HUMAN RIGHTS FORENSIC ASSISTANCE PROJECT

Transcription

1 PHYSICIANS for HUMAN RIGHTS FORENSIC ASSISTANCE PROJECT Consultant Report Sanski Most I Republika Srpska Commission on Tracing Prisoners and Missing Persons August 1999 Gary Stuart, M.D. Forensic Consultant Forensic Assistance Project Sarajevo, Bosna i Hercegovina November 1999 Physicians for Human Rights 100 Boylston Street, Suite 702 Boston, MA USA Tel. (617) Fax. (617) phrusa@phrusa.org Physicians for Human Rights Hasana Kaimije br Sarajevo Bosna i Hercegovina Tel: Fax: Financed with support of International Commission on Missing Persons ICMP International Commission on Missing Persons

2 Summary of Events On 12 and 13 August 1999, the Republika Srpska (RS) Commission on Tracing Prisoners and Missing Persons investigated four sites for the presence of human remains in the regions of Bosanski Petrovac, Kljuc, and Sanski Most in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the first day, the exhumation team found no human remains at a roadside location in the village of Sanica near the town of Kljuc. Likewise, no human remains were found in a meadow in the mountainous area of Medi Dolina about 9 km northwest of the village of Sanica. However, the remains of a single individual were exhumed from a cemetery in the city of Sanski Most. On the second day, the exhumation team recovered the partial skeletal remains of a single individual from the surface of the ground near a small creek in an area called Risovac near the village of Kmjeusa in the Bosanski Petrovac region. The remains and clothing of the two individuals mentioned above were transported to a forensic facility in Banja Luka for storage and subsequent postmortem examination and identification by an RS forensic pathologist. The final autopsy report is pending and will be issued separately. (Editor's note: In 1999, it was agreed that the "State Commission on Missing Persons (Bosniak Side)" and the "Federal Commission on Missing Persons - Croat Side" would eventually be referred to as the "Federation Commission on Missing Persons - Bosniak Side" and "Federation Commission on Missing Persons - Croat Side," respectively. For purposes of simplicity and clarity, any reference to either of these commissions in 1999 reports will use the "Federation" names.) PHYSICIANS for HUMAN RIGHTS, November

3 Participants and Observers Republika Srpska Commission on Tracing Prisoners and Missing Persons I VANCE VIC Milan, member, Banja Luka THDIC Miloje, Association of Family Members of Missing Persons, Banja Luka Federation Commission on Missing Persons - Bosniak Side None Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) STUART Dr. Gary, Forensic Consultant (Pathologist) SKONDRIC Dijana, Field Assistant Office of the High Representative (OHR) CHILVERS Peter, Exhumations Officer CELEBIC Amra, Translator Other Witnesses OHR driver Site Description Grid coordinates referred to in this report were determined using a Global Positioning System unit. Figures 1-3 are maps showing the locations of the four sites cited herein. Site 1: The first site visited is a flat grass- and weed-covered area about 20 m from the main road close to the village of Sanica in an area called Gornja Sanica in the region of Kljuc (grid coordinate XK ; Figure 1, Map Name: Kljuc, Sheet 2482 II, Edition 6-DMA, Series M709, Horizontal Datum WGS 84, Scale 1:50,000, Grid Zone Designation 33T). The vegetation over the gravesite was shorter than that of the surrounding area. Site 2: The second site visited is a gently sloping mountain meadow with scattered large rocks in an area referred to as Medi Dolina about 9 km northwest of the village of Sanica in the region of Kljuc (grid coordinate XK ; Figure 1). The suspected gravesites, pointed out by the RS Representative, revealed no difference in soil or vegetation than the surrounding area. Site 3: The third site vistited is a grave on the east side of the Susnjar Novo Groblje (New Cemetery) in Sanski Most (grid coordinate XK ; Figure 2, Map Name: Prijedor, Sheet 2484 I, Edition 7-DMA, Series: M709, Horizontal Datum WGS 84, Scale 1:50,000, Grid Zone Designation 33T). The grave was unmarked, and the soil in a rectangular area measuring about 0.5m x 2m was slightly depressed. A marked, concrete-covered grave is immediately south of the gravesite. Other marked and unmarked graves are in the adjacent cemetery area. Site 4: On 13 August, the exhumation team investigated a fourth site. It is a tree-covered creekside location approximately 1 kilometer from the main dirt road in an rural area referred to as Risovac 3 kilometers north of the village of Krnjeusa in the Bosanski Petrovac region PHYSICIANS/or HUMAN RIGHTS, November

