Sremska Mitrovica Prison ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Казнено-поправни завод у Сремској Митровици, Kazneno-popravni zavod u Sremskoj Mitrovici) is the biggest prison in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, consisting of two facilities. It is situated in

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

province. During the Yugoslavian Civil Wars it was used as a concentration camp for thousands of Croatian and Bosnian prisoners amidst allegations of torture, prisoner abuse and rape.

History

Foundation and early history

It was formed by the order of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

between 1895 and 1899. From 1918 to 1941, it functioned under administration of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

and after 1944 under administration of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

Yugoslav Wars

During the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

, some

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 ...

n and

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

were kept in this prison. The main prison facility; the largest known in Serbia, was open from November 1991 to August 1992 and was a scene where many prisoners were

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

abuse Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...

d and

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

d. At least 25 prisoners were killed in front of witnesses, but the actual number is believed to be much higher. International organizations collected detailed information from reports, inspections and survivors regarding Sremska Mitrovica prison. Sometimes, the guards would hold a

mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

and beat the accused. One prisoner was found dead the morning after such a trial. An unknown number of prisoners were beaten to death. According to one survivor, two prisoners in the same room died due to beatings and were left to lie there for 20 hours with the other prisoners. Other prisoners also reported seeing prisoners being beaten or tortured to death. According to the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

's declassified materials, at least 18 prisoners were tortured to death. Another survivor claims that people were killed, but not in front of witnesses, while at least two others said they witnessed at least two deaths. Some prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement cells and never returned. Throughout 1992, prisoners were regularly exchanged. On August 7, 1992, an agreement was reached between Yugoslav

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Milan Panić Milan Panić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Панић, ; born 20 December 1929) is a Serbian businessman, humanitarian and former politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993. During and after his t ...

and Croatian Prime Minister

Franjo Gregurić Franjo Gregurić (; born 12 October 1939) is a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from July 1991 to September 1992, leading a national unity government at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence. Gregurić was ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

for a mass exchange of prisoners. About 500 prisoners from the KPD were to be exchanged at Nemetin, near

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

. During the ride towards their destination, many were mistreated. On August 14, approximately 1,500 prisoners from both sides were exchanged. The prison reportedly no longer kept war prisoners after August 13. Some of the inmates survived for nine months in the prison. According to the ''Croatian Society of Serb Concentration Camp Inmates'' ( HDLSKL), 8,000 Croats went through Serbian prison facilities, 300 of whom never returned. The Sremska Mitrovica prison was prominently mentioned in

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 ...

trials to

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 ...

and

Veselin Šljivančanin Veselin Šljivančanin (; born 13 June 1953) is a former Montenegrin Serb officer in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) who participated in the Battle of Vukovar and was subsequently convicted on a war crimes indictment by the International Crimin ...

, as many survivors testified there. Following the democratic changes in Serbia, the prison function was also expanded to hold Serb

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s from the wars in Croatia and Bosnia.News article about a war criminal
/ref>

References

General

detailed reports on prison camps in former Yugoslavia, including Mitrovica prison camp, witness reports and info on visits

Notes

External links

About the prison
(in Serbian)
''Croatian Society of Serb Concentration Camp Inmates'' (''Hrvatsko Društvo Logoraša Srpskih Koncentracionih logora'')
{{Croatian War of Independence Buildings and structures in Sremska Mitrovica Prisons in Serbia Imprisonment and detention Serbian war crimes in the Croatian War of Independence Serbian concentration camps in the Yugoslav Wars