Fustar Asks for Forgiveness

Former Bosnian Serb prison camp guard Dusan Fustar was this week sentenced to nine years in jail for crimes against humanity by Bosnia’s war crimes court after accepting a plea agreement.



Fustar took responsibility for beatings and murders that took place under his watch at the infamous Serb-run Keraterm camp in northern Bosnia in 1992.



He read a statement asking forgiveness from the families of the victims.



“My conscience bids me to express remorse for all those who were tortured, beaten and murdered in that camp. It hurts me especially because they were people I knew. I regret what happened deeply and with all my heart,” Fustar told the court.



Fustar was originally indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, alongside Zeljko Mejakic, Momilo Gruban and Dusko Knezevic. Their case was transferred to the War Crimes Chamber of the Bosnian State Court in May 2006.



The trial of the men – who were charged with murdering, beating and sexually assaulting non-Serbs and confining them in inhumane conditions in the Omarska and Keraterm camps in 1992 – began more than a year ago, and is expected to conclude in about a month.



Fustar’s trial is the first time a case transferred to the Bosnian war crimes court has ended with a plea deal.



Prosecutor Peter Kidd described Fustar’s statement as a “truthful act of remorse”.

“In addition to the human value of the accused’s plea, it will also save the court’s time…and be a positive influence on the victims,” said Kidd.



Explaining the sentence, presiding judge Saban Maksumic said the court found Fustar guilty of taking part in a “joint criminal enterprise which was discriminatory toward non-Serbs”, adding that his shift was an especially difficult time for detainees.



“Fustar was in a position to see the inhumane conditions and brutal torture the detainees were being subjected to and had an obligation to stop it. By not doing so, he committed a crime against humanity,” said Maksumic.



While the plea agreement states that Fustar never personally beat detainees, Maksumic said it was “clear that the accused did not use his position of authority to condemn acts of violence like other shift commanders did and in that way, he aided the terror of detainees”.



As mitigating circumstances, the court noted that Fustar was a family man with no criminal record. His willingness to cooperate with the prosecution and testify in other cases was also taken into consideration by judges when deciding on the length of his sentence.



It is not clear whether Fustar will now testify against his former co-accused, or in any other cases before the Bosnian court.



Judges said they used ICTY sentences given to others found guilty of crimes at the Omarska and Keraterm camps as a guideline.



“We have looked at the cases against [Dusko] Sikirica, [Milomir] Stakic and [Miroslav] Kvocka,” said Maksumic.



The Hague court sentenced Sikirica to 15 years’ imprisonment for his role as chief of security at Keraterm. Former president of the Prijedor municipal assembly Stakic was handed a 40-year term, while Kvocka, chief of security in the Omarska camp, was given seven years.



Judges ruled that the time Fustar has already spent in custody would count towards his sentence. He turned himself over to the ICTY in 2002, so he could be free in three years.



The trial of Mejakic, Gruban and Knezevic continues next week.



Denis Dzidic is an IWPR-trained reporter in Sarajevo.