The Keraterm camp was a concentration camp established by

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

military and police authorities near the town of

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

in northern

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

. The camp was used to collect and confine between 1,000–1,500

Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, ...

and

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...

civilians.

The camp

The Keraterm camp was located on the site of a

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

, just outside the city of Prijedor. According to reports, prisoners were kept in four halls, formerly used as storehouses at the ceramics factory. The Keraterm camp's prisoner population was all male. Most of the men at the camp were reported to be between the ages of 15 and 60. However, in mid-July 1992, approximately 12 to 15 Bosniak women were brought to Keraterm,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

d, and transported to the

Omarska camp The Omarska camp was a concentration camp run by Bosnian Serb forces in the mining town of Omarska, near Prijedor in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, set up for Bosniak and Croat men and women during the Prijedor massacre. Functioning in the fir ...

. About 85% of all prisoners were Bosniaks while about 15% were Bosnian Croats. According to the indictment, the detainees were, among other things, subjected to physical

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

, constant humiliation, degradation, inhumane conditions, and fear of death. Severe beatings were commonplace. All manner of weapons were used during these beatings, including wooden batons, metal rods,

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...

s, lengths of thick industrial cable that had metal balls affixed to the end, rifle butts, and knives. Killings, beatings,

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

s, and other cruel and humiliating actions were committed.

War crime trials

The Republika Srpska officials responsible for running the camp have since been convicted for

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

and war crimes. Duško Knežević was found guilty of the criminal offence of Crimes against Humanity and sentenced him to a long-term imprisonment of 31 years. Željko Mejakić was found guilty for the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity and sentenced him to the long-term imprisonment of 21 years.

Duško Sikirica Duško Sikirica (born 23 March 1964, Cirkin Polje, Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian Serb who was charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the customs of war by the International Criminal Tribunal ...

, commander of the Keraterm camp, pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity and was sentenced to a jail term of fifteen years. Dušan Fuštar was found guilty for having participated, by acting and failing to act, in a

joint criminal enterprise Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each member of an organized group individually responsib ...

and sentenced him to 9 years imprisonment for "''having failed to exercise his authority and prevent the crimes''." Predrag Banović who pleaded guilty to 25 charges and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Damir Došen was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Dragan Kolundžija was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.

References

External links

Keraterm case

Radovan Karadzic $5 million Reward
- The U.S. Government is offering $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Radovan Karadzic
Ratko Mladic $5 million Reward
- The U.S. Government is offering $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Ratko Mladic {{Bosnian War 1992 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian genocide 1994 disestablishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian concentration camps in the Yugoslav Wars Serbian war crimes in the Bosnian War Bosnian War internment camps

The camp

War crime trials

See also

References

External links