Rahim Ademi (born 30 January 1954) is a retired

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

of Kosovar Albanian origin. Born and raised in the village of Karač,

Vučitrn Vushtrri ( sq-definite, Vushtrria) or Vučitrn ( sr-Cyrl, Вучитрн), is a city and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in northern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Vushtrri has 26,964 inhabitants, while the mun ...

Socialist Federal Republic of 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 Y ...

(modern day

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

), Ademi graduated from the Yugoslav military academy in Belgrade in 1976. He was assigned to a station in Rogoznica near

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

where he married and had two children. In 1986, the Military Court in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

convicted him of ''counterrevolutionary acts'' and ''Albanian

irredentism Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent st ...

'', but after serving a year and a half in prison, the Supreme Military Court agreed with his appeal and acquitted him. He would spend the next years serving as an officer in

Sinj Sinj (; it, Signo; german: Zein) is a town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The town itself has a population of 11,478 and the population of the administrative municipality, which includes surrounding villages, is 24, ...

until 1990 when the war in Croatia was starting and he deserted 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 arm ...

in order to help create Croatian army formations. He officially joined the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

in 1991 and later became part of the Croatian Army forces during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yu ...

. Between 1992 and 1993, as a

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

, he commanded Croatian military units in the Sinj area, with particular responsibility for the Peruća Dam. In 1993 he was assigned to the post of sub commander of the

Gospić Gospić () is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field ( Ličko Polje). Gospić is ...

military district, but was relieved of duty later that year, after the controversial Operation Medak pocket. He later served as a sub-commander of the

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

military district and was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

for his achievements in

Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state R ...

in 1995. He remained there until 1999 when he was reassigned to the post of the Assistant Chief Inspector of the Armed Forces in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

. In 2001, 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 in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try ...

(ICTY) indicted Ademi for crimes against humanity allegedly committed against the Croatian Serbs in the Medak pocket. He was originally in the custody of the Court but was later allowed to prepare his defense free. In November 2005, in line with its completion strategy, the ICTY referred the Ademi-Norac case to the Croatian judiciary. The trial began on 18 June 2007 in front of a special bench of the Zagreb County Court with Judge Marin Mrčela presiding. Ademi claims that the Croatian government, under international pressure, relieved him of duty in

in 1993 in order to make him a scapegoat, rather than implicating commanding officers

Janko Bobetko Janko Bobetko (10 January 1919 – 29 April 2003) was a Croatian general who had participated in World War II and later in the Croatian War of Independence. He was one of the founding members of 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, the first anti ...

, Mirko Norac and

Mladen Markač Mladen Markač (; born 8 May 1955) is a Croatian retired general. He was a Commander of Croatian Special Police during Operation Storm during the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), and afterwards held the rank of Colonel General. Later, ...

. He alleged that the Tribunal wanted him for questioning as far back as 1998 but the government did not allow him to answer their questions. On 30 May 2008, he was acquitted by the Zagreb County Court of responsibility for atrocities committed against

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

prisoners by Croat troops during Operation Medak Pocket.Ademi Acquitted of Medak Pocket Crimes
iwpr.net; accessed 26 November 2014. In March 2010, the

Supreme Court of Croatia , image = Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia.jpg , imagesize = 220px , caption = Palace of the Supreme Court is located at the Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square , established = , country = , location = Zagreb , coordinates = , type ...

upheld Ademi's acquittal. During campaign for the 2014–15 presidential election, Ademi worked as a co-coordinator for

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatian academic, jurist, and politician who served as President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), and played a ke ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ademi, Rahim 1954 births Croatian army officers Kosovan emigrants to Croatia Kosovan soldiers Living people Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Order of Duke Domagoj recipients People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia People from Vushtrri Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Yugoslav defectors Croatian people of Albanian descent Croatian people of Kosovan descent Military personnel from Mitrovica, Kosovo