Account of an event · Vilina Vlas · 1992
Jasmina Ahmetspahić: Death Rather Than Humiliation at Vilina Vlas
Jasmina Ahmetspahić, a young woman from Višegrad, was taken in 1992 from her parents' house to the Vilina Vlas hotel, which Serb forces had turned into a camp for women and girls. There she was subjected to sexual violence and died after jumping from a window of the hotel. Her remains were found only in 2010, at the bottom of the drained Lake Perućac.
Where and when
Vilina Vlas
- Date
- 1992
- Place
- Vilina Vlas, Višegrad
- Coordinates
- 43.82° N · 19.31° E
Vilina Vlas in 1992
In the spring of 1992, Serb forces turned the spa hotel Vilina Vlas near Višegrad into a camp to which women and girls were brought, where they were raped and abused. According to testimonies cited by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Vilina Vlas served as the headquarters of the paramilitary group of Milan Lukić, also known as the "White Eagles" or the "Avengers". In its 1994 report, the United Nations Commission estimated that about 200 women were raped at Vilina Vlas in 1992; some of them were killed, and some took their own lives.
Taken from her parents' house
Jasmina Ahmetspahić was taken from her parents' house in Višegrad. According to testimonies cited by the portal genocid.ba, Milan Lukić took her from the house and drove her to Vilina Vlas. According to the same portal, her father Mehmed searched for her all day throughout Višegrad but was unable to help her.
At Vilina Vlas, Jasmina was subjected to sexual violence.
Death
Jasmina Ahmetspahić died in 1992, when she jumped from a window of the Vilina Vlas hotel. The exact date of her being taken away and of her death is not known. According to Radio Free Europe, she was 24 years old. The author of the text on the portal genocid.ba described her act with the words: "Jasmina chose death rather than humiliation and torture."
Testimonies before the Court of BiH
Her death was confirmed by witnesses in the proceedings against the Višegrad police officer Željko Lelek before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the verdict, defense witness Petar Mitrović stated that he went to the spa with Lelek and learned there that Jasmina had jumped from a window. The court assessed his statement as one that links the accused to the place and time of the offense.
On 23 May 2008, the Court of BiH found Željko Lelek guilty at first instance and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. On 12 January 2009, the Appellate Panel of the Court of BiH modified the verdict and sentenced him to 16 years in prison for crimes against humanity in Višegrad; one of the counts concerned the rape of witness M. H. at Vilina Vlas.
Milan Lukić was finally convicted before the ICTY and sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes in Višegrad, but he was never indicted for the crimes at Vilina Vlas.
Discovery of the remains
In 2010, during works at the Perućac hydroelectric power plant, when the lake on the Drina was drained, investigators found the remains of Jasmina Ahmetspahić at its bottom. She is one of the few victims of Vilina Vlas whose body has been found and identified.
Vilina Vlas today
To this day there is no memorial plaque on the building of Vilina Vlas, and the hotel continues to receive tourists.