Sremska Mitrovica Prison (Serbian: Казнено-поправни завод у Сремској Митровици / ''Kazneno-popravni zavod u Sremskoj Mitrovici'') is the biggest prison in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, consisting of two facilities. It is situated in
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...
,
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
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 (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
emperor
Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
between 1895 and 1899. From 1918 to 1941, it functioned under administration of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
and after 1944 under administration of the
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 Yug ...
.
Yugoslav Wars
During
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 in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
, some
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 ...
n
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, 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 priso ...
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 such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
d,
abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a 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, crimes, or other t ...
d and
rape
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 ag ...
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 consisting ...
and beat the accused. One such was found dead the morning after the "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 speak of prisoners being beaten or tortured to death. According to the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
'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, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Milan Panić
Milan Panić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Панић, ; born 20 December 1929) is a Serbian-American businessman, humanitarian and former politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993. During and aft ...
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 ...
in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
for a mass exchange of prisoners. About 500 prisoners from the KPD were to be exchanged at
Nemetin
Nemetin ( hu, Drávanémeti) is a village in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, located near Osijek. It has a population of 139 (census 2011). It is administratively located in the City of Osijek.
History
The village was the site of the largest priso ...
, 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 did 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
Croatian Association of Prisoners in Serbian Concentration Camps ( hr, Hrvatsko društvo logoraša srpskih koncentracijskih logora) is an association of former prisoners in Serbian jails and prison camps during the Croatian War of Independence. Th ...
), 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 tribunal ...
trials to
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
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 Crimina ...
, as many survivors testified there. Following the democratic changes in Serbia, the prison function was also expanded to hold Serb
war criminals 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