The Rapist from Vilina Vlas

The Vilina Vlas Spa motel was a site of mass rape of Bosniak girls and women during the Visegrad Genocide. This was confirmed during the Zeljko Lelek case.

Image: Zeljko Lelek-The Rapist from Vilina Vlas

Zeljko Lelek Second Instance Judgement:

69. That the witness was at the Vilina Vlas Spa and that she was raped there bythe Accused, among others, is supported by what she said about other Muslimwomen being there, subjected to the same tortures. First of all, the witness D,as well as a certain Jasmina, of whom the witness said, “…Jasmina looked miserable, she was in a corner… and he (meaning the Accused ) approached Jasmina“, she heard later that Jasmina jumped off the window. The defence witness Petar Mitrović also confirmed these allegations when he says that hewent to the Spa together with the Accused and that they found out there thattheir Bosniak neighbours were killed, and that Jasmina Ahmetspahić jumpedoff the window. This witness actually connected the Accused with the timeand place of the acts under this Count of the Indictment.

70. On the basis of the testimony of the witness M.H. the Trial Judgement (pp.40-43.) reasoned its conclusion very clearly and precisely that the acts of the Accused constitute the elements of the criminal offence of rape outlawed byArt. 172(1)(g) CC BiH, and that this rape constitutes the act of torture as well. This is because the witness was brought to the Vilina Vlas Spa to besadistically abused by the perpetrators only because she belongs to a particularethnic group and for illicit discriminatory purposes. Before this instance ofrape she was sexually abused on multiple occasions and the Accused raped herwhile she was in such physical and mental pain, despite her obvious suffering,and this was all done to severely humiliate her and degrade her dignity.

Today Vilina Vlas is still a motel visited by local and foreign tourists. It is estimated that more than a hundred Bosniak girls and women were in Vilina Vlas. Only a few managed to survive.

Institutionalisation of Genocide

♦What is Visegrad Genocide?

The Višegrad genocide was an act of ethnic cleansing and mass murder of Bosniak civilians that occurred in the town of Višegrad in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, committed by Bosnian Serb Army and Police forces at the start of the Bosnian War during the spring of 1992. Over a period of four months, Bosniaks were murdered, tortured, raped and publicly humiliated on a daily basis in Visegrad’s streets, in the victim homes and in concentration camps.

Here are several confirmation notes given by Visegrad Municipality authorities to Bosniaks in 1992. This include: confiscating legally own weapons, travel permits and a signed oath of loyalty.

Image: A confirmation note issued to a Bosniak by Sluzba Javne Bezbjednosti – Public Security Station; a official security authority in Bosnian towns.  This note signed by war criminal Zeljko Lelek confirms that on 21.04.1992, Zeljko Lelek “temporary” confiscated a legally own weapon(a hunting rifle) from this Bosniak.

Image: A travel permit issued to a Bosniak by the Sluzba Javne Bezbjednosti(SJB) and signed by its Chief Risto Perisic. Permit was issued for business reasons on 22.05.1992. Bosniaks could not enter or leave without Visegrad authorities permission.

Image: A signed oath of loyalty to the “Serb Municipality of Visegrad” whereas the undersigned shall respect all decisions and orders from the “Serb Municipality of Visegrad”; the “War Presidency of the Serb Municipality of Visegrad” and all other organs. The oath of loyalty was given purpose of security of the undersigned and his/her family. This statement was signed by a Bosniak civilian and by Miladin Milicevic, a member of the Visegrad War Presidency. Several dozen Bosniak families were forced or tricked into signing this “oath of loyalty”. In this family specifically, only one person managed to survive.

Read more on Visegrad Genocide:

+ Visegrad SDS Crisis Committee

+ What is Visegrad Genocide?

+ Mehmed-pasa Sokolovic Bridge: A Monument to Genocide

+ Eliticide in Visegrad

+ Destruction of Mosques in Visegrad Municipality

Visegrad Genocide Denial

This examination of the denial of genocide at Visegrad looks at three specific examples: a documentary  called ”Na Drini Grobnica”(”Grave on the river Drina”), the works of Momir Krsmanovic, a Serb writer from Visegrad, and the Visegrad report of the Committee for Collecting Data on Crimes Committed Against Humanity and International Law.

1.”Na Drini Grobnica”  is a documentary produced by the so-called Concentration Camp Survivors from Republika Srpska organization (”Saveza logoraša Republike Srpske”), featuring the organisation’s Visegrad section (”Regionalnog udruženja logoraša iz Višegrada”).  It was produced in 2007 and since then has been repeatedly aired on Republika Srpska TV as well as being available online. One of the people who worked on this ‘documentary’ was Slavko Heleta, a journalist in Visegrad. In addition to making this documentary, they have also organized two conferences on ”Crimes committed against Serbs in Upper Podrinje”.  The organization is very close to the SNSD (Alliance of Independent Social Democrats), the party of Republika Srpska Prime Minister and genocide denier Milorad Dodik. The organization’s former vice-president Slavko Jovicic Slavuj, now a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina  Parliament, voted along with all the other Serb representatives in the BH Parliament against proposed legislation that would outlaw Holocaust and Genocide denial. The proposed legislation was based on the EU Framework Decision on Combating Racism and Xenophobia.

