| Vojno camp | |
|---|---|
| Detention camp | |
  Vojno camp Location of Vojno camp within Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| Coordinates | 43°24′26″N17°52′05″E / 43.40722°N 17.86806°E /43.40722; 17.86806 |
| Location | Vojno, nearMostar,Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Operated by | Croatian Defence Council (HVO) |
| Operational | July 1993 to April 1994[1] |
| Inmates | Bosniaks |
Vojno camp was adetention camp set up by theCroatian Defence Council (HVO) from June 1993 to March 1994, to detain tens of thousands ofBosniaks in theMostar municipality.[1] Bosniaks in the camp were subject to killings, mistreatment,rapes, detention andmurders.[2]
Conditions at Vojno Camp were harsh and unhealthy, with overcrowding, insufficient food and water, poor ventilation, insufficient bedding and inadequate sanitation facilities.[3]
The HVO physically and mentally abused Bosniak men detained at the Vojno Camp on a daily basis. Herceg-Bosna/HVO forces killed at least thirteen Bosniak men while they were detained at Vojno Camp and injured many others. The HVO forces routinely beat Bosniak men with fists, feet, rubber batons and various wooden objects. Bosniak men were subjected to electrical shocks, often forced to beat each other and otherwise abused and humiliated. Bosniak detainees were forced to witness thesummary execution of other detainees. Detainees were often subjected to particularly severe mistreatment in retaliation forABiH military successes.[3]
Bosniak men detained at Vojno Camp, together with Bosniak men detained at theHeliodrom (who were often sent to Vojno Camp on a seven-day rotation) were used inforced labour in the Vojno area. The forced labour included building military fortifications, diggingtrenches, carrying ammunition to HVO soldiers, and retrieving killed and injured HVO soldiers, often along the confrontation line and in the midst of combat conditions. Bosniak men engaged in such labour were regularly exposed tomortar,sniper and other small arms fire, and at least thirty-nine Bosniak men were killed or wounded.[3]
The HVO detained approximately fifty civilian Bosniak women and girls (together with their small children) at Vojno Camp, from approximately June to December 1993. The Bosniak women and others were held without any genuine orbona fide effort by the HVO to determine their status or distinguish military detainees from civilians. Neither did the HVO provide for the civilians’ release or transfer to a safe location.[3]
HVO soldiers repeatedlyraped andsexually assaulted approximately fifty civilian Bosniak women and girls detained at Vojno Camp.[2] Such episodes of sexual assault were often preceded or accompanied by beatings or threats that non-compliance would result in the woman's child (or children) being killed.[3]
Bosniak children detained at the Vojno Camp were regularly exposed to cruel treatment, hunger and separation from their mothers, resulting in physical suffering andtrauma to these, some of the younger victims of the Herceg-Bosna/HVO persecution andcleansing.[3]
Marko Radić, Dragan Šunjić, Damir Brekalo and Mirko Vračević were found guilty of having participated, as members of the Croatian Defence Council in the killings, mistreatment,rapes, detention andmurders of the detained Bosniaks. The Bosnian State Court sentenced Marko Radić to 25 years in prison, Dragan Šunjić to 21 years, Damir Brekalo to 20 and Mirko Vračević to 14.[4] Their sentences were reduced in a second-instance verdict to 21, 16, 20 and 12 years respectively.[5]
The highest-ranking surviving leadersJadranko Prlić,Bruno Stojić,Slobodan Praljak,Milivoj Petković,Valentin Corić,Berislav Pušić [hr] were charged withcrimes against humanity, grave breaches of theGeneva Conventions and violations of thelaws of war.[2][3]
