Milivoj Petković (born 11 October 1949) is a

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...

army officer who is among six defendants convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in relation to the

Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia ( hr, Hrvatska Republika Herceg-Bosna) was an unrecognized geopolitical entity and quasi-state in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was proclaimed on 18 November 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bos ...

during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail but only served four. The ICTY Appeals Chamber affirmed almost all of the convictions against Petković and his co-defendants, as well as their original length of sentence, on 29 November 2017.

Background

Milivoj Petković was born in

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 ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

FPR 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 Yu ...

. He was a career military officer, graduating from 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 a ...

("JNA")

military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. In July 1991 he left the JNA to join the new

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 i ...

. In 1992 he was ordered by Croatian Army General

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- ...

to take over the

's forward command center in the town of

Grude Grude () is a town and a municipality located in West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geography Grude is located 49 kilometers from Mostar, 19 kilometers from Imotski, and 1 ...

, in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, this force would later become the HVO armed forces. He was Chief of Staff of HVO until about 5 August 1994. A General in the Croatian Army, he was partially disabled due to a concussion and spine injury sustained in June 1992 while driving near the Neretva River, as documented by the authorities of the then-

. Petković voluntarily surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on 5 April 2004. He was granted provisional release on 22 April 2008. However, his original 20 year sentence was later upheld on 29 November 2017.

Indictment

Slobodan Praljak and Milivoj Petković (2013)

In the indictment it is alleged that, as the overall HVO commander, Petković directly commanded the Herceg-Bosna/HVO armed forces and is responsible for its actions. It is alleged that among other things the HVO armed forces: *ethnically cleansed the districts of

Gornji Vakuf Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje ( sr-cyrl, Горњи Вакуф-Ускопље) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Etymology Although settlements i ...

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

*used the

Heliodrom Camp The Heliodrom camp ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Logor Heliodrom, Логор Хелиодром) or Heliodrom prison was a detention camp that operated between September 1992 and April 1994. It was run by the Military Police of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-B ...

as a detention centre where the Bosnian Muslims from Mostar were detained. Conditions at the Heliodrom concentration camp were deemed inhumane. The charges were:Taken from th
UN press release
/ref> *''nine counts of grave breaches of the Geneva conventions (wilful killing; inhuman treatment (sexual assault); unlawful deportation of a civilian; unlawful transfer of a civilian; unlawful confinement of a civilian; inhuman treatment (conditions of confinement); inhuman treatment; extensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly).'' *''nine counts of violations of the laws or customs of war (cruel treatment (conditions of confinement); cruel treatment; unlawful labour; wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or destruction not justified by military necessity; destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion or education; plunder of public or private property; unlawful attack on civilians; unlawful infliction of terror on civilians; cruel treatment), and'' *''eight counts of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

(persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; murder; rape; deportation; inhumane acts (forcible transfer); imprisonment; inhumane acts (conditions of confinement); inhumane acts).''

References

External links

ICTY - Prlić et al. (IT-04-74)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petkovic, Milivoj 1949 births Living people People from Šibenik People indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Politicians of the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna Croatian Defence Council soldiers Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Croatian people convicted of war crimes Croatian people convicted of crimes against humanity

Background

Indictment

See also

References

External links