Capital punishment in Serbia

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As of 2022, Europe holds the greatest concentration of abolitionist states (blue).
  Abolished for all offences
  Abolished in practice
  Retains capital punishment

Capital punishment was used from the creation of the modern Serbian state in 1804. On 26 February 2002, the Serbian Parliament adopted amendments striking it off from the Criminal Code. The last execution, by shooting, took place on 14 February 1992, and the last death sentences were given in 2001.[citation needed] Serbia is bound by the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified on 6 September 2001), and Protocols No. 6 and No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ratified on 3 March 2004). According to Article 24 of the Serbian constitution (2006): "Human life is inviolable. There shall be no death penalty in the Republic of Serbia".

History[edit]

Serbia, 1804–1914[edit]

In the first decades of the 19th century, the death penalty was widely used in Serbia for a variety of offenses: murder, theft, political crimes, infanticide and even for extramarital sexual relations.

Until 1858, different modes of execution were in use: shooting, hanging, breaking on the wheel, „lethal gauntlet“ (a double file of men facing each other and armed with birch rods with which to strike at a person who is made to run between them) and decapitation; in the very beginning, there were a few instances of impalement. Until 1842, murderers were subject to „mirror“ punishments, meaning that a murderer was to be killed in an identical manner in which he killed the victim (often with the same weapon). In addition, the bodies of executed offenders were almost always publicly displayed on wheels and kept there for a set period of time or until „complete decay“. In 1858, shooting became the only legal mode of execution, while the practice of displaying the bodies was discontinued.[1]

Under the first Serbian Penal Code, passed in 1860, the death sentences were to be executed in public, by shooting, while the executed body was to be buried immediately at the place of execution. The Code included sixteen capital offenses: various forms of murder and robbery leading to death, as well as treason.[2] In 1863, however, the death penalty was re-introduced for theft and certain other crimes.[3] The death penalty for theft was finally abolished only in 1902. In 1905, executions in Belgrade ceased to be public (the offenders were shot furtively in places not frequented by public), but they remained public (until 1930) in other towns and in the country, where thousands of spectators gathered for the spectacle.[4]

Regular statistics on capital punishment began to be kept in 1889. Before that, reliable data exist for some years only. For example, in 1844 there were 62 death sentences (and 50 executions), in 1857 – 87 (10), 1868 – 64 (36) and in 1887 – 34 (23). In 1883, the year of a massive rebellion against the government (Timočka buna), 117 persons (mostly rebels) were sentenced to death and 47 executed. According to the official statistics, in the 25 years from 1889 to 1914 there were 600 death sentences and 344 executions.

Yugoslavia, 1918–1941[edit]

When Yugoslavia was created in 1918, different legal systems remained in force in different parts of the new country. In the north-western provinces (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Vojvodina), executions were by hanging in an enclosed space with restricted public attendance. In the remainder of the country (Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia), executions were by shooting and in public. When a single Penal Code was introduced for the whole country (1929), hanging remained the only legal mode of execution, with the exception of sentences passed by military courts, which were executed by shooting.[5]

Crimes punished by death were mostly murder and robbery leading to death, as well as terrorism. The terrorists sentenced to death were mainly the communists and the Croatian, Macedonian and Albanian separatists.

According to the official statistics, there were 459 death sentences and 232 executions in Serbia from 1920 to 1940 (on average, 22 sentences and 11 executions per year). In the same period, in the whole of Yugoslavia there were 904 sentences and 291 executions (43 and 14 per year).[6]

Hangings were performed by state executioners: Alois Seyfried (1918-1922), Florian Mausner (1922-1928) and Karlo Dragutin Hart (1928-1941).

Yugoslavia, 1945–1991[edit]

In the first years after World War II, death sentences were passed in large numbers daily on collaborationists and war criminals, but also on the „enemies of the people“, i.e. all those who opposed the new communist regime. There are no reliable data, but it seems likely that in Yugoslavia until 1951 there were as many as 10,000 death sentences, a majority of which were executed. In the same period, there must have been several thousands of death sentences and executions in Serbia. In addition to political offenses, capital crimes included the theft of the government property, as well as aggravated murder and robbery. Until 1959, executions were either by shooting or by hanging, as determined by the sentence of the court in each individual case, although hangings were considered as an aggravated form and were used less frequently. In the first post-war years, executions of major war criminals were often public. After 1950, the number of death sentences fell sharply. According to the official statistics, from 1950 to 1958 there were 229 death sentences in Yugoslavia (ca. 29 p.a.) and 122 in Serbia (ca. 15 p.a.). No official data were published on executions, but it is safe to assume that about two thirds of all death sentences were executed.[7]

