Milan Levar (c. 1954 – 28 August 2000) was a Croatian

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

, a former officer in the Croatian Army. The Gospić-born Levar was murdered by a bomb placed under his car outside his house in Gospić 28 August 2000, because he had publicly campaigned for justice for victims of crimes committed 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 Yugosl ...

. After volunteering for the Croatian Army in 1991, according to reports, in 1992 he was ordered to round-up Croatian Serbs for execution which he refused. He had helped to defend the town in 1991 when local Serbs

rebelled Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against Croatia's declaration of independence. In 1991 he witnessed Serbian civilians taken by truck to locations outside of Gospić where they were executed by military police squads and buried in hidden mass graves. Thereafter, he witnessed the plunder of their homes. Levar reported the crimes at the time they occurred but nothing was done. He was so shocked by his own side's actions that he left the military and decided to give evidence to the war-crimes tribunal in

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. After the war, he was contacted 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 ...

in the Hague and interrogated as a potential witness in 1997 and 1998 in connection with war crimes. He helped collecting evidence and finding other witnesses who were also interviewed by the Tribunal. Levar was murdered before giving his testimony in court. Investigation into Levar's death has been so far unsuccessful. The Croatian authorities have stopped informing his widow of the progress of the investigation. She herself has received death threats from unknown individuals on several occasions. One of the concerns voiced by the witnesses as reasons for their unwillingness to give testimony about things they allegedly saw during the war is the prevailing impunity of the high profile military and political officials who were in position of power during the war. Despite the existence of publicly available information, including evidence from public court proceedings in Croatia, allegations against many of the officials have not been investigated.Amnesty International 10 February 2011. "Croatia: protect war crimes witnesses."
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levar, Milan 1950s births 2000 deaths Assassinated Croatian people Croatian whistleblowers Croatian military personnel History of Gospić Deaths by car bomb Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence 20th-century assassinated people Date of birth missing

See also

References