Kazani is the name of a pit located on Trebević near Sarajevo, and became known to the public after the murders of citizens in 1992 and 1993 by members of the 10th Mountain Brigade of the ARB&H under the command of Mušan Topalović Caco. The number of Sarajevo’s citizens killed at Kazani has never been officially determined, and today, more than three decades later, it is the subject of numerous controversies. The location itself is quite mysterious because it has not been sufficiently explored due to its inaccessibility, and it is often said in public that Kazani was never completely excavated because the victims were thrown into the pit, sprinkled with calx, and that therefore there are several layers that have not been completely excavated. In addition, at the locations of Gaj and Grm maline in November 1993, the remains of people who are also considered to be Caco’s victims were exhumed.
The trials for the Kazani murders were conducted before several domestic courts, and the final outcomes did not lead to anyone being convicted of war crimes. The case against Samir Bejtić, a former member of the 10th Mountain Brigade of the ARB&H, who was tried on several occasions for the Kazani massacre, received the most public attention. Bejtić is the only one who was also tried for a war crime, in the case of the murder of Zoran Vučurović in December 1992. The Supreme Court of the FB&H has each time overturned the verdicts of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo and pointed to significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure. The final outcome of this process occurred in 2023, when the Supreme Court issued a verdict acquitting Samir Bejtić for the Kazani murders.
On the occasion of the 32nd anniversary, the Association for Social Research and Communication (UDIK) has published “Kazani: Trials, (Re)Exhumations, Memorialization”. In two editions (2016 and 2020), UDIK documented the verdicts related to the Kazani massacre. This third edition is largely revised compared to the previous ones, as it brings the verdicts against Samir Bejtić pronounced in 2021 before the Cantonal Court and in 2023 before the Supreme Court. In addition to the verdicts, the book also includes a chapter on the (re)exhumations of victims with official data from the Institute for Missing Persons of B&H. The book also includes a selection of stories by Edvin Kanka Ćudić published in the media in previous years, which were an important part of the campaign to preserve the memory of the Kazani victims.
Since 2022, UDIK has been publishing an obituary in the daily Oslobođenje every year on the anniversary in October. The text on the obituary is an example of what the contents of the memorial plaque on Trebević, erected by the city authorities in 2021, should have looked like.
Also, on the occasion of the anniversary, UDIK and partners are organizing a round table and promotion of UDIK’s new publication today at 4:00 PM at the Goethe Institute in Sarajevo, with an introductory lecture by historian and journalist Bert Hoppe.
