Veselin Šljivančanin (; born 13 June 1953) is a former Montenegrin Serb officer in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA) who participated in the Battle of Vukovar and was subsequently convicted on a war crimes indictment by the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

for his role in the Vukovar massacre. His prison sentence was changed twice, from five to seventeen to ten years. He has since been ordered released by the ICTY on time served and good behavior.

Biography

Šljivančanin was born in the village of Palež near

Žabljak Žabljak (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Жабљак, ) is a small town in Montenegro in the Northern Montenegro, northern region. It has a population of 1,723. Žabljak is the seat of Žabljak Municipality (2011 population: 3,569). The town is in ...

, PR Montenegro, then FPR Yugoslavia. His family belongs to the

Drobnjaci Drobnjaci ( sr-Cyrl, Дробњаци, ) was a tribe and historical region, Drobnjak, in Old Herzegovina in Montenegro (municipalities from Nikšić to Šavnik, Žabljak and Pljevlja). Its unofficial centre is in Šavnik. The Serb Orthodox ...

tribe, and have the '' slava'' of St. George. As a

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the JNA, Šljivančanin took part in the battle of Vukovar which was fought from the end of August until 18 November 1991. After the fall of Vukovar, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was placed in command of a brigade of JNA stationed at

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

(then still known as

Titograd Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the beginning of 1996, in the new national army of

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

following the disbanding of the JNA, and transferred to the Military Academy in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, where he served as a lecturer in military tactics. He retired from military service in October 2001.

Trial

Šljivančanin was indicted in 1995, along with Mile Mrkšić, Miroslav Radić and Slavko Dokmanović, by the

(ICTY). The indictment accused him of "responsibility for the mass killing at Ovčara, near Vukovar, of approximately 260 captive non-Serb men", on the following grounds: *he was in direct command of JNA forces (then controlled by Serbia and Montenegro and consisting of Serbs and a minority of Montenegrins) that took control of the Vukovar Hospital on 18 November 1991 and evacuated people from there over the following days to the Ovčara farm building; *he personally directed the selection and removal from the hospital of about 400 non-Serbs whom the JNA suspected to be Croatian paramilitaries; *he ordered JNA soldiers under his command to deliver custody of the detainees to other Serb forces who physically executed them. He was arrested in Belgrade by Serbian authorities on 13 June 2003, as part of the new policy of

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

in which they agreed to comply with the UN and the

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 tribun ...

. He was handed over to the ICTY on 1 July. The trial against him commenced in October 2005. The court's verdict on 27 September 2007, found Šljivančanin guilty of "aiding and abetting the torture of the prisoners" and sentenced him to five years in prison.A SUMMARY OF JUDGEMENT FOR MILE MRKŠIĆ, MIROSLAV RADIĆ AND VESELIN ŠLJIVANČANIN
un.org; accessed 8 April 2016. He was found not-guilty of crimes against humanity, as the court found that the Serbian Territorial Defence and local Serb paramilitaries had carried out the killings. The court found that Šljivančanin as a JNA officer did not prevent the beating of prisoners by local Serb forces. The sentence caused outrage among the Croatian public and press, with Croatia's political leaders voicing outrage to the verdict. The

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

interviewed one of the paramedics who was on duty at Vukovar's hospital, who said "if you stole a car today you would get a harsher sentence than what they got for the biggest crime that was committed here in the past 50 years". On 5 May 2009, the court announced it would increase the sentence for Šljivančanin to 17 years for aiding and abetting the murder of prisoners of war after the fall of Vukovar, while his guilt for aiding and abetting torture was reaffirmed. The official statement states that the Appeals Chamber found that the Trial Chamber erred in acquitting Šljivančanin of aiding and abetting murder in Vukovar. Judge Theodor Meron stated that "Šljivančanin was under a duty to protect the prisoners of war held at Ovčara and that this responsibility included the obligation not to allow the transfer of custody of the prisoners of a war to anyone without first satisfying himself that they would not be harmed. Mr. Mrkšić’s order to withdraw the JNA troops did not relieve him of his position as an officer of the JNA." His sentence was reduced to 10 years in December 2010 based on a testimony of Miodrag Panić, a JNA officer who stated that Šljivančanin was not informed by Mrkšić that JNA soldiers would be pulled back from Ovčara. Šljivančanin was released on early for good behavior and time spent. The ICTY ordered his "early release" and that he "shall be released from the custody of the Tribunal as soon as practicable and once the administrative procedures have been completed."

Personal life

Šljivančanin has two children: a daughter Olja and a son, Mlađen, a former professional basketball player.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sljivancanin, Veselin 1953 births Living people People extradited from Serbia People from Žabljak Serbs of Montenegro Drobnjaci People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Montenegrin soldiers Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Montenegrin people convicted of war crimes Serbia and Montenegro military personnel