Vojno camp was a

detention camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

set up by the

Croatian Defence Council The Croatian Defence Council ( hr, Hrvatsko vijeće obrane or HVO) was the official military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, an unrecognized entity that existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1996. The HVO wa ...

(HVO) from June 1993 to March 1994, to detain tens of thousands of

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzeg ...

in the

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

municipality.Vojno Camp
/ref> Bosniaks in the camp were subject to killings, mistreatment,

rapes 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, Abusive power and control, ...

, detention and

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

The camp

Conditions at Vojno Camp were harsh and unhealthy, with overcrowding, insufficient food and water, poor ventilation, insufficient bedding and inadequate sanitation facilities. The HVO physically and mentally abused Bosniak men detained at the Vojno Camp on a daily basis. Herceg-Bosna/HVO forces killed at least thirteen Bosniak men while they were detained at Vojno Camp and injured many others. The HVO forces routinely beat Bosniak men with fists, feet, rubber batons and various wooden objects. Bosniak men were subjected to electrical shocks, often forced to beat each other and otherwise abused and humiliated. Bosniak detainees were forced to witness the

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes includ ...

of other detainees. Detainees were often subjected to particularly severe mistreatment in retaliation for ABiH military successes. Bosniak men detained at Vojno Camp, together with Bosniak men detained at the Heliodrom (who were often sent to Vojno Camp on a seven-day rotation) were used in

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

in the Vojno area. The forced labour included building military fortifications, digging

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

, carrying ammunition to HVO soldiers, and retrieving killed and injured HVO soldiers, often along the confrontation line and in the midst of combat conditions. Bosniak men engaged in such labour were regularly exposed to mortar,

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

and other small arms fire, and at least thirty-nine Bosniak men were killed or wounded. The HVO detained approximately fifty civilian Bosniak women and girls (together with their small children) at Vojno Camp, from approximately June to December 1993. The Bosniak women and others were held without any genuine or

bona fide In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case ...

effort by the HVO to determine their status or distinguish military detainees from civilians. Neither did the HVO provide for the civilians’ release or transfer to a safe location. HVO soldiers repeatedly

raped 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 agai ...

and

sexually assaulted 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, whic ...

approximately fifty civilian Bosniak women and girls detained at Vojno Camp. Such episodes of sexual assault were often preceded or accompanied by beatings or threats that non-compliance would result in the woman's child (or children) being killed. Bosniak children detained at the Vojno Camp were regularly exposed to cruel treatment, hunger and separation from their mothers, resulting in physical suffering and

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

to these, some of the younger victims of the Herceg-Bosna/HVO persecution and cleansing.

Recent developments

Marko Radić, Dragan Šunjić, Damir Brekalo and Mirko Vračević were found guilty of having participated, as members of the Croatian Defence Council in the killings, mistreatment,

, detention and

of the detained Bosniaks. The Bosnian State Court sentenced Marko Radić to 25 years in prison, Dragan Šunjić to 21 years, Damir Brekalo to 20 and Mirko Vračević to 14. Their sentences were reduced in a second-instance verdict to 21, 16, 20 and 12 years respectively. The highest-ranking surviving leaders Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić,

Slobodan Praljak Slobodan Praljak (; 2 January 1945 – 29 November 2017) was a Bosnian Croat who served in the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defence Council, an army of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, between 1992 and 1995. Praljak was found guilty of ...

, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Corić, Berislav Pušić were charged with

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 ...

, grave breaches of the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conv ...

and violations of the

laws of war The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war ('' jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territ ...

Notes

References

;ICTY * * ;News * * {{Bosnian War 1993 establishments in Croatia 1994 disestablishments in Croatia Croatian war crimes in the Bosnian War Croatian concentration camps in the Yugoslav Wars Bosnian War internment camps

The camp

Recent developments

See also

Notes

References