A decision this month by special prosecutors in Montenegro to reopen four war crimes cases dating to the 1990s represents the best hope yet of justice for the victims and their families, but the challenges are considerable, legal experts say.
On February 4, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office said it would take a fresh look at war crimes committed in Morinj, Bukovica and Kaludjerski Laz and the deportation of refugees from Herceg Novi during the bloody collapse of federal Yugoslavia.
As part of rump Yugoslavia alongside Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia, Montenegro played a direct role in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but only seven war crimes trials were held in Montenegro between 1995 and the end of 2020. Out of 37 accused, 11 were convicted, according to Human Rights Action, HRA, an NGO that monitors war crimes trials.