4 (grid coordinate WK ; Figure 3, Map Name: Bosanski Petrovac, Sheet 2484 III, Edition 6-DMA, Series M709, Horizontal Datum WGS 84, Scale 1:50,000, Grid Zone Designation 33T). The team approached the site on foot and hiked approximately 1 kilometer from the vehicles, which were parked near the main road and close to the house of one of the witnesses. The partial skeletal remains of a single male and accompanying clothing were in a small pile on the surface of a small mound of soil. This was immediately adjacent to a small dry creek bed beneath a canopy of trees on the side of a hill overlooking the home of the decedent. The surrounding area was covered in grass and small bushes, and is commonly used to graze sheep. Site History Site 1: According to the RS representative, a witness had described the presence of skeletal remains at this site. Bosniaks reportedly killed many Bosnian Serb soldiers and civilians in the area of Sanica in It is felt by the RS Representative that these skeletal remains may be the remains of one of the missing Bosnian Serbs from this area. Site 2: Three Bosnian Serb soldiers were allegedly killed by Bosniak soldiers within 50 m of the supected graves at this site in It is felt by the RS Representative that the remains of these three soldiers are buried in this area. Site 3: An elderly civilian Bosnian Serb man, named Dane Jaric, was reportedly killed by gunshot by Bosniak soldiers in August 1995 in the Sanski Most region. The exact place and date of burial are not known, but it is believed by the RS Representative that the burial site is in the east portion of the Susnjar Novo Groblje Cemetery. Two previous exhumations were conducted by the RS Commission in the east end of the cemetery with the purported identity of Jaric. Postmortem examination and identification procedures on the human remains recovered at these previous exhumations indicate that neither were Jaric. This is the third exhumation conducted in a search for this individual. Site 4: These are reportedly the remains of Bosnian Serb civilian and shepherd from the Risovac region who had been killed by Bosniak soldiers in August The location of his remains were discovered by a witness from the area and reported to the RS Commission on 8 August According to witnesses and the RS Commission representative, the decedent was shot and killed by three Bosniak soldiers in August 1995 when he was attempting to hide in a grove of trees next to a small creek on a hill overlooking his house. Apparently this man, who was born in 1925, had used the hillside for the grazing of sheep many times in the past. Reportedly the killing was observed from a slightly lower elevation on the same hillside by an elderly male Bosnian Serb who was a neighbor of the victim. According to the daughter, who accompanied the exhumation team, she was informed of the shooting of her father by this elderly neighbor. On 8 August 1999, a younger man, who was also a neighbor of the decedent, found human skeletal remains and clothing close to the creek site mentioned above, but scattered over an area measuring about 15 m x 15 m. He stated that he collected the bones and the clothing and placed them in a small pile next to the creek. He then informed the family, who contacted the RS Commission and requested their assistance in the removal and identification of the remains. PHYSICIANSybr HUMAN RIGHTS, November

5 Exhumation Process and Condition of Remains Site 1: A laborer cleared the grass and weeds over the gravesite and about 10 cm of topsoil with a shovel, exposing disarticulated skeletal remains. The PHR Consultant exposed additional skeletal remains using a hand trowel. The remains were spread over an area measuring about 0.5 m x 0.5 m. The individual bones were examined by the PHR Consultant, who concluded they were not of human origin. Therefore, the site was abandoned. Site 2: Two laborers using shovels and picks dug approximately four exploratory trenches in the damp meadow soil approximately 0.3 to 0.5 m deep, 0.3 m wide and from 0.8 to 1.5 m in length. These trenches were dug in a total area measuring about 5 m x 5 m. Digging was difficult in some areas due to the presence of scattered large rocks. No human remains were found, and the site was abandoned after approximately one hour of digging. Site 3: Laborers using shovels removed the gravefill composed of loam and clay to a depth of about 0.8 m, exposing the top of a wood coffin. The top of the coffin was removed in pieces, revealing human remains covered in a blanket and civilian clothing. The remains and clothing were place in a white plastic body bag labeled with the provisional name of the suspected decedent, place and date. The remains were transported in a small truck to the storage and forensic facility in Banja Luka the afternoon of the day of exhumation for subsequent postmortem examination and identification. During the excavation, but prior to uncovering the top of the coffin, a single small, human foot bone was found. It was felt by the RS Representative and the PHR Consultant not to be related to the exhumed remains described in this paragraph. This small bone was placed in a small, clear plastic bag and it was also transported to the Banja Luka forensic facility for examination by the RS forensic pathologist. Site 4: The partial skeletal remains of a single individual were found in a small pile on top of clothing on a small, grass-covered mound immediately adjacent to a small, dry creek bed. Portions of calvarium, scapulae, vertebrae and one rib were identified. The surrounding wooded area, which was covered in tall grass and bushes, was searched for additional human remains by Dr. Gary Stuart and Mr. Milan Ivancevic for approximately 20 minutes. No additional human remains were identified. All remains and clothing were placed together in a white, plastic body bag labeled with the site name, date and nearby village name. The remains were transported to the forensic facility in Banja Luka in a small truck for storage and subsequent postmortem examination and identification by the RS forensic pathologist. Postmortem Examination Findings The final autopsy and identification reports of the RS forensic pathologist are pending and will be issued separately. Maps and Photos Figures 1-3 are maps of the exhumation sites reported here. A photoraph log has been compiled and is filed separately. Photos 1 through 8 are photographs cited in this report. PHYSICIANSybr HUMAN RIGHTS, November

6 PHYSICIANS for HUMAN RIGHTS, November 1999

7 X^^^f V -^\\ ^Q^Sfc ^.VettKiliici' \5 >>, k\ 7 ;«VS& PHYSICIANS/or HUMAN RIGHTS, November

8 PHYSICIANS/or HUMAN RIGHTS, November

9 r* U Photo 1. View of site of suspected human skeletal remains at Gornja Sanica. Examination of bones showed only animal remains. Photo 2. View of meadow in Medi Dolina, site of suspected human remains. None were identified. PHYSICIANS/or HUMAN RIGHTS, November

10 Photo 3. View of laborers beginning to remove gravefill at cemetery in Sanski Most. Photo 4. View of exposed coffin and human remains in grave at cemetery in Sanski Most. PHYSICIANS/or HUMAN RIGHTS, November 1999

11 i^_._, Photo 5. View of human remains exhumed from grave at cemetery in Sanski Most. Photo 6. View of site of skeletal remains and clothing along side of dry creek bed near village of Krnjeusa in region of Bosanski Petrovac. PHYSICIANS/or HUMAN RIGHTS, November

12 Photo 7. View of clothing along side of dry creek bed near village of KrnjeuSa. Photo 8. View of partial skeletal remains along side of creek bed near village of Krnjeusa. PHYSICIANS/or HUMAN RIGHTS, November