The RS government funds the activities of this organization and has recently given 50,000 Euro to enable it to sue the Federation of B&H.

Image: Momir Krsmanovic

2. Momir Krsmanovic, is a notorious Serb author from Visegrad. He wrote the popular novel ”’Even God wept over Eastern Bosnia” (”I Bog je zaplakao nad Istocnom Bosnom”) which deals with ”crimes against the Serb people in Eastern Bosnia”. According to his offical website (http://www.momir-krsmanovic.com/), Momir Krsmanovic was a survivor of Ustasa crimes committed at Sjemec near Visegrad in 1941. He survived these atrocities because ”Almigthy looked after him”. He boasts that he was able to write ”Even God wept over Eastern Bosnia” in a monastery on Mount Ozren thanks to Vasilija Kacavenda, the infamous Bishop of Zvornik who was very close to Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. Kacavenda built his own residence on confiscated Bosniak property in Zvornik and is notorious for refusing to remove the Church built on the property of Nana Fata (”Granny Fata”) near Srebrenica.

Krsmanovic publicly brags about his close connections with the Orthodox Church (see here). His book is written as a historical novel, supposedly based on eye-witness accounts. It makes no mention of Serb crimes, instead Krsmanovic describes Bosniaks slaughtering Serbs and dumping them in the Drina river, rapes by Bosniaks etc. The novel is fascist propaganda aimed at young Serbs in Eastern Bosnia, like the film ”Pretty Village, Pretty Flame”.  Krsmanovic is also the author of ”The Blood-Stained Hands of Islam”, ”The Bloody Drina Flows” etc.

Image: Abdullah Kahriman, Bosnian Army soldier, giving a taped forced confession to Visegrad Serb authorities. He has been missing ever since.

3. The Committee for Collecting Data on Crimes Committed Against Humanity and International Law was formed during the war with the primary aim of spreading propaganda about crimes committed against Serbs in Bosnia. The committee produced a report on every town, especially Visegrad. These reports were used by Slobodan Milosevic’s defense at The Hague and can be found online. The committee gathered information from the courts in Visegrad. Two names recur: Judge Radmila Radisavljevic (later Zeljko Lelek’s defense lawyer) and Prosecutor Lazar Drasko (later a defense witness for Milan Lukic in the Sjeverin trial). Drasko is still a prosecutor in the Bosnian Federal courts and the authorities have ignored victims’ calls for his suspension. Radisaljevic is working as a lawyer in Visegrad. It is important to note that neither comes from Visegrad – Drasko is from Capljina and Radisaljevic from Zenica. Victims have repeatedly called for the criminal prosecution of both, but the authorities have ignored those calls. The most infamous case involving these two is that of Abdullah Kahriman, a Bosnian Army soldier captured by the Bosnian Serb Army near Visegrad. Kahriman escaped from Visegrad in ’92 and joined the resistance. He was captured, interrogated by the Visegrad authorities, tortured and forced to confess to war crimes. His forced confession is used by the Committee and also used in the propagandist documentary ”Grave on the River Drina”. His whereabouts are unknown.  He was last seen in Visegrad, in the custody of the court authorities. He was probably murdered.

The Committee’s Visegrad report makes ludicrous and unbelievable accusations. Here is one example:  “The Muslims publicly displayed their chauvinistic feelings and emphasised their religious affiliation by wearing green clothes, brandishing Muslim flags and other religious emblems.”

(Source: Committee for Collecting Data)

These are the three sources of information concerning Visegrad or Eastern Bosnia to be found on Serb websites.  More recent evidence of genocide denial by Visegrad Serbs can be found in comments in Internet forums, Facebook discussion groups etc.: ”What happened, happened! Let’s look towards the future”, ”The war ended 15 years ago. Don’t talk about it!”, ”I really don’t know why you people left, you are welcome to return any time”, ”We all committed crimes, now let’s not talk about it”.

Image: Bosnian Serb soldier harrasing an unidentified  Bosniak elder, Visegrad 1992.

There is another aspect of denial that particularly concerns Visegrad – the Lukicization of war crimes. This is the tendency to place the blame for every war crime committed in Visegrad on Milan Lukic. It seems now that Lukic himself ordered and executed every crime committed in Visegrad. But don’t forget, Milan Lukic was a member of the Visegrad Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army. This is an established fact, mentioned at the Sjeverin trial and confirmed by Branimir Savovic (SDS President) and Luka Dragicevic (Commander of the Visegrad Brigade). Lukic had a superior. He received orders and he obeyed orders. There is a chain of responsibility behind the commission of these crimes.

