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 for his role in the siege of Dubrovnik.
Biography
Strugar was born in Peć, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In October 1991, he was made commander of the JNA's Second Operational Group 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, becoming the first Serbian or Montenegrin citizen to do so.[1] He was found guilty of attacks on civilians as well as being responsible for damage to the Old Town. Strugar initially appealed his sentence, but later withdrew the appeal citing poor health.[2]
In exchange, the court withdrew appeals of its own against Strugar. He was sentenced to eight years in jail. On 17 April 2008, his sentence was reduced to seven and one half years imprisonment on compassionate grounds due to his deteriorating health. On 16 January 2009, the ICTY granted Strugar early release.[3][4]
He died in Belgrade on 12 December 2018 at the age of 85.[5]
Notes
- ^ "Most wanted: 'The Dubrovnik Four", BBC news, 22 April 2002.
- ^ Appeals Withdrawn in Pavle Strugar Case Archived 2007-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, juscogens.net, 18 September 2006.
- ^ Hague Justice Portal: Pavle Strugar Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, haguejusticeportal.net; accessed 2 August 2015.
- ^ Pavle Strugar Case Sheet, un.org; accessed 2 August 2015.
- ^ www.24sata.hr, "Umro dubrovački krvnik Pavle Strugar: On je granatirao Grad", objavljeno 13. prosinca 2018., pristupljeno 14. prosinca 2018.