CCPR/C/112/D/1966/2010
article 2.3 of the Covenant. Ermina Hero and Armin Hero, who were minors at the time of
the arrest and disappearance of their father, allege that the State party violated their right to
special protection as minors until 21 June 2004 and 28 December 2008 when they reached
their respective majorities. They claim a violation of article 24, paragraph 1, read in
conjunction with articles 7 and 2, paragraph 3, of the Covenant in that regard. The authors
are represented by 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 took place during the armed conflict surrounding the independence of
Bosnia Herzegovina. On 4 July 1992, members of the Yugoslav National Army (JNA)
surrounded the village of Tihovići and apprehended 13 civilians, including Sejad Hero. At
the time, the area of Tihovići was under the control of the Serbian Democratic Party. In
addition, from April to August 1992, a variety of Serb paramilitaries operated in the area.
According to eye witnesses, the 13 men were taken to a meadow in Tihovići and were
beaten and tortured in the presence of the eyewitnesses.2 Sejad Hero’s ear was cut off.
Shortly afterwards, the members of the JNA ordered the women present to leave. The
authors consider it likely that the 13 men were subsequently arbitrarily executed by the
members of the JNA and the remains transferred to a nearby stream in Tihovići.
Nonetheless, the fate and whereabouts of Sejad Hero remain unknown since then, and his
mortal remains have not been located, nor identified. Sejad Hero had been enrolled in the
army since the beginning of the conflict. When the events took place on 4 July 1992, he
was at home and was not taking part in any combat operation.
2.2
In May 1992, Tija Hero and her children, Ermina Hero (then six years old) and
Armin Hero (then aged one year and a half) had fled to Prozor. On 4 July 1992, Tija Hero
heard on the radio that Tihovići had been seized by the JNA. Upon learning of the events,
she had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized. When her father-in-law came to pick
her up at the hospital, he told her that Sejad Hero was among those captured and killed by
the JNA. After her recovery, Tija Hero reported the alleged enforced disappearance and
torture of her husband to the Red Cross and the local police station. She also went to the
police station in Ilijaš and to the headquarters of the Bosnian Army, but she did not obtain
any relevant information about her husband.
2.3
The armed conflict came to an end in December 1995. when the General Framework
Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina entered into force.3
2.4
In 1996, exhumations were carried out by the Commission for Missing Persons in
order to identify those who had possibly been killed and buried in Tihovići in 1992. Those
exhumations were not conducted using scientific methods: families were requested to
identify their loved ones only through clothing and personal belongings. On that occasion,
the mother (Fazila Hero) and brother (Omer Hero) of Sejad Hero attended the exhumation.
Due to the passing of time and to the fact that the dead bodies of the executed men had been
burnt, the identification through clothing and personal belongings was difficult and hardly
reliable. No conclusive results were obtained as to the fate of the alleged executed victims,
and the authorities did not conduct any further scientific tests at that time to ascertain the
2
3
A declaration signed by eye witnesses is annexed to the present communication. All the eyewitnesses
referred to in the complaint are women.
In accordance with the Dayton Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two entities: the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. Brčko District was formally
inaugurated on 8 March 2000 under the exclusive sovereignty of the State and international
supervision.
3