Pavle Strugar

Pavle Strugar (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле Стругар) (born July 13, 1933 in Peć, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is a former Montenegrin general in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) who was found guilty of war crimes for his role in the siege of Dubrovnik.

In October of 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 of 1992. Strugar retired in 1993.

In 2001, the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 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. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1943414.stm]

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. [http://www.juscogens.net/juscogens/2006/week38/index.html] In exchange, the court withdrew appeals of its own against Strugar. He was sentenced to eight years in jail.

On April 17, 2008 Pavle Strugar is to be temporarily freed from jail on compassionate grounds.

Although his first request for temporary release was rejected on insufficient evidence as he claimed his siblings were ill, just a week later he was granted temporary leave, as he submitted fresh evidence on the grave condition of his sister’s health.

See also

*Siege of Dubrovnik
*Croatian War of Independence

External links

* [http://www.un.org/icty/cases-e/cis/strugar/cis-strugar.pdf Pavle Strugar Case Sheet]
* [http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/eCache/DEF/6/044.html Hague Justice Portal: Pavle Strugar]