Human Rights Action (HRA) has urged the prosecutors’ offices in Serbia and Montenegro to take action against those who instigated and directly participated in the crimes in Štrpci. They also called for the commissions responsible for missing persons to actively seek the remains of all the victims.

On the 32nd anniversary of the tragic events in Štrpci, where uniformed individuals commanded by Milan Lukić forcibly removed 20 civilians from a train and subsequently murdered them, the HRA appealed to the missing persons commissions of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia to conduct a comprehensive search for the victims’ bodies in Lake Perućac.

Additionally, they have urged members of the Parliament of Montenegro to unanimously adopt amendments to the Law on Veterans’ and Disability Protection during today’s session. “These changes will systematically acknowledge all civilian victims of war and finally ensure their families in Montenegro receive social protection,” the HRA stated.

They clarified that families of soldiers who fell in the conflicts of the late 1990s have enjoyed these rights for 27 years.

“By passing this law, Montenegro would officially recognize the status of civilian victims of war for those killed in the Štrpci abduction, representing a significant step forward for humanity,” the HRA commented.

Conversely, they noted that Serbia has not come close to recognizing these victims, as it has “penalized” the victims of the abduction due to the fact that they did not perish on Serbian soil and were murdered by the Army of Republika Srpska, which Serbia considers an allied force.

“We also anticipate that the Government of Montenegro will honor the commitment made by Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care, and Demography, Damir Gutić, to compensate families of civilian war victims for the long-standing delays in legal recognition, thereby alleviating some of the injustices they have faced,” said the HRA.

They highlighted that a public opinion survey conducted by the NGO last year revealed that just over one-third of citizens (38.8 percent) are fully aware of the crime in Štrpci.

“It is crucial to incorporate this crime into educational history curriculums to ensure that future generations do not suffer as a result of their ethnic backgrounds,” stated the HRA.

On February 27, 1993, members of the Army of Republika Srpska halted a train on the Belgrade-Bar line at the Štrpci station in Bosnia and Herzegovina, forcibly removing 20 passengers. They robbed and murdered the individuals purely because they were non-Serbs, disposing of their bodies in the Drina River.

“Among the victims, the eldest was 59 years old, and the youngest was just 16. Of the twenty victims, eight hailed from Montenegro,” the HRA recalled.

So far, the remains of only four victims have been recovered: Halil Zupčević, Rasim Ćorić, Jusuf Rastoder, and Iljaz Ličina.

To date, ten individuals have been convicted for the Štrpci crime—one in Montenegro and nine in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the legal proceedings against Nebojša Ranisavljević in Montenegro, evidence confirmed that the abduction in Štrpci was orchestrated and executed with the complicity of high-ranking officials from Serbia’s civil, police, and military authorities during that time.

Documents introduced in the trial held in Bijelo Polje, compiled and published by the Humanitarian Law Center, suggest that both Ranisavljević and his commander, Milan Lukić, carried out the crimes under orders from higher authorities in the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, entailing cooperation with officials from Republika Srpska.

**”Up to now, no perpetrators or organizers of this crime have faced prosecution,”** emphasized the HRA.

They reminded that two years ago, they asked the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) to widen the investigation into the case to encompass additional perpetrators, organizers, and those who were aware of the abduction plans but took no measures to avert them.

“Following that request, the SDT initiated an investigation, which is still ongoing, and we expect tangible results from it,” the HRA commented.

They further noted that they provided the prosecution with the names of all individuals mentioned by Ranisavljević as participants in the operation: “Montenegrin”, “Drunk Slovenian”, Milan “Čačak”, Aco Šimšić, Željko Marjanović, Bogdan Šekarić, Vidaković, Tanović, Goran (of Roma descent), and Mitar “Četnik”.

A criminal report was filed against these individuals in 1998 by lawyers Dragan Prelević and Aleksandar Cvejić, who represented the families of the victims on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Center based in Belgrade.

They noted that Milan Lukić, the commander of the “Avengers,” was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hague Tribunal for his role in several other atrocities, including two mass killings where civilians were burned alive in their homes at different locations in Višegrad.

**“He has yet to stand trial for the abduction and murder of passengers from the train in Štrpci, despite being indicted for this crime by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019,”** asserted the HRA.

The NGO reminded the public that they have published selected testimonies about the abduction of train passengers in their book “Against Forgetfulness.”

This book features accounts from an individual who opposed the abduction of a friend, a relative of a kidnapped passenger who had communicated with Milan Lukić, a woman who witnessed the abduction of her spouse, as well as a train conductor and dispatcher from the Štrpci station.

At the conclusion of the book, HRA included a detailed statement from convicted perpetrator Nebojša Ranisavljević, who recounted how the crime was executed.

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