Miodrag Jokić (25 February 1935 – 22 October 2022) was the last commander of the

Yugoslav Navy The Yugoslav Navy ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска ратна морнарица, Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica, Yugoslav War Navy), was the navy of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992. It was essentially a coastal defense force with the miss ...

. The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) sentenced him to 7 years in prison for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

, cruel treatment, attacks on civilians, devastation, unlawful attacks on civilian objects, destruction or wilful damage done to institutions in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

during the 1991 siege.

Biography

Jokić was born in Serbia and educated in the Yugoslav military-naval academy. In 1991, after serving as an officer for a number of years, he was promoted to

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

and then to the Commander of the 9th VPS of the Yugoslav navy. After

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

declared independence from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

that year, the Yugoslav Army invaded the Dubrovnik area and started a three-month siege in order to keep that territory under Yugoslav control. The siege failed and the army had to retreat, while the international community condemned the attacks. In 2001, the ICTY charged Jokić,

Pavle Strugar Pavle Strugar ( sr-Cyrl, Павле Стругар; 13 July 1933 – 12 December 2018) was a Montenegrin general in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) who was found guilty of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslav ...

, Milan Zec and Vladimir Kovačević on several counts. These included violations of the customs of war and attacks on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

heritage site of the Old Town. Strugar and Jokić voluntarily surrendered to the court, becoming the first Serbian or Montenegrin citizens to do so. His surrender sparked protests in Serbia. On 1 April 2003, Jokić pleaded guilty to six counts in his second indictment and thus no trial was necessary. He admitted his guilt and expressed his remorse for his actions in Dubrovnik: The ICTY considered his remorse in openly admitting guilt as a mitigating factor and thus sentenced him to 7 years in prison. He also testified against his superior Strugar during his trial at the ICTY. In 2008, he was released from prison. Jokić died in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

on 22 October 2022, at the age of 87.

Notes

External links

Article on Hague Justice Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jokic, Miodrag 1935 births 2022 deaths Montenegrin soldiers Serbian soldiers Generals of the Yugoslav People's Army Montenegrin people convicted of murder People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Montenegrin people convicted of war crimes Defence ministers of Serbia Prisoners and detainees of Denmark

Biography

See also

Notes

External links