CCPR/C/119/D/2206/2012
subsequently removed and concealed. As a consequence, the fate and whereabouts of Mrs.
Lale and Mrs. Popović have remained unknown since. The authors claim a violation by
Bosnia and Herzegovina of article 6 read in conjunction with article 2 (3) of the Covenant
in respect of Mrs. Lale and Mrs. Popović. They also claim that they are themselves victims
of a violation of their rights under articles 7, 17 and 23 (1) read in conjunction with article 2
(3) of the Covenant. The authors are represented by the organization Track Impunity
Always (TRIAL). The Optional Protocol entered into force for the State party on 1 June
1995.
The facts as submitted by the authors
2.1
The events occurred during the armed conflict that took place on the territory of
Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Before the armed conflict started, Mrs.
Popović had lived in Tošići, in the municipality of Trnovo, in the canton of Sarajevo, with
her husband, Svetko Popović, and one of her sons. Mrs. Lale had lived in east Sarajevo
with her son, Vide Lale.
2.2
At the beginning of July 1992 Mrs. Lale went to visit her son, Rajko Lale, who lived
in Šišići, a village in the municipality of Trnovo, with the intention of staying there for
around 10 to 15 days.
2.3
On 11 June 1992, the municipality of Trnovo had been declared a war zone and was
caught in crossfire between the Bosnian Serb Army and the Green Berets. 1 When the
Bosnian army attacked Šišići, Mrs. Lale and Rajko Lale, along with his wife and daughter,
escaped to the town of Trnovo. Following another military attack against the town in midJuly 1992, many of the residents fled. Mrs. Lale, Mrs. Popović, Mr. Popović, Rajko Lale
and four other people escaped to the village of Širokari, located in the municipality of
Trnovo, and sought refuge in an empty cottage.
2.4
On 2 August 1992, as they were preparing for dinner in the cottage, Rajko Lale
heard and saw dozens of Bosnian soldiers2 approaching. The eight people who had sought
shelter in the cottage were all present, except for Mr. Popović, who had gone to collect food
nearby. When Rajko Lale realized that the soldiers were about to reach the cottage, he
escaped through a window and hid in a bush very close to the cottage. He stayed hidden all
night and saw the cottage being set on fire by the soldiers. He presumed that all those in the
building were burned inside it. Mrs. Lale, Mrs. Popović and the other four persons who
were inside the cottage have not been seen since.
2.5
The next morning, Rajko Lale moved out from his hiding place and saw that the
cottage had been completely burned down. He could not find any bodies inside the building.
It seemed as if the persons who had been inside the building had been taken away by the
soldiers. He was psychologically traumatized by the events and ran away from the cottage
towards the village of Šišići. He was not able to enter the village because Bosnian soldiers
surrounded it. He was captured the same day by the Bosnian army and taken to Bogatići,
where he was severely beaten and detained for 10 to 15 days. After that, he was transferred
to Godinja, in the municipality of Trnovo, where he was held for nearly a month. He was
subsequently sent to a health facility, after which he was transferred to a police station,
where he was subjected to forced labour. In November 1992, he was released in the
framework of a prisoner exchange between the Bosnian Serb army and the Bosnian army.
2.6
Later the same month, Rajko Lale visited his brother Vide Lale to inform him of
what had happened. Vide Lale had not received any information about his mother after he
had left her at Rajko Lale’s house early in July 1992. A few days after learning about the
disappearance of his mother, Vide Lale reported her missing to the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Pale. He did not receive any written confirmation of the report
at the time. However, on 9 August 2004, he received a letter from the ICRC Central
Tracing Agency in Sarajevo, confirming that a tracking request had been drawn up for Mrs.
1
2
2
The authors refer to case Bundalo Ratko et al. (X-KRž 07/419), Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
First Judgment, 21 December 2009, p. 65. The Green Berets were also referred to as Zelene Beretke,
a Muslim paramilitary formation, Krajisnik, ICTY Judgment, IT-00-39-T, 27 September 2006, p. 6.
The authors do not provide further information as to which armed unit the soldiers belonged to.