Vlastimir Đorđević and the Kosovo War Crimes

Belgrade, Serbia · 1999

solved Other / notable January 1, 1999

Perpetrator

Vlastimir Đorđević

Vlastimir Đorđević (born 17 November 1948 in Koznica, Serbia) was a senior Serbian police official who served as Assistant Minister of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) and Chief of its Public Security Department. He was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment, later reduced to 18 years on appeal.

Known Victims

At least 724 total — known victims include:

Kosovo Albanian civilians (collective)

Location

Belgrade, Serbia

Summary

Senior Serbian police official Vlastimir Đorđević was convicted by the ICTY for crimes against humanity in Kosovo, including concealment of victims' bodies near Belgrade.

Details

Note: No documented "Belgrade serial killer" case from 1991 exists under this name. The real, widely documented Vlastimir Đorđević was a Serbian police general convicted by the ICTY in The Hague in 2011, not a 1991 serial killer. He was found guilty of aiding and abetting the murders of not fewer than 724 Kosovo Albanians and the deportation of around 200,000 civilians during the 1999 Kosovo War. He was instrumental in concealing victims' bodies, which were transported in refrigerated trucks to Batajnica near Belgrade for secret burial; remains of 744 people were later exhumed there. Sentenced to 27 years, reduced to 18 on appeal in 2014.

Overview

Vlastimir Đorđević (born 1948 in Vladičin Han, Serbia) was a senior official of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) who was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against Kosovo Albanian civilians in 1999. During the Kosovo War he served as Assistant Minister of the Serbian MUP and Chief of its Public Security Department (Resor javne bezbednosti, RJB), holding the rank of colonel general. His case became notable not only for the underlying campaign of violence against ethnic Albanians but also for his role in a coordinated operation to conceal victims' bodies by transporting them from Kosovo to mass graves near Belgrade.

The Đorđević case was the final Kosovo-related matter concluded by the ICTY, and it documented in detail how Serbian state structures attempted to destroy evidence of mass killings. He was convicted of participation in a joint criminal enterprise whose aim, as found by the court, was to alter the ethnic balance of Kosovo through a widespread campaign of terror, deportation, murder, and persecution.

The 1999 campaign in Kosovo

During 1999, amid the Kosovo conflict and the NATO intervention, Serbian forces carried out a systematic campaign against the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo. The ICTY found that this campaign included deportations, forcible transfers, murders, and persecutions, with the objective of ensuring continued Serbian control over the province by changing its ethnic composition. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians were displaced, and numerous civilians were killed during operations conducted by Serbian police and military units.

As head of the Public Security Department, Đorđević occupied a senior position within the command structure of the MUP. The tribunal concluded that he was a member of the joint criminal enterprise responsible for these crimes and that his actions contributed significantly to the commission of the underlying offenses against the civilian population.

The concealment of bodies operation

A central element of the case concerned the clandestine transport and burial of victims' bodies. According to evidence presented at trial, after a refrigerator truck containing bodies surfaced from the Danube near the town of Tekija in eastern Serbia in early April 1999, a coordinated operation was organized to remove and hide the remains of Kosovo Albanians killed by Serbian forces. The aim was to eliminate evidence of the crimes committed in Kosovo.

Over a period of several weeks, trucks carrying bodies were transported to the SAJ (Special Anti-Terrorist Unit) centre at Batajnica, a suburb of Belgrade, where they were buried in mass graves on police grounds. The Batajnica graves, exhumed from 2001 onward, contained the remains of hundreds of victims. The tribunal found that Đorđević gave instructions connected to the removal and burial of bodies as part of this concealment effort.

Arrest and trial

Đorđević was indicted by the ICTY in connection with the 1999 crackdown but evaded arrest for several years, living as a fugitive. He was apprehended on 17 June 2007 near Budva, in Montenegro, and subsequently transferred to The Hague to stand trial. His trial opened on 27 January 2009.

On 23 February 2011, the ICTY Trial Chamber found Đorđević guilty on all counts, including crimes against humanity (deportation, forcible transfer, murder, and persecutions) and war crimes (murder), and sentenced him to 27 years' imprisonment. During proceedings he acknowledged involvement in the attempted cover-up and the transport of bodies to Batajnica but denied knowledge of the actual killings, a position the court did not accept as exculpatory.

Appeal and aftermath

Đorđević appealed his conviction and sentence. On 27 January 2014, the ICTY Appeals Chamber upheld his responsibility for the crimes through his participation in the joint criminal enterprise but reversed certain findings related to aiding and abetting, concluding that his conduct was fully reflected in the joint criminal enterprise conviction. As a result, the Appeals Chamber reduced his sentence from 27 years to 18 years' imprisonment. The judgment marked the conclusion of the ICTY's final case concerning Kosovo.

Đorđević served his sentence in Germany. Human rights organizations, including the Humanitarian Law Center and Amnesty International, noted that while his conviction was significant, many lower-ranking perpetrators of the concealment operation and the underlying killings remained unprosecuted, and called on Serbian authorities to pursue further accountability. Reports indicate he was released after completing the relevant portion of his sentence.

Frequently asked questions

What was the Vlastimir Đorđević and the Kosovo War Crimes case?

Senior Serbian police official Vlastimir Đorđević was convicted by the ICTY for crimes against humanity in Kosovo, including concealment of victims' bodies near Belgrade.

Who was responsible for Vlastimir Đorđević and the Kosovo War Crimes?

Vlastimir Đorđević. Vlastimir Đorđević (born 17 November 1948 in Koznica, Serbia) was a senior Serbian police official who served as Assistant Minister of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) and Chief of its Public Security Department. He was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment, later reduced to 18 years on appeal.

How many victims were there in the Vlastimir Đorđević and the Kosovo War Crimes case?

At least 724 victims are associated with this case, including named victims such as Kosovo Albanian civilians (collective).

Where and when did the Vlastimir Đorđević and the Kosovo War Crimes case take place?

It took place in Belgrade, Serbia in 1999.

Was the Vlastimir Đorđević and the Kosovo War Crimes case solved?

This case is recorded as solved.

Sources & further reading

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