Veselin Šljivančanin (; born 13 June 1953) is a former Montenegrin Serb officer in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

(JNA) who participated in the

Battle of Vukovar The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Bar ...

and was subsequently convicted on a war crimes indictment by the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

for his role in the Vukovar massacre. His prison sentence was changed twice, from five to seventeen to ten years. He has since been ordered released by the ICTY on time served and good behavior.

Biography

Šljivančanin was born in the village of Palež near

Žabljak Žabljak (Serbian / Montenegrin: Жабљак, ) is a small town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 1,723. Žabljak is the seat of Žabljak Municipality (2011 population: 3,569). The town is in the centre of the Durmitor mountain ...

PR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

, then

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

. His family belongs to the

Drobnjaci Drobnjaci (, ) are historical tribe and region, Drobnjak, in Old Herzegovina in Montenegro (municipalities from Nikšić to Šavnik, Žabljak and Pljevlja). Its unofficial centre is in Šavnik. The Serb Orthodox families have St. George ('' ...

tribe, and have the ''

slava Slava may refer to: Ships * ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian ba ...

'' of St. George. As a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the JNA, Šljivančanin took part in the

battle of Vukovar The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Bar ...

which was fought from the end of August until 18 November 1991. After the fall of Vukovar, he was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and was placed in command of a brigade of JNA stationed at

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

(then still known as

Titograd Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the beginning of 1996, in the new national army of

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

following the disbanding of the JNA, and transferred to the Military Academy in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, where he served as a lecturer in military tactics. He retired from military service in October 2001.

Trial

Šljivančanin was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

in 1995, along with

Mile Mrkšić Mile Mrkšić ( sr-cyrl, Миле Мркшић; 1 May 1947 – 16 August 2015) was a colonel of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in charge of the unit involved in the Battle of Vukovar during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991. He was conv ...

Miroslav Radić Miroslav Radić (born 10 September 1962) is a Serbian army officer who became prominent in the Battle of Vukovar, and was later prosecuted for alleged complicity in the Vukovar massacre, but was released after being acquitted by the ICTY.

and

Slavko Dokmanović Slavko Dokmanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Славко Докмановић; 14 December 1949 – 29 June 1998) was a Croatian Serb who was charged with grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, violation of the customs of war and crimes against hum ...

, by the

(ICTY). The indictment accused him of "responsibility for the mass killing at Ovčara, near Vukovar, of approximately 260 captive non-Serb men", on the following grounds: *he was in direct command of JNA forces (then controlled by Serbia and Montenegro and consisting of Serbs and a minority of Montenegrins) that took control of the Vukovar Hospital on 18 November 1991 and evacuated people from there over the following days to the Ovčara farm building; *he personally directed the selection and removal from the hospital of about 400 non-Serbs whom the JNA suspected to be Croatian paramilitaries; *he ordered JNA soldiers under his command to deliver custody of the detainees to other Serb forces who physically executed them. He was arrested in Belgrade by Serbian authorities on 13 June 2003, as part of the new policy of

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

in which they agreed to comply with the UN and the

ICTY The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

. He was handed over to the ICTY on 1 July. The trial against him commenced in October 2005. The court's verdict on 27 September 2007, found Šljivančanin guilty of "aiding and abetting the torture of the prisoners" and sentenced him to five years in prison.A SUMMARY OF JUDGEMENT FOR MILE MRKŠIĆ, MIROSLAV RADIĆ AND VESELIN ŠLJIVANČANIN
un.org; accessed 8 April 2016. He was found not-guilty of crimes against humanity, as the court found that the Serbian Territorial Defence and local Serb paramilitaries had carried out the killings. The court found that Šljivančanin as a JNA officer did not prevent the beating of prisoners by local Serb forces. The sentence caused outrage among the Croatian public and press, with Croatia's political leaders voicing outrage to the verdict. The

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

interviewed one of the administrators of Vukovar's hospital, who likened the trial in the Hague to a civilian court hearing in Croatia, whereby "people who steal cars can be given 20 years in prison." On 5 May 2009, the court announced it would increase the sentence for Šljivančanin to 17 years for aiding and abetting the murder of prisoners of war after the fall of Vukovar, while his guilt for aiding and abetting torture was reaffirmed. The official statement states that the Appeals Chamber found that the Trial Chamber erred in acquitting Šljivančanin of aiding and abetting murder in Vukovar. Judge

Theodor Meron Theodor Meron, (born 28 April 1930) is an Israeli-American judge. He served as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the International Residual M ...

stated that "Šljivančanin was under a duty to protect the prisoners of war held at Ovčara and that this responsibility included the obligation not to allow the transfer of custody of the prisoners of a war to anyone without first satisfying himself that they would not be harmed. Mr. Mrkšić’s order to withdraw the JNA troops did not relieve him of his position as an officer of the JNA." His sentence was reduced to 10 years in December 2010 based on a testimony of Miodrag Panić, a JNA officer who stated that Šljivančanin was not informed by Mrkšić that JNA soldiers would be pulled back from Ovčara. Šljivančanin was released on early for good behavior and time spent. The ICTY ordered his "early release" and that he "shall be released from the custody of the Tribunal as soon as practicable and once the administrative procedures have been completed."

Personal life

Šljivančanin has two children: a daughter Olja and a son, Mlađen, a former professional basketball player.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sljivancanin, Veselin 1953 births Living people People extradited from Serbia People from Žabljak Serbs of Montenegro Drobnjaci People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Montenegrin soldiers Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Montenegrin people convicted of war crimes Serbia and Montenegro military personnel