Account of an event · Čelopek · May 29, 1992 – July 1, 1992
The Camp in the Dom kulture in Čelopek and the Vidovdan Massacre of 1992
From the end of May to the beginning of July 1992, Bosniak men from Divič were detained in the Dom kulture in Čelopek near Zvornik, where they were subjected to torture, humiliation and killings. On Vidovdan 1992, Dušan Vučković "Repić", a member of the Žute ose unit, opened fire on the detainees and killed several of them. Only a few people have been finally convicted for the crimes in Čelopek, while the commander of the Žute ose was never convicted for Čelopek.
Where and when
Čelopek
- Date
- May 29, 1992 – July 1, 1992
- Coordinates
- 44.44° N · 19.12° E
The Žute ose and the Detention of Men from Divič
On 12 April 1992, the Žute ose unit, also known as the "Igor Marković" unit, was established in Zvornik. It operated under the auspices of the Teritorijalna odbrana and the SDS, and was commanded by Vojin Vučković "Žućo". Only some of its members had ties to the Srpska radikalna stranka.
After the takeover of Zvornik, on 29 May 1992 Bosniak men from Divič were transported to the Dom kulture in Čelopek. According to different sources, there were 162, 163 or about 180 of them. The Dom kulture was turned into a place of detention in which the prisoners were completely at the mercy of their guards.
Torture and Humiliation
During June 1992, the prisoners were forced to sing Serbian songs and to beat one another. Around Bajram, on 10 and 11 June 1992, the prisoners were subjected to sexual abuse, in which fathers and sons were humiliated. Killings also took place in those days: according to the testimony of one survivor, about 15 people were killed, and Human Rights Watch states that on 10 June a sixteen-year-old boy was killed with a shot to the head.
According to the first-instance verdict in the Zvornik 3 case, the prisoner Sakib Kapidžić was stabbed with a knife by Darko Janković "Pufta", a member of the Odred Pivarski.
The Massacre on Vidovdan
On Vidovdan, 28 June 1992 (Human Rights Watch gives 27 June), Dušan Vučković "Repić", a member of the Žute ose from Umka near Obrenovac, opened fire on the prisoners in the Dom kulture. Sources give different numbers of victims: according to the indictment, 16 people were killed and 20 wounded; according to the verdict of the court in Šabac, 17 were killed and 20 wounded; Human Rights Watch speaks of 25 killed, and one witness of about thirty.
According to the Belgrade indictment, Vučković killed the young Damir Bikić with a shot to the mouth, and finished off the wounded Šaban Bikić with a knife. According to the indictment, he cut off Enes Čikarić's ear.
The camp in Čelopek was closed on 1 July 1992. On 4 August 1992, the Military Police recorded a statement by Vučković, which was later admitted as exhibit P1539 before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Trials and Impunity
The District Court in Šabac sentenced Dušan Vučković to seven years in prison for the crimes in Čelopek, and the Supreme Court of Serbia increased the sentence to ten years. Sources differ on the date of the verdict, placing it at some point between 1994 and 1998, as well as on the length of the sentence. New proceedings against Vučković (KTRZ 17/04) were terminated on 28 November 2005 because he had died in detention.
In the Zvornik I case, the Supreme Court of Serbia finally upheld the verdicts on 8 April 2009: Dragan Slavković "Toro" was sentenced to 12 years, Ivan Korać "Zoks" to nine, and Siniša Filipović "Lopov" to three years in prison.