Veselin Vlahović also known as "'Batko' or 'Smeće' " or the "Monster of Grbavica" (born in 1969) is a Montenegrin Serb former paramilitary who was convicted of committing murder, rape, illegal detention and torture against Bosniaks and Croats in the Grbavica neighbourhood of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.[1]
Criminal history
editIn Montenegro, Vlahović was imprisoned for three years for robbery and violence but escaped in 2001.[2] Shortly after escaping from prison, Vlahović shot a man to death in a bar in Serbia, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[3] He later lived in Spain on a Bulgarian passport[4] where Vlahović was wanted for three armed robberies in Alicante province.[5] On 2 March 2010, he was captured and later extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina.[3]
Trial
editVlahović pleaded not guilty to the 56 charges against him, which included "murder, enslavement, rape, illegal detention, physical and psychological abuse".[6] According to the prosecutor Vlahović "is indicted for the murders of 27 people, the rapes of 12, the disappearances of five persons and causing injuries to 41 victims" and that "the prosecution will call 105 witnesses".[7] On 29 March 2013, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison by the Bosnian justice system for war crimes committed during 1992-95 Bosnian conflict; he was found guilty of more than sixty crimes of crimes against humanity, including rape, murder and torturing Croat and Bosniak civilians.[4]
References
edit- ^ ""Monster of Grbavica" denies all war crimes charges". Southeast European Times. 25 March 2011.
- ^ "Montenegrin 'war criminal' Vlahovic arrested in Spain". BBC. 2 March 2010.
- ^ a b Zuvela, Maja (26 August 2010). "Spain to extradite to Bosnia a Serb genocide suspect". Reuters.
- ^ a b "Bosnia jails Serb Veselin Vlahovic for war crimes". BBC News. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
- ^ Goodman, Al (2 March 2010). "'Monster of Grbavica' held in Spain for Bosnian war crimes". CNN. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012.
- ^ "Montenegrin man pleads not guilty at Bosnian war crimes court". The Associated Press. 24 March 2011.[dead link]
- ^ "'Monster of Grbavica' denies Bosnia war crimes". AFP. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.