25.11.2024. » 13:09
#12 The Dubrava Prison Massacre – Testimony of a former prisoner on how they were ordered to load corpses onto trucks
At the hearing session in the trial of Gavrilo Milosavljević, accused of the massacre at Dubrava Prison, a witness gave his testimony. Milosavljević is accused that, in his official capacity at Dubrava Prison, he applied repressive measures individually and in co-perpetration, including killing, beating, mistreatment, torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment of Albanian civilian prisoners. On October 31, 2024, witness Skender Rracaj testified before the court.
He recounted that he arrived at Dubrava Prison in January 1999, was isolated in the C wing, and remained there until May 19, when NATO bombings began. The witness stated that on the morning of May 19, prisoners were ordered to gather in the yard. Once lined up, they were fired upon, resulting in multiple deaths. “On May 19 at 6:00 in the morning, we were called to gather in the yard, told that the conditions were no longer safe, and were instructed to line up near a guard post in the direction of the Istog mountains for a headcount. As lined up to the post, shooting began from all directions, killing 168 people. Shots were fired from all sites, including came from outside the prison walls,” stated Rracaj. “After that, we retreated. I was wounded in my left leg, and we sought shelter in nearby buildings... from that day and until May 24, the killings and mistreatment never stopped,” Rracaj continued.
Rracaj testified that the shots came from the direction of the guard post, where Gavrilo Milosavljević, the accused, was sitauted. “There were many people there, including the defendant, who was standing to the left of the guard post, firing an automatic rifle and throwing grenades at us,” said Rracaj. When asked by prosecutor Ilir Morina if he had seen Milosavljević before the incident, Rracaj replied: “I saw Gavrilo from the day I arrived in January, I don’t remember if it was January 16, exactly, I didn’t see him directly, but I remember seeing him arriving at the C wing with his group, where he mistreated and beat our fellow prisoners.” The witness further stated that he had seen Milosavljević three times: once before the NATO bombings, a second time at the guard post, and a third time on May 24 when prisoners were forced to load corpses.
“Buses and trucks arrived at the prison entrance, and we were ordered outside. There, we met the accused and his friends, and the bodies of those killed were piled at the prison exit. The defendant and his associates forced us to load the trucks. Once we finished, we were forced onto buses in groups of 10-15,” said Rracaj. When asked how many corpses there were, he replied: “I don’t remember exactly—there were about 20 in one spot, but there were many places with bodies... the entire prison was filled with dead bodies... I recognized Gavrilo; the others were masked.” Rracaj said that they were ordered in Serbian to load the corpses onto the trucks.
“They told us we were the only ones left in Kosovo, that everyone else had been sent to Albania or Macedonia, and they would ‘finish us soon’… then they put us on buses, took us toward Istog, stopped at the ‘Bajram Curri’ school, tortured us physically for hours, and finally took us in the direction of Lipjan,” Rracaj recounted. He said that he saw Gavrilo on the day of the executions on the sports field, shooting at the prisoners. He also recalled that Milosavljević’s nickname in the prison was “Gagi.” He also said that he remembered hearing the order to fire in Serbian on the morning of May 19: “Palite iz svog naoružanja koje imate” – "Fire with all weapons at your disposal,” Rracaj added.
After questioned by the prosecutor, Milosavljević’s defense attorney, Dejan Vasić, requested an adjournment, claiming they were unprepared to question witness Skender Rracaj. He claimed they were unaware he would testify on this hearing, and proposed an agjournment. The court accepted this request, and the session was adjourned. Other hearings related to this case are scheduled for later dates. This criminal case is presided over by Vesel Ismajli, with members Arben Hoti and Kujtim Krasniqi.
The indictment against Gavrilo Milosavljević was filed on November 29, 2023, and the initial hearing took place on December 7, 2023. During the initial hearing, after the indictment was read, Milosavljević stated that he understood the charges but pleaded not guilty.
What does the prosecution file say?
According to the Prosecution's file, during the 1998-1999 period amid the Kosovo War, the defendant Gavrilo Milosavljević, in his official capacity at Dubrava Prison and in co-perpetration, applied repressive measures of killing, beating, mistreatment, torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment against Albanian civilian prisoners.
According to the indictment, Gavrilo Milosavljević, in cooperation with Serbian police units, committed the mass killing of Albanian prisoners, where on the day of the incident, they ordered 1,000 prisoners into the prison yard, known as the “sports field,” under the pretext of doing a headcount and relocating them to a safer place to protect them from NATO bombings. After lining up the prisoners, Serbian police units opened fire with various weapons, including “Kalashnikov” rifles, machine guns, mortars, as well as with grenades from behind the prison wall. This killing operation, which began on May 22, 1999, and lasted until May 24, 1999, resulted in 109 prisoners killed and 108 wounded. Additionally, the indictment states that Milosavljević, along with other Serbian military officials, visited the “B” and “C” wings of Dubrava Prison almost daily, cruelly and inhumanely beating, insulting, and physically and mentally mistreating Albanian civilian prisoners solely due to their ethnicity.
For these actions, the defendant Gavrilo Milosavljević is charged with the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population. Former senior political and military leaders of the remaining Yugoslavia and Serbia were tried and even convicted for the massacres, other war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo. Former President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević, was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Serbian and Yugoslav forces in Kosovo. Milošević was also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. His trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), based in The Hague, did not conclude, as Milošević died on March 11, 2006, in his cell while in detention. Milan Milutinović, former President of Serbia, was acquitted of war crime charges related to the Kosovo conflict. Nikola Šainović, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. Dragoljub Ojdanić, former Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 15 years for crimes against humanity. Nebojša Pavković, former Commander of the Third Army of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 22 years for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.
Vladimir Lazarević, former Commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 14 years for crimes against humanity. Sreten Lukić, former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia’s Kosovo staff, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.
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