The 1959 reforms resulted in a less strict system of criminal justice. Number of capital offenses was reduced and capital punishment was abolished for property offenses. Hanging was abolished and the only legal mode of execution remained shooting, performed by a platoon of eight policemen, only half of whom had rifles loaded with live ammunition. Executions could not be performed publicly. From 1959 to 1991, there were, on average, two or three executions per year in Yugoslavia and about two in Serbia (over 70% of all death sentences in Yugoslavia were passed by courts in Serbia).[8]

Serbia after 1991[edit]

From April 1992, Serbia was a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which consisted of two federal units – Serbia and Montenegro. From 1991 to 2002, Serbian courts passed 19 death sentences, none of which had been executed. On 14 February 1992, Johan Drozdek was executed in Sombor. He was sentenced to death in 1988 for rape and murder of a six-year-old girl.

Abolition[edit]

Early attempts[edit]

In 1826, poet Sima Milutinović Sarajlija (1791–1847) wrote to Prince Miloš Obrenović, advising him to abolish the death penalty. The Prince never received the letter and nothing came out of the poet’s project.[9] During the drafting of the Penal Code in 1858, a law professor and a judge Jovan Filipović (1819–1876) proposed an abolition of capital punishment, arguing that it was unconstitutional under the then Serbian constitution. His proposal was rejected by a majority vote in the Drafting Committee.[10] In January 1881, deputies of the People's Radical Party made two motions to completely abolish the death penalty in the Serbian Parliament, but both were rejected by a majority vote. A similar motion, although restricted to an abolition for political crimes only, was made in the Parliament in 1887 and was also rejected.[11] A committee appointed to draft a new constitution for Serbia in 1888 held a debate on the death penalty, but the motion to abolish it was rejected.[citation needed] Another parliamentary debate was held in 1906, with the same result. Among those who spoke against capital punishment was the then minister of justice, Milenko Vesnić.[citation needed]

In the parliamentary debates on the draft constitution for the newly created Yugoslavia in 1921, the leftist parties (Communists and Republicans), as well as several smaller parties from Slovenia and Croatia, called for an abolition of the death penalty, but the majority decided to keep it in the constitution. In 1926, women’s organizations in Yugoslavia, headed by the Popular Union of Women (Narodni ženski savez), demanded abolition of capital punishment "for women as well as for men".[citation needed]

Marxists scholars, gathered around the Praxis journal, proposed an abolition of the death penalty in 1963.[citation needed] In 1980, a Belgrade lawyer Srđa M. Popović submitted a petition to the Yugoslav authorities to abolish the death penalty.[citation needed] A Society Against the Death Penalty was founded in Belgrade in 1981, but the authorities refused to allow it. In 1983, more than a thousand Yugoslav citizens, mostly from Slovenia, signed a petition to the federal parliament calling for an abolition of capital punishment.[citation needed]

Partial abolition, 1992[edit]

Constitution of FR Yugoslavia (which consisted of Serbia and Montenegro), adopted on 25 April 1992, abolished capital punishment for federal crimes (including genocide, war crimes, political and military offenses), but the federal units kept the right to prescribe capital punishment for crimes under their jurisdiction (murder and robbery).

Final abolition, 2002[edit]

On 26 February 2002, the Serbian parliament amended Serbia's Penal Code by deleting from it all references to capital punishment. As was stressed in the parliamentary debate, a paramount motive for this abolition was the intention of the then FR Yugoslavia to join the Council of Europe.[12] At the time of the abolition, there were 12 people in Serbia on death row.[13] Their sentence was commuted to 40 years in prison, the highest possible sentence after death, since Serbia didn't have a life imprisonment sentence at the time.

In 2006, new Constitution of Serbia was adopted. Article 24 of the Constitution explicitly forbids enactment of capital punishment.[14]

Public opinion[edit]

In the Fall of 2001, shortly before the Serbian abolition, a study of attitudes to the death penalty, based on a poll of 926 citizens, found the respondents to be equally divided: 43% were for the death penalty and 43% were against it, with 14% undecided.[15] Subsequent polls, taken every year since 2007 on a representative sample of around 1,000 citizens, confirm this result. Those for and those against capital punishment remain equally divided with minor year-to-year variations, like a seesaw: one year a majority of a few per cent would be for, and the next against the death penalty (see Table below).

This has changed since 2012 where every year a majority support the death penalty.

