| Scorpions | |
|---|---|
| Шкорпиони | |
 Insignia of the Scorpions paramilitary unit | |
| Active | 1991–1999 |
| Country |  SFR Yugoslavia (1991) Serbian Krajina (1992–1995) FR Yugoslavia (1995–1999) |
| Type | Paramilitary |
| Patron | Saint Sava |
| Colors | Black Red |
| Engagements | |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
TheScorpions (Serbian Cyrillic:Шкорпиони,Shkorpioni) were a Serbparamilitary unit active during theYugoslav Wars. The unit was involved inwar crimes during the wars inCroatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina, andKosovo. After the wars, four members of the unit were found guilty of killing six prisoners during theSrebrenica massacre of July 1995 and five were found guilty of killing fourteen civilians, mostly women and children, during thePodujevo massacre in March 1999.
The Scorpions were founded in 1991 byJovica Stanišić, the head of Serbia's State Security Services, who also had a secret relationship with theCentral Intelligence Agency.[2] It began as a regular unit of theYugoslav People's Army (JNA).[3] They identified themselves asChetniks.[4] Dozens of men joined the unit in mid-1991.[5] Initially composed ofSerbs from easternSlavonia, the unit began its operations during theBattle of Vukovar in late 1991. It was led by two brothers, Slobodan and Aleksandar Medić, and was named after their favourite weapon—theŠkorpion vz. 61. The unit was one of several hundred armed groups used byBosnian andCroatian Serb military authorities for the purpose of terrorizing the non-Serb population in theRepublika Srpska and theRepublic of Srpska Krajina.[1] In 1992, the Scorpions came under the command of theSerbian Army of Krajina.[3]
The Scorpions became part of the SerbianMinistry of Internal Affairs at some point in 1995.[3] They participated in theSrebrenica massacre in July 1995,[1] and filmed the execution of six Bosnian Muslims near the village ofTrnovo, namedThe Scorpions, A Home Movie. In 2021, a mass grave containing at least 10 Srebrenica victims was confirmed nearKalinovik, within the Scorpions' area of operation.[6]
During theKosovo War, the Scorpions were placed under the command of theSpecial Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ).[3] They were involved in thePodujevo massacre in March 1999. The massacre resulted in the deaths of 14Kosovo Albanians, mostly women and children.[7] Following theYugoslav Wars, the majority of soldiers who fought with the Scorpions moved to the town ofŠid. Some remained inVukovar.[5]
In 2004, Saša Cvjetan was charged for his role in the Podujevo massacre and was sentenced by a Serbian court to a twenty-year jail term.[8] In 2009, four more Scorpions were jailed in Serbia for their role in the massacre. Željko Đukić, Dragan Medić and Dragan Borojević received twenty-year sentences, while Miodrag Šolaja received a fifteen-year sentence.[9][10] In 2005, a videotape showing the Scorpions killing sixBosniak prisoners was shown at thetrial of Slobodan Milošević. The tape caused an uproar in Serbia and the actions of the Scorpions were condemned by many politicians. Several members of the unit were quickly arrested.[11] Five members of the unit were charged with the murders. In 2007, Slobodan and Branislav Medić were jailed for twenty years,Pera Petrašević was jailed for thirteen years, Aleksandar Medić was sentenced to five years and Aleksandar Vukov was acquitted.[12]
Scorpion member Milorad Momić, who lived under the name Guy Monier in France, was arrested byInterpol in 2011.[13] Slobodan Medić, his wife and son were killed in a car accident in Serbia in December 2013. Medić was returning to prison after having been granted weekend leave by prison authorities.[14]
A fictionalized version of the Scorpions is depicted in the 2013 filmKilling Season, starringRobert de Niro andJohn Travolta.[15]
In the 2016 filmCaptain America: Civil War, the primary villain, Baron Helmut Zemo, was a Colonel in a covert paramilitary deathsquad known as "EKO Scorpion" in the fictional Eastern European country of Sokovia.
They are also mentioned briefly in the fourth episode ofSeal Team.
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