Knin camp was a detention camp run by the

Serbian Army of Krajina The Serbian Army of Krajina (SAK, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska vojska Krajine, Српска војска Крајине, abbr. SVK), also known as the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina or Krajina Serbian Army, was the armed forces of the Republ ...

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

, the capital of the Serb-held part of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

known as

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск� ...

, that held Croatian detainees, soldiers and civilians, from 1991 until 1992, during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

History

It consisted out of at least two facilities. 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 tribun ...

stated that a prison in Knin, run by the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

, held approximately 150 detainees, while the old hospital in Knin, run by "Martic's Militia", held approximately 120 detainees. At least two prisoners perished.Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts, established pursuant to security council resolution 780 (1992), Annex VIII - Prison camps; Under the Direction of: M. Cherif Bassiouni; S/1994/674/Add.2 (Vol. IV), 27 May 199
''Annex VIII: Prison camps (part 9/10)'' - Knin
. Former prisoners testified that they were arrested by Serb paramilitary forces and then deported into Knin camp. The detainees were beaten, mistreated and humiliated. Some were threatened to read a written testimony in front of TV cameras from

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and confess crimes against Serbs which they did not commit. One Croatian soldier testified that he was interrogated for 68 consecutive days and received food and water only once a day. Two

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priests, Mirko Barbarić and Franjo Halužan, were arrested in

Benkovac Benkovac () is a town and municipality in the Zadar County, Croatia. Geography Benkovac is located where the plain of Ravni Kotari and the karstic plateau of Bukovica, Croatia, Bukovica meet, 20 km from the town of Biograd na Moru and 30&n ...

and then brought to the Knin prison. There one Serb soldier ordered Halužan to make the

sign of the cross Making the sign of the cross (), also known as blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is both a prayer and a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. It is a very significant prayer because Christians are acknowledging ...

with three fingers. After that gesture, the soldier kicked his arm with a baton. Other prisoners testified they were forced to eat two full spoons of

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

and then drink 0,4

gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in British imperial units and United States customary units. The imperial gallon (imp gal) is defined as , and is or was used in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, including Ireland, Canada, Australia ...

s of water at once. Some were tortured with electro shocks, had to eat cigarette ash, wash the

toilette Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created syn ...

floors with their tongues and perform oral sex under threat of murder. In July 1991, Ivica Knez succumbed to heavy beatings and became the first Croatian casualty in a Krajina camp. Detainees were exchanged and released from the camp at the end of 1991 and beginning of 1992.

Trials

On July 3, 2008, the War Crimes Council of the

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

County Court found the defendant Saša Počuča guilty of a war crime against civilians and a war crime against war prisoners in Knin camp and sentenced him to 8 years in prison. He was found to have been a guard in the prison where he tortured and mistreated prisoners. The ICTY indicted

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

for abuses in Knin camp.

Milan Martić Milan Martić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Мартић; born 18 December 1954) is a Croatian Serb politician and war criminal who served as the president of the unrecognized Republic of Serbian Krajina, a self-proclaimed state largely populated by Ser ...

was sentenced to 35 years in prison, among others for abuses in the camp.

Dragan Vasiljković Dragan Vasiljković ( sr-cyrl, Драган Васиљковић; born 12 December 1954), nicknamed Captain Dragan () is a convicted war criminal and former commander of a Serb paramilitary unit called the Kninjas during the Yugoslav Wars. In 200 ...

was also indicted for crimes at Knin camp. He fled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

where he was arrested in 2010 and is expecting transfer to Croatian authorities.Captain Dragan Vasiljkovic left high and dry
/ref>High Court rejected key Dragan Vasiljkovic evidence
/ref>

Notes

References

{{Croatian War of Independence Republic of Serbian Krajina Serbian war crimes in the Croatian War of Independence Serbian concentration camps in the Yugoslav Wars