Year Against death penalty (%) For death penalty (%)[16]
2002 50 50
2007 56 44
2008 48 52
2009 52 48
2010 47 53
2011 53 47
2012 49 51
2013 (March) 43 57
2013 (September) 47 53
2014 30 70
2015 38 62
2016 30 70
2017 32 68
2018 30 70
2019 30 70
2020 36 64
2021 31 69
2022 33 67

Executions since 1959[edit]

Source: SPSK Database

Executed person Gender Date of sentence Date of execution Place of execution Crime Method Ref.
Mileva Krivokapić Female 26 June 1959 1960 Leskovac double child murder firing squad [17][18]
Ramo Bunakai Male 1959 1960 Peć spying and murder [1]
Ilija Jojin 8 March 1960 18 July 1961 Belgrade double murder [2]
Stevan Narandžić 1961 1961 Sremska Mitrovica double murder [3]
Kruma Cekov 1961 1962 Požarevac murder [4]
Esad Ribić 14 June 1963[19] 1963 Sombor murder of a police officer [5]
Mihajlo Sekuš 1963 1963 Subotica triple murder [6]
Milivoje Stević 25 July 1962[20] 1963 Sremska Mitrovica murder of a police officer [7]
Vojislav Smiljanić 1963 [8]
Sedija Tači 1962 1963 Niš murder in prison while serving sentence for double murder [9]
Aleksandar Jovanović 1 October 1962 30 September 1963 Valjevo child murder [10]
Mladen Domanović 23 November 1962 1963 Sremska Mitrovica murder of cell mate while in prison for previous murder [11]
Živko Mladenović 1963 1963 Prokuplje murder [12]
Sadija Beftija 1963 1964 Priština murder [13]
Vukomir Dojčinović 1964 24 February 1965 Niš triple murder [14]
Eva Vanjur Female 23 April 1964 8 November 1965 Subotica child murder [21][22][23]
Božo Stadinović Male 7 May 1965[24] 1966 Sremska Mitrovica homicide during a robbery [15]
Ivan Jelić 25 July 1968 3 November 1968 Belgrade terrorism [25][26]
Dragoljub Gutić 30 May 1968 27 February 1969 Belgrade homicide during a robbery [27][28]
Sava Lisovac
Janko Marković 18 February 1969 28 January 1970 Zaječar double murder [29][30]
Teufik Kapetanović 3 November 1969[31] 1970 Niš homicide during a robbery [16]
Janoš Kočiš 1971 1971 Novi Sad murder [17]
Vince Kišđeri 27 October 1970 1972 double murder [18]
Hilmija Hajrulahu 29 October 1970 1972 Gnjilane murder [19]
Alija Elezi 15 August 1971 1972 murder [20]
Milun Jovanović 20 April 1972 13 December 1972 Novi Pazar triple murder[32] [21]
Nebih Prenići 28 January 1970 13 June 1973 Priština double murder [22]
Stipan Tumbas 22 March 1973 15 August 1974 Subotica child murder [33][34]
Aleksandar Milutinović 10 November 1971 4 September 1974 Belgrade multiple murder[32] [23]
Jezdimir Gajić 8 March 1973 16 May 1975 Požarevac multiple murder[32] [24]
Hasan Kajtazović 18 April 1974 1976? Niš double murder [25]
Milan Sekulić 13 June 1974[35] 19 March 1976 Belgrade[36] murder of a police officer [26]
Ahmet Zogaj 19 June 1974[37] 1976 Prizren double child murder [27]
Bali Zogaj [28]
Ali Haliti 21 March 1975 1977 Priština murder [29]
Isljam Đota 11 October 1974 1977 double murder [30]
Mejdi Ljamalari 3 February 1974 1977 Gnjilane double murder [31]
Avdija Seferaj 11 November 1977[38] 1977 Požarevac killed four inmates during a prison riot [32]
Mustafa Milaim [33]
Zumber Haliti 9 December 1975 1977 triple murder [34]
Nedeljko Grujičić 5 April 1974 5 January 1977 Užice double murder [35]
Miljenko Hrkać 25 December 1975 11 January 1978 Belgrade terrorism [39][40][41]
Dimitrije Gavrilović 21 April 1978 20 April 1979 Novi Sad murder of two police officers [42][43]
Nebojša Despotov 4 March 1976 12 July 1979 Zrenjanin double murder [44]
Vojislav Rajčić 1 April 1980 16 March 1981 Zaječar war crimes [45][46]
Đemšit Braha 7 November 1979 22 October 1981 Priština double murder [47]
Hamit Azizi 1982 4 January 1982 murder [36]
Paljoka Gecaj 1982 5 April 1982 Peć revenge murder (blood feud) [48][49]
Ferat Muja 28 July 1982 25 April 1984 Titova Mitrovica murder [50][51]
Tefik Abazi 1984 22 July 1987 Priština triple murder [52]
Ahmet Pačarizi 11 August 1983 20 November 1987 Prizren murder of two police officers [53][54][55]
Laslo Egete 4 April 1986 29 July 1988 Subotica child murder [56][57]
