Account of an event · Sušica · June 1992 – September 1992
Sušica 1992: Women Taken from the Hangar and Sexual Violence for Which a Verdict Was Handed Down
In the summer of 1992, Serb forces held hundreds of Bosniak civilians, among them women, young girls and elderly women, in the Sušica camp near Vlasenica. The Hague Tribunal established that the camp commander Dragan Nikolić took detained women away, or helped in taking them away, knowing that they would be raped, and that he gave others access to them. Nikolić pleaded guilty, among other things to sexual violence, and was sentenced by a final judgment to 20 years in prison.
The Sušica Camp
On 31 May 1992, Serb forces established the Sušica camp near Vlasenica, in eastern Bosnia. The camp's hangar usually held between 300 and 500 detainees. There was no way out of the hangar. Among the detainees were women, including young girls and elderly women.
The camp commander from the beginning of June 1992 until its closure at the end of September 1992 was Dragan Nikolić. The camp guards were under his command.
Sexual Violence against Detained Women
According to the findings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Dragan Nikolić personally took detained women out of the camp, or helped in taking them out, knowing that they would be raped or sexually abused at places in the surrounding area. The Tribunal also established that Nikolić enabled and encouraged guards, soldiers and other persons to gain access to the detained women for the purpose of sexual violence.
The violence continued throughout the summer of 1992. According to one source, the abuse of detained women lasted from the beginning of June until about 15 September 1992. According to testimonies, the women were taken to nearby houses, to the "Panorama" hotel and to the military headquarters.
Survivors have testified about what the women went through in Sušica. One woman, who appears only under a protected pseudonym, testified that she was taken from the hangar several times. The survivor Habiba Hadžić has also spoken about the rapes of women in Sušica. Before the ICTY, a protected witness stated that guards in the camp raped her several times.
Šahija Berbić
According to testimony, Šahija Berbić from Vlasenica was last seen alive when Dragan Nikolić took her out of the hangar. Witness E. P., according to the same source, described how Nikolić took detainees out of the hangar. Her further fate has not been established in the available sources.
The Verdict
On 4 September 2003, Dragan Nikolić pleaded guilty before the ICTY to four counts of crimes against humanity: persecution, murder, sexual violence and torture. On 18 December 2003, the Trial Chamber sentenced him to 23 years in prison. On 4 February 2005, the Appeals Chamber reduced the sentence to 20 years. Nikolić was granted early release on 20 August 2013.