THE UNITED Nations war crimes court at The Hague jailed two Bosnian Serbs yesterday for burning alive more than 100 Muslims during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war.
Milan Lukic (41) was sentenced to life in prison for the burning and killing of at least 119 Muslims in two separate incidents in June 1992. Sredoje Lukic (48) was jailed for 30 years after the court ruled it had not been proved that he took part in one of the attacks.
Judge Patrick Robinson said the cousins’ crimes in the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad “exemplify the worst acts of inhumanity that a person may inflict upon others”.
“At the close of the 20th century, a century marked by war and bloodshed on a colossal scale, these horrific events stand out for the viciousness of the incendiary attack, for the obvious premeditation and calculation that defined it, for the sheer callousness and brutality.”
The judge said Milan Lukic had been the ringleader in both incidents, herding victims into houses, setting the houses alight and shooting anyone who tried to escape.
The prosecutor commended the bravery of survivors who gave harrowing testimony. Judge Robinson said they still “vividly remembered the terrible screams of the people in the house” and recalled how Milan Lukic had used a rifle butt to force people into the buildings, saying “Come on, let’s get as many people inside as possible”. “In the all-too-long, sad and wretched history of man’s inhumanity to man, the Pionirska Street and Bikavac fires must rank high,” he said.
Milan Lukic was also convicted of murdering 12 other Muslims, shooting them in the back on the banks of the river Drina so the current would sweep away their bodies. One of the victims was murdered in front of his wife and child.
Two men survived the executions by playing dead, and testified about their ordeal.
The court heard how, in early 1992, Milan Lukic formed a Bosnian Serb paramilitary group called the “White Eagles” or “Avengers”, which worked with local police and military units to terrorise Muslims in Visegrad. Police officer Sredoje Lukic became a member of the militia.
Both men were also convicted of cruelty for visiting a detention centre where they savagely beat Muslim inmates.
Milan Lukic was arrested in August 2005 in Argentina. His cousin surrendered to Bosnian Serb authorities and was transferred to The Hague a few weeks later.
