Pavle Strugar (Serbian Cyrillic: 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 Yugoslavia (ICTY) for his role in the siege of Dubrovnik.
Pavle Strugar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 July 1933 Peja, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (modern Kosovo) |
| Died | 12 December 2018 (aged 85) Belgrade |
| Allegiance | Yugoslavia |
| Years of service | 1960–1993 |
| Rank | General (JNA) Yugoslav Navy |
Biography
editStrugar was born in Peja, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (modern-day Kosovo). During the Croatian War of Independence, he was made commander of the JNA's Second Operational Group in October 1991, which operated in southern Croatia. In this role, he commanded the JNA's forces which laid siege to Dubrovnik, including its historic Old Town. The siege lasted until May 1992. Strugar retired in 1993.
In 2001, the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) charged Strugar on several counts. These included violations of the customs of war and attacks on the UNESCO heritage site of the Old Town. Strugar voluntarily surrendered to the court at the Hague, becoming the first Serbian or Montenegrin citizen to do so.[1] In January 2005, he was found guilty of attacks on civilians and destruction or damage to cultural and historical monuments in the Old Town and sentenced to 8 years in prison.[2][3] Strugar initially appealed his sentence, but later withdrew the appeal citing poor health.[4]
In exchange, the court withdrew appeals of its own against Strugar. On 17 July 2008, his sentence was reduced to seven and one half years imprisonment on compassionate grounds due to his deteriorating health.[5] On 16 January 2009, the ICTY granted Strugar early release.[6] In the appeal judgement, he was found guilty of attacks on civilians; destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion, charity and education, the arts and sciences, historic monuments and works of art and science; devastation not justified by military necessity; and unlawful attacks on civilian objects.[7]
He died in Belgrade on 12 December 2018 at the age of 85.[8]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "Most wanted: 'The Dubrovnik Four", BBC news, 22 April 2002.
- ^ "UN tribunal sentences former Yugoslav general to eight years for war crimes". UN News. 31 January 2005.
- ^ "The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentences a former Yugoslav General, among other things, for the destruction of and damage to the World Heritage site of the Old Town of Dubrovnik". UNESCO. 1 February 2005.
- ^ Appeals Withdrawn in Pavle Strugar Case Archived 2007-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, juscogens.net, 18 September 2006.
- ^ "7,5 Jahre Haft für Pavle Strugar".
- ^ Hague Justice Portal: Pavle Strugar Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, haguejusticeportal.net; accessed 2 August 2015.
- ^ "Pavle Strugar: Case Information Sheet" (PDF). International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The Hague. p. 1.
- ^ www.24sata.hr, "Umro dubrovački krvnik Pavle Strugar: On je granatirao Grad", objavljeno 13. prosinca 2018., pristupljeno 14. prosinca 2018.