Suva Reka Massacre - Aftermath

Aftermath

The investigation into the Suva Reka massacre started three years after the mass graves in Serbia had been discovered. More than 100 witnesses were questioned during the trial, including Shureta Berisha, who survived the crime by jumping out of the truck that was transporting the corpses. Serbia's War Crimes prosecutor has charged eight policemen for the massacre, including members of the 37th SPU of the Serbian MUP. Key witnesses of the Office of the Prosecutor are former police members who are able to describe in detail the murder of Albanian civilians and the removal of their bodies from Suva Reka.

After a three-year trial, a War Crimes court found four former policemen guilty of the massacre and sentenced two of them to a maximum of 20 years in jail, one to 15 years and another to 13 years. However, the Serbian War Crimes prosecutors said that they would appeal the verdicts, especially because the prime suspect — the commander of the unit that carried out the massacre — was acquitted. Suva Reka is the first war crimes case in Serbia related to the mass graves discovered after Slobodan Milošević's ouster.