Association of Camp Detainees in BiH admitted to International Center for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims

The Association of Camp Detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been admitted to the "International Center for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims" (IRCT), based in Denmark.

By decision of the IRCT Executive Committee on November 18, 2015, the Association of Camp Detainees in BiH became a member of the global network of rehabilitation centers. With this admission, Bosnia and Herzegovina became one of 70 member states of the International Rehabilitation Network, and the Association of Camp Detainees one of 140 organizations worldwide that constitute it.

The President of the Association of Camp Detainees of BiH, Jasmin Mešković, told the BiH news agency Patria that this is a historic moment for all camp detainees in BiH. The Association of Camp Detainees in BiH now has open doors to international projects that could improve the position of tens of thousands of camp detainees in BiH who experienced the harshest torture in camps 20 or more years ago.

According to incomplete information, around 200,000 camp detainees were imprisoned in approximately 650 camps in BiH during the conflict, nearly 30,000 people were killed, and 25,000 were raped.

Camp detainees in BiH have been facing new problems in recent weeks after courts in the BiH entity of Republika Srpska began rejecting their lawsuits and placing high court procedure costs on the camp detainees.

IRCT is the umbrella organization that supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and the prevention of torture worldwide. It was founded in 1973, writes Patria.