And finally, last but not least, it is worth repeating that the main role in the Visegrad genocide was played by the Crisis Committee in the Visegrad Municipality.

Slap memorial for Visegrad genocide victims

Image: Slap near Zepa were bodies of genocide victims from Visegrad were retrieved and buried by local Bosniaks. In 1992 Bosniaks in Visegrad were murdered on the Mehmed-pasa Sokolovic Bridge and on the New Bridge. Their bodies dumped into the Drina river. Read more here.

Image: Slap near Zepa were bodies of genocide victims from Visegrad were retrieved and buried by local Bosniaks. In 1992 Bosniaks in Visegrad were murdered on the Mehmed-pasa Sokolovic Bridge and on the New Bridge. Their bodies dumped into the Drina river. Read more here.

Image: The Drina river, the largest gravesite of Bosniaks from Eastern Bosnia.

Image: Slap near Zepa were bodies of genocide victims from Visegrad were retrieved and buried by local Bosniaks. In 1992 Bosniaks in Visegrad were murdered on the Mehmed-pasa Sokolovic Bridge and on the New Bridge. Their bodies dumped into the Drina river. Read more here.

Image: Slap near Zepa were bodies of genocide victims from Visegrad were retrieved and buried by local Bosniaks. In 1992 Bosniaks in Visegrad were murdered on the Mehmed-pasa Sokolovic Bridge and on the New Bridge. Their bodies dumped into the Drina river. Read more here.

Image: Slap memorial for Visegrad genocide victims.

Note: We thank Mevludin Agic for allowing us to use these pictures.

Video of Slap exhumation:

Visegrad’s mass murderers: Zeljko Lelek

Željko Lelek, born on 9 February 1962 in Goražde.

The Accused has been in custody since 5 May 2006. The indictment was confirmed on 20 November 2006. On 23 May 2008 The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) handed down first-instance verdict in the Željko Lelek case finding the Accused Željko Lelek guilty of criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity and sentenced him to 13 years of imprisonment.

Factual allegations in the indictment:

The Accused is charged with committing, inter alia, murders, torture, and rape in the area of the Višegrad Municipality in the period between April and June 1992, during which time he held the position of a police officer. According to the indictment, the alleged crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack by the Serb army, police and paramilitary formations aimed against the Bosniak civilian population of the Višegrad Municipality.

According to the indictment, in early May 1992, the Accused, Milan Lukić and Oliver Krsmanović brought five Bosniak men to the bank of the Drina river where they beheaded two men and shoot the other three using riffles.

The indictment further alleges that, together with two other individuals, the Accused drove two Bosniak women to the Mehmed paša Sokolović Bridge in early June 1992. One of the women allegedly carried a baby who was under the age of six months. According to the indictment, Vlatko Pecikoza threw the baby into the air, while the Accused stabbed it as it fell, and then forced the mother to drink its blood. Following this, the Accused allegedly slaughtered both women.

According to the indictment, during the same period, together with Milan Lukić, the Accused raped a female person, who had been stripped naked and tied to the metal bed frame by an unidentified soldier, on orders from Milan Lukić. Lelek and Lukić allegedly abused the woman physically by putting out cigarettes on her body, stabbing her with a knife and cutting her in the genital area, while subjecting her to psychological abuse. The indictment further alleges that the Accused and others raped this person on daily basis over a period of ten days during which she was held captive. During the month of June 1992, the Accused allegedly raped several other women who were held in unlawful captivity.

According to the indictment, in the spring of 1992 at Sase, the Accused, together with four other individuals, forced four Bosniak men to step into the Drina river up to their waists, and then killed them by shooting at them from automatic riffles. The men had allegedly been brought to this location from the Vilina vlas health resort, where they had been held captive.

The indictment also alleges, that the Accused, together with other members of the Serb army and police, participated in the unlawful detention and physical and mental abuse of Bosniak civilians in the Višegrad Police Station in May 1992.

Counts of the indictment:

Željko Lelek is charged with the criminal offence of Crimes against humanity pursuant to Article 172.(1)(h) of the Criminal Code of BiH (CC BiH), in conjunction with the following items:

· Depriving another person of his life (murder)

· Forcible transfer of population

· Imprisonment

· Torture

· Coercing another by force or by threat of immediate attack upon his life or limb, to sexual intercourse or an equivalent sexual act (rape)

· Enforced disappearance of persons

· Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or to physical or mental health,

all in conjunction with articles 29 (accomplices) and 180 (1) (individual criminal responsibility) of the CC BiH.

Course of the proceedings:

The indictment was confirmed on 20 November 2006. On 5 December 2006 the Accused pleaded not guilty to all counts of the indictment. The trial started on 2 March 2007. On 23 May 2008 The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) handed down first-instance verdict in the Željko Lelek case finding the Accused Željko Lelek guilty of criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity and sentenced him to 13 years of imprisonment.