CCPR/C/112/D/1966/2010
identity of the bodies. The remains exhumed were either buried as “No Name” (NN), or
with different identities in the cemetery for fallen soldiers in Tihovići. Sejad Hero’s mortal
remains have not been identified and returned to his family.
2.5
In spite of the complaints filed by Tija Hero to the local authorities and to the Red
Cross, no ex officio, prompt, thorough, impartial, independent and effective investigation
has been carried out in order to locate Sejad Hero, or to exhume, identify and return his
remains to his family. Notwithstanding the existence of strong evidence of the identity of
those responsible for the apprehension, torture, enforced disappearance and possible
arbitrary execution of Sejad Hero, no serious investigation has been carried out and no one
has been summoned, indicted or convicted for the above-mentioned crimes.
2.6
Under the Federation Law on Administrative Procedure, relatives of disappeared
persons were requested to obtain a decision from local courts declaring their loved ones
dead in a non-litigation procedure to obtain a pension. Furthermore, article 21 of the Law
on the Rights of Demobilized Soldiers and their Families established that “the rights
referred to in the paragraph 1 of this article shall be also employed by members of family of
missing defender until he is declared deceased but no longer than two years after this Law
comes into force if during that period they do not commence a procedure to declare the
missing defender deceased”.4 In spite of the severe additional pain caused by that
procedure, Tija Hero had no option but to request a declaration that Sejad Hero was dead,
despite having no certainty or official confirmation of his death. The procedure was the
only way for her to alleviate a particularly difficult material situation. 5 On 8 August 2006,
Tija Hero obtained a decision by the Municipal Court of Sarajevo, whereby Sejad Hero was
declared dead and the official date of his death was fixed as 22 December 1996, without
any further explanation being given as to why such a date had been chosen. On 7
September 2009, the Office for Soldiers-Disability Protection of the municipality of
Vogošća issued a decision recognizing the right of Tija Hero and Armin Hero to receive a
monthly pension.6 That pension is a form of social assistance. It can, therefore, not be
considered as an adequate measure of reparation for the violations suffered. Ermina Hero is
not even receiving such social assistance and has not been awarded any compensation for
the harm suffered.
2.7
On 19 April 2004, Tija Hero filed an ante-mortem questionnaire with regard to her
husband before the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Association of
the Red Cross of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Red Cross of the Federation of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, and she gave them her DNA samples to facilitate the identification
process of mortal remains exhumed by local forensic experts. So far, she has not received
any feedback on that initiative.
2.8
On 16 August 2005, the Association of Families of Missing Persons from Vogošća
reported the kidnapping of 98 people, including Sejad Hero, to the 5th Police Station of
Vogošća. On 9 September 2005, the Association brought criminal charges against unknown
perpetrators, members of the Serb army, to the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, with
a request to the Prosecutor to undertake all necessary measures to identify those responsible
for the kidnapping and to locate and identify the disappeared persons. None of the members
of the Association has received any response from the above-mentioned authorities.
2.9
On 20 September 2005, Tija Hero obtained two certificates: one issued by the State
Commission on Missing Persons, declaring that Sejad Hero had been registered as a
4
5
6
4
Translation provided by the authors, as is the case for the other quotes in the present document.
Sejad Hero was the only breadwinner of the family and their house was damaged during the conflict.
The monthly pension granted amounted to KM 443.10 (approximately 228 euros) per month.