Laslo Tubičak 30 March 1988 8 August 1989 Novi Sad murder of a police officer [58][59]
Johan Drozdek 15 March 1988 14 February 1992 Sombor child murder [60][61]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Živanović, Toma (1967). Zakonski izvori krivičnog prava Srbije od 1804. do 1865 [Statutory sources of Serbia's criminal law from 1804 to 1865]. Belgrade. pp. 431–439.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ "Kaznitelni zakonik za Knjažestvo Srbiju, 1860 [Penal Code for the Princedom of Serbia, 1860]" (PDF). Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Izmene Kaznitelnog zakonika, 1863 [Amendments to the Penal Code, 1863], Art. 223" (PDF). Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  4. ^ Janković, Ivan (2012). Na belom hlebu: Smrtna kazna u Srbiji, 1804–2002 [On white bread diet: The death penalty in Serbia 1804-2002]. Belgrade. pp. 244–247. ISBN 978-86-519-1232-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Janković, Ivan (2012). Na belom hlebu: Smrtna kazna u Srbiji, 1804–2002 [On white bread diet: The death penalty in Serbia 1804-2002]. Belgrade. pp. Ch. 8–10. ISBN 978-86-519-1232-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Statistički godišnjaci Kraljevine SHS / Jugoslavije [Statistical Yearbooks of the Kingdom SHS / Yugoslavia]. Belgrade. 1921–1941.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Janković, Ivan (2012). Na belom hlebu: Smrtna kazna u Srbiji, 1804–2002 [On white bread diet: The death penalty in Serbia 1804-2002]. Belgrade. pp. Ch. 11–12.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Janković, Ivan (2012). Na belom hlebu: Smrtna kazna u Srbiji, 1804–2002 [On white bread diet: The death penalty in Serbia 1804-2002]. pp. Ch. 13–14.
  9. ^ Karadžić, Vuk (1969). Sabrana dela [Collected Works], XXII. Belgrade. pp. 227–233.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Janković, Ivan (2012). Na belom hlebu: Smrtna kazna u Srbiji, 1804–2002 [On white bread diet: The death penalty in Serbia 1804-2002]. Belgrade. pp. 122–123.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ Janković, Ivan (2012). Na belom hlebu: Smrtna kazna u Srbiji, 1804–2002 [On white bread diet: The death penalty in Serbia 1804-2002]. Belgrade. pp. 172–177.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ "Kako je Narodna skupština ukinula smrtnu kaznu u Srbiji 2002. godine?". SPSK. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  13. ^ SPSK database
  14. ^ "PRAVDA ZA UBICE: Evo kako je ukinuta smrtna kazna u Srbiji!". Kurir. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  15. ^ Nikolić, Borko (2002). Preživela kazna [An Obsolete Punishment]. Belgrade. p. 14. ISBN 86-7202-051-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ SPSK: Integral reports Ankete javnog mnenja, Srbija, 2002, 2007 - “undecided” excluded)
  17. ^ "Žena osuđena na smrt strijeljanjem". Slobodna Dalmacija (4461): 2. 27 June 1959.
  18. ^ "Mileva Krivokapić ponovo osuđena na smrt". Slobodna Dalmacija (4649): 3. 1 February 1960.
  19. ^ "Убица сомборсног милиционара осуђен на смрт стрељањем". Borba. 27 (163): 6. 15 June 1962.
  20. ^ "Убице милиционера Тимотијевића осуђене на смрт". Borba. 27 (204): 4. 26 July 1962.
  21. ^ "ЕВА ВАЊУР ОСУЂЕНА НА СМРТ". Borba. 29 (113): 6. 24 April 1964.
  22. ^ "Eva Vanjur, ubojica učenice Gizele Kočiš, osuđena na smrt". Slobodna Dalmacija (5965): 5. 25 April 1964.
  23. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna nad ubojicom Evom Vanjur". Slobodna Dalmacija (6444): 7. 11 November 1965.
  24. ^ "Ubojica Božo Stadinović Balinović osuđen na kaznu smrti strijeljanjem". Slobodna Dalmacija (6284): 8. 8 May 1965.
  25. ^ "Terorist Ivan Jelić osuđen na smrt". Slobodna Dalmacija (7278): 2. 26 July 1968.
  26. ^ "Strijeljan terorist Ivan Jelić". Slobodna Dalmacija (7365): 2. 4 November 1968.
  27. ^ "Lisovac i Gutić osuđeni na smrt". Slobodna Dalmacija (7230): 7. 31 May 1968.
  28. ^ "Izvršene smrtne kazne nad Lisovcem i Gutićem". Slobodna