It is our honor and pleasure to invite you to the promotion of the book, the latest edition of the Institute for Research on Crimes Against Humanity and International Law UNSA, “Traces of Genocide: Grapska 1992–1995,” by Dr. Sc. Almir Grabovica.
The book “Traces of Genocide: Grapska 1992–1995,” by Dr. Sc. Almir Grabovica, represents an extremely important contribution to contemporary scientific research into crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the aggression of 1992–1995. The evidence presented in this book undoubtedly confirms that the crimes committed against Bosniaks in Grapska and the wider Doboj area in 1992–1995 were not isolated incidents, but an integral part of a broader, organized Greater Serbian project of aggression and genocide against the primarily Bosniak population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The systematic attacks on civilians, the establishment of camps, mass murders, forced detentions and the demolition of religious and cultural sites in Doboj represent a local manifestation of a policy aimed at creating “ethnically pure” territories. Thus, the crimes in Grapska are clearly recognized as part of a comprehensive criminal enterprise, the consequences of which still deeply mark Bosnian society and the state today.
The judgments of German courts, especially the case of Nikola Jorgić, are of exceptional importance in understanding and proving the genocide against Bosniaks outside the Srebrenica area. Although in public and legal discourse, relying primarily on the ICTY judgments, genocide is often narrowed down to the area of Srebrenica in July 1995, the judgments of German courts provide solid and internationally recognized evidence that genocide against Bosniaks was also committed in other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina – including Doboj - Grapska, Kalesija - Osmaci, Kotor-Varoš and Foča.
Through the trial of Nikola Jorgić before the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf and later before the High Federal Court of Germany, it was established that the murders, torture, unlawful imprisonment and forced expulsions of the Bosniak population in the Doboj region constituted an act of genocide. The courts clearly concluded that the acts were committed with the intention of destroying the Bosniak community in their social integrity and sense of common belonging, which is the essential determinant of the concept of genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
These legal findings were further confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Jorgić v. Germany, emphasizing that the German courts correctly applied international legal norms and did not violate the applicant's fundamental human rights. This strengthened the principle of universal jurisdiction in the prosecution of genocide, which further emphasizes the gravity and importance of these judgments.
Thus, the verdict sentenced Nikola Jorgić to four life sentences and eight sentences of seven to nine years in prison. Such a sentence, combined with a life sentence for crimes committed in the Doboj region, irrefutably demonstrates that the crimes against Bosniaks in Grapska – murders, abuses, persecution and physical destruction of civilians – were part of a broader policy of genocide. These verdicts have multiple significance: they are internationally recognized, they establish the broader scope of the genocide against Bosniaks, they shatter the myth of the localization of genocide only to eastern Bosnia, and they provide the basis for further legal, historical and scientific analyses of the character of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina as an aggression accompanied by genocide.
This documented and scientifically verified research represents a contribution to the truth, justice and memory of the crimes against Bosniaks in the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is a permanent reminder of the obligation to prosecute those responsible and preserve the memory of the innocently killed. This book is a contribution to the preservation of collective memory so that the crimes are not only documented but also to ensure that similar crimes are never repeated to anyone again.
The promoters of the book are: Dr. Sc. Muamer Džananović, prof. dr. Ermin Kuka and dr. sc. Hikmet Karčić.
The promotion will be held on July 18, 2025 at 7 pm at the Grapska Cultural Center (Gornja Grapska).
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