Tuzla City Council Demands Urgent Measures for Execution of Verdict Against War Criminal Đukić

(Patria) - The Tuzla City Council adopted a Declaration calling on all competent institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to take urgent and coordinated action to execute the final verdict against Novak Đukić, convicted of war crimes at Tuzla's Kapija.

The Declaration was adopted at the 7th regular session of the Council and has been sent to the highest domestic and international addresses.

Novak Đukić was finally convicted by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to 20 years in prison for the murder of 71 people and the wounding of more than 170 civilians on May 25, 1995.

Although the verdict has been rendered, Đukić is evading serving his sentence in the Republic of Serbia, which, as stated by the City Council, provides institutional protection to the convicted war criminal.

The Council warns that such non-execution of the verdict represents a gross violation of international law, including the European Convention on the Mutual Enforcement of Criminal Sentences and the Brioni Protocol on Regional Cooperation in the Prosecution of War Crimes.

The Declaration outlines a series of concrete measures that BiH state institutions must undertake, including: sending a diplomatic note to Serbia with a deadline for response, addressing the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, filing an interstate lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights, as well as an initiative towards the European Commission and the UN Security Council.

The Tuzla City Council emphasizes that if domestic institutions do not act on these requests, they will bear political and moral responsibility for the continuation of injustice towards the victims and the erosion of the legal order.

The Declaration has been sent to numerous institutions, including the Presidency of BiH, the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EU Delegation, the OHR, the Council of Europe, the OSCE missions in BiH and Serbia, and the Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović.

Particular appeal is made to the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to the Council of Europe to present this case as an urgent matter, and for the non-execution of the verdict against Đukić to be treated as a symbol of impunity that undermines fundamental European values.

The Declaration will be published in the "Official Gazette of the City of Tuzla".