Podujevo massacre


The Podujevo massacre is the name generally used to refer to the killing of 14 Kosovo Albanian civilians, mostly women and children, committed in March 1999 by the Scorpions, a Serbian paramilitary organisation in conjunction with the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit of Serbia, during the Kosovo War. One of the survivors of this massacre, Saranda Bogujevci, 13 years old when it occurred, received mass media attention after she successfully managed to bring to justice her case with the help of several organizations from Serbia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Aftermath

Goran Stoparić, at the time of the events serving in the Anti-Terrorism Unit, gave evidence to bring the culprits to justice. In an interview to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he speculated over the motives behind the actions committed by the irregular forces:
Serbian police arrested two members of a paramilitary unit called the Scorpions, Saša Cvjetan and Dejan Demirović, who freely gave incriminating statements and signed them. Demirović had moved to Canada and applied for political asylum but was deported back to his home country after a campaign orchestrated by human rights organizations.
Demirović and Cvjetan were the only two people charged with the killings. Cvjetan was sentenced in Serbia to 20 years in prison.
On 10 April 2007, four members of the Scorpions paramilitary group were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences by Belgrade's War Crimes Court.