagoje and Milka. He is of Bosnian Serb ethnicity. He graduated from the Secondary School for Internal Affairs, and prior to the Bosnian War was a married father of two working as a police officer as part of the Yugoslav Public Security Service, and was the commander of the police station in the town of Omarska in the Prijedor municipality.[1][2]

Omarska concentration camp

See also: 1992 ethnic cleansing of central Bosanska Krajina

In September 1991, as Yugoslavia continued to break up, several

Trnopolje concentration camp. All three camps were in the wider Prijedor municipality. Later in the summer, non-Serb community leaders who had not been rounded up initially were arrested, taken to the police station and beaten then sent to one of the camps.[3]

The Omarska camp was situated at the Ljubija mine. Preparations for its operation began around 27 May, and it was officially established on 31 May by

Bosnian Croats, with a few Bosnian Serbs held due to suspicions they had been collaborating with Bosnian Muslims.[5]

While held at the camp, detainees were kept in inhumane conditions and there was a pervasive atmosphere of extreme mental and physical violence. Intimidation, extortion, beatings, and torture were commonplace. Events that provided regular opportunities for abuse of detainees included the arrival of new detainees, interrogations, mealtimes and use of the toilet facilities. Outsiders entered the camp and were allowed to assault the detainees at random as they chose. Murder was common. Deliberate brutality and appalling conditions were integral to daily life in the camp. The majority of the detainees were held in the largest building at the mine, known as the "hangar", which had been built to house the heavy mine trucks and machinery. While the eastern part of the building was an open area, on the western side of the hangar were two floors with over 40 separate rooms. The three other buildings were the administration building which housed detainees on the ground floor, and on the first floor there were a series of rooms used for interrogations, the administration of the camp, and the female detainees' sleeping quarters. A small garage was attached. There were also two smaller buildings, the "white house" and the "red house". Between the hangar and administration building was an L-shaped 30 m (98 ft) concrete strip known as the "pista".[6] Detainees received an inadequate quantity of poor quality food that was often rotten or inedible, and most detainees lost 25–35 kg (55–77 lb) of body weight while held at the camp, and were often beaten while moving in or out of the eating area. They were also provided with an inadequate quantity of water.[7] Detainees were often beaten while moving to and from the inadequate toilet facilities and instead soiled themselves.[8] The conditions in the camp and the medical care provided were grossly inadequate.[9] Interrogations were carried out regularly and in an inhumane and cruel manner, and created an atmosphere of violence and terror.[10] Detainees held in the administration building, in the hangar, and on the pista, were repeatedly subjected to mental and physical violence.[11] Detainees were frequently beaten and murdered in and around the red house and white house.[12] Female detainees were subjected to various forms of sexual violence in the camp.[13]

On 7 August 1992, the British journalist Ed Vulliamy reported on the shocking conditions in the Omarska and Trnopolje camps, having visited them in the preceding days at the invitation of the president of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb proto-state, Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić.[14] The international outcry that arose from Vulliamy's reporting and photographs of emaciated detainees caused the Bosnian Serbs to close the Omarska camp soon after, although many of the detainees were just moved to other camps.[15]

Role and activities of Mejakić at Omarska camp

According to findings by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Court of BiH) during Mejakić's trial and appeal, for the period 28 May to 21 August 1992, Mejakić was the de facto commander of the Omarska camp and its chief of security. He supervised and was responsible for the three shifts of approximately 30 guards each in the camp and had effective control over the work and conduct of all guards and other people working at the Omarska camp, in addition to many of the visitors to the camp. He supervised and had full control over the conditions in the camp and the lives of more than 3,000 detainees held at the camp. He participated in arbitrarily depriving the detainees of their liberty and contributed to and advanced the operations of the camp involving ill-treating and persecuting Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats and others held in the camp through various forms of physical, mental and sexual violence. He had the authority and duty to improve the conditions of the camp which were brutal and degrading, resulting in an atmosphere of terror. Detainees in the camp were kept without the basic necessities of life such as adequate food, drinking water, medicines and medical care, and in unhygienic and cramped conditions, and subjected to interrogations, beatings, torture, harassment, humiliation and psychological abuse on a daily basis, living in constant fear of their lives. At least one hundred detainees were killed or died in the camp during his period as chief of security, including killings by guards over whom Mejakić had effective control, and deaths as a result of denial of medical care. Mejakić also participated directly and personally in beatings, and had effective control of guards who beat and sexually assaulted detainees.[16]

Indictment, surrender and transfer of case to Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 1993, the ICTY was established by the

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)-led multi-national peace enforcement operation known as the Implementation Force (IFOR). After a year during which the peace agreement between the former warring parties was successfully implemented, the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) took over on 20 December 1996.[20] On 8 May 1998, the ICTY prosecutor withdrew the charges against 11 of the 19 people indicted over the operation of the Omarska camp. As a result, the amended indictment included only Mejakić, Momčilo Gruban, Dušan Knežević, Miroslav Kvočka, Milojica Kos, Mlađo Radić, Zoran Žigić and Dragoljub Prcać. On 9 November 1998, the prosecutor was granted leave to withdraw Kvočka, Kos, Radić, and Žigić from the amended indictment and consolidated their charges under a single and separate indictment. This left Mejakić, Gruban and Knežević on the amended indictment.[21]

At this point Mejakić was still at large, but Gruban surrendered to the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro on 2 May 2002, and Knežević surrendered to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 May 2002. They were both then transferred to the custody of the ICTY. In September 2002, the original indictment was joined to another case regarding the Keraterm camp. The consolidated indictment added Predrag Banović and Dušan Fuštar as co-accused, both of whom were on the original 1995 indictment and already in ICTY custody. On 21 November 2002 a consolidated indictment filed on 5 July 2002 became the operative ICTY indictment against the five co-accused. In June 2003, Banović came to a plea agreement with the prosecution and was withdrawn from the operative indictment and dealt with separately. On 1 July 2003, Mejakić surrendered to the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro and was transferred into ICTY custody on 4 July. He made his first appearance before the court on 7 July 2003 when he entered pleas of not guilty to all charges against him.[21]

The operative indictment comprised the following counts against Mejakić:[22]

  • Count 1 – Persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, a crime against humanity
  • Count 2 – Murder, a crime against humanity
  • Count 3 – Murder, a violation of the laws or customs of war
  • Count 4 – Inhumane acts, a crime against humanity
  • Count 5 – Cruel treatment, a violation of the laws or customs of war

On 7 April 2006, the ICTY appeals chamber decided to transfer the prosecution of Mejakić, Gruban, Fuštar and Knežević to the Court of BiH, so that the men could be tried in the country where the alleged offences had occurred.[23] At these proceedings, Jovan Simić and Zoran Živanović were Mejakić's defence team.[21] From this point on, the ICTY monitored proceedings at the Court of BiH and received regular progress reports on the prosecution, sentencing and appeals.[24]

Trial, sentencing, appeal and release

On 7 July 2006, Peter Kidd, the prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued an indictment charging Mejakić, Grubann, Fuštar and Knežević with crimes against humanity. Mejakić was indicted for crimes against humanity, namely murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, other inhumane acts, and persecution.[1] and this was confirmed by the Court of BiH a week later. On 28 July 2006, all four accused pleaded not guilty.[25] The trial commenced on 20 December 2006, with Simić joined by Ranko Dakić to make up Mejakić's defence team.[26] The court separated Fuštar from the case on 17 April 2008 as he wished to enter into a plea agreement.[25] The trial of Mejakić, Gruban and Knežević continued, and the court rendered its first instance verdict on 30 May 2008. Mejakić was found guilty of crimes against humanity under article 172(1) of the criminal code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, other inhumane acts, and persecution, and was sentenced to imprisonment for 21 years. His co-defendants were also found guilty of crimes against humanity.[26][27] On 16 July 2009, the appellate division of the Court of BiH confirmed Mejakić's sentence.[28] On 25 January 2019, Mejakić was granted conditional release as he had served two-thirds of his sentence, including time served between his surrender and sentencing.[29]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Court of BiH Adapted Indictment 2008.
  2. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 96.
  3. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, pp. 5–6.
  4. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, pp. 6–7, 10.
  5. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 8.
  6. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 16.
  7. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, pp. 17–19.
  8. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 20.
  9. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 23.
  10. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 24.
  11. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, pp. 26–28.
  12. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 29.
  13. ^ Kvočka et al. Trial Judgement 2001, p. 33.
  14. ^ Vulliamy 1992.
  15. ^ Holocaust Memorial Day Trust 2025.
  16. ^ Court of BiH 1st Instance Verdict – Part 1 2008, pp. 2–5.
  17. ^ ICTY 2017.
  18. ^ Indictment 1995.
  19. ^ Indictment Review 1995.
  20. ^ NATO 2004.
  21. ^ a b c Mejakić et al.
  22. ^ Consolidated ICTY Indictment 2002.
  23. ^ Mejakić et al. Decision on Referral 2006.
  24. ^ Status of Transferred Cases 2025; Mejakić et al. Third Progress Report 2007; Mejakić et al. Fifth Progress Report 2007; Mejakić et al. Seventh Progress Report 2008; Mejakić et al. Ninth Progress Report 2008; Mejakić et al. Eleventh Progress Report 2009; Mejakić et al. Final Progress Report 2009
  25. ^ a b Prosecutor's Office Case Summary 2013.
  26. ^ a b Court of BiH 1st Instance Verdict – Part 1 2008.
  27. ^ Court of BiH 1st Instance Verdict – Part 2 2008.
  28. ^ Court of BiH 2nd Instance Verdict 2009.
  29. ^ Sorguc 2018.

References

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