Sremska Mitrovica Prison (Serbian: Казнено-поправни завод у Сремској Митровици / ''Kazneno-popravni zavod u Sremskoj Mitrovici'') is the biggest prison in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, 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 ban ...

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 and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

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 Yu ...

Yugoslav Wars

During

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted 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 = , capi ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is 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 w ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 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 executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

'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 ...

Milan Panić 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 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 o ...

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 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, 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