It has been three decades since members of the Serbian Volunteer Guard, led by Zeljko Raznatovic-Arkan, committed the most monstrous crimes in the Bijeljina area, killing dozens of innocent civilians in just a few days.
Their criminal act was immortalized in the photographs by the United States (U.S.) photographer Ron Haviv, and despite the fact that the faces of the criminals are clearly visible, the investigation of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office is being conducted against unidentified persons.
Thirty years have passed since the monstrous crimes, and seven years since the criminal report of Alma Peckovic, submitted to the Belgrade Prosecutor’s Office, in which father Redzep, mother Tifa, and brother Admir Sabanovic were killed in Bijeljina. The photo in which Arkan‘s man hits the dead Tifa Sabanovic in the head has traveled the world and even though the faces of the criminals are clearly visible, there are no indictments.
”Ron Haviv is the crown witness. He testified in Sarajevo based on questions from Belgrade. Haviv has also started making a documentary… Names have been mentioned in the media before. I heard that Srdjan got married, that the other man in the photo works in the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia. Until the regime in Serbia changes, I do not believe that this case will be closed. They have statements from former war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, they have photos of Ron Haviv, but everything remains in the drawer, ” stressed Sead Peckovic, husband of Alma Peckovic, in an interview for agency Fena.
The legal representative of the Peckovic family is the lawyer Marina A. Kljajic, who told that the case is still under investigation.
”The investigation is still ongoing, I don’t know if there will be any accusations in the next period. As a proxy, I am not satisfied with the speed with which all this is being done, and the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office had to deal with this case far more seriously. It is obvious what we all know, that these are members of the Serbian Volunteer Guard and none of their members havebeen prosecuted before the judiciary in Serbia so far, although the number of crimes they have committed in Bijeljina has long been known, ” mentioned lawyer Marina A. Kljajic.
In the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office of Serbia, headed by Snezana Stanojkovic, the case of crimes in Bijeljina is no longer being handled by Milan Petrovic, but by Ognjen Djukic. The Prosecutor’s Office stated that the Chief Prosecutor answers questions only in writing. It was stated earlier that the Criminal Report of Alma Peckovic is registered under number KTN1/15.
Namely, Srdjan Golubovic, a certain DJ Max, and a person with the nickname Bokser were previously identified in the photo of Ron Haviv. But, despite all the evidence, the investigation is ongoing, and the criminals are free.
