Today marks the anniversary of the abduction of sixteen Bosniak civilians from Sjeverin (Priboj, Serbia).
On October 22, 1992, members of the Serbian military formation Avengers, commanded by Milan Lukić, kidnapped sixteen passengers from Rudo-Priboj bus in the Bosnian village of Mioče near Višegrad. Fifteen men and one woman were taken by truck to the hotel Vilina Vlas in Višegrad, where they were killed after severe physical abuse, and their bodies were thrown into the Drina River, is stated in the press release by Association for Social Research and Communications (UDIK) – Sarajevo, Center for Democracy and Transitional Justice (CDTP) – Banja Luka and Women’s Voice – Priboj.
In 2005, the Belgrade District Court sentenced Milan Lukić, Oliver Krsmanović and Dragutin Dragićević to twenty years in prison each, and Đorđe Šević to fifteen years in prison, for the murders of civilians from Sjeverin. Together with five other persons, they tortured, violated bodily integrity and killed civilians in the morning hours of October 22, 1992.
The night before this event, Sabahudin Ćatović was abducted in front of the family house. He has been missing since then. All victims were citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. So far, the remains of only one victim (Medredin Hodžić) have been found, while the others are still missing.
Although they were abducted and killed on the territory of another state, Serbia has a moral obligation to recognize the status of civilian victims of war and thereby show them the respect they deserve. More active work by responsible institutions to find missing civilians and financial compensation for the victims’ families would show that the state and society understand their pain and suffering.
On this occasion, we remember the victims of the Sjeverin massacre: Alija Mandal, Derviš Softić, Esad Džihić, Idriz Gibović, Hajrudin Sajtarević, Medredin Hodžić, Mehmed Šebo, Medo Hodžić, Mevlida Koldžić, Mithat Softić, Mujo Alihodžić, Mustafa Bajramović, Ramahudin Ćatović, Ramiz Begović, Sabahudin Ćatović, Sead Pecikoza and Zafer Hadžić.
