Knin camp was a

detention camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

run by the Krajina Serbian Army in

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...

Republika Srpska Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state ...

, that held Croatian detainees, soldiers and civilians, from 1991 until 1992, during the Croatian War of Independence.

History

It consisted out of at least two facilities. The ICTY stated that a prison in Knin, run by 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 ar ...

, 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 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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priests, Mirko Barbarić and Franjo Halužan, were arrested in

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

and then brought to the Knin prison. There one Serb soldier ordered Halužan to make the sign of the cross 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 Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

and then drink 0,4 gallons of water at once. Some were tortured with electro shocks, had to eat cigarette ash, wash the toilette 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 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 for abuses in Knin camp. Milan Martić was sentenced to 35 years in prison, among others for abuses in the camp. Spomenik Knin

Dragan Vasiljković was also indicted for crimes at Knin camp. He fled to Australia 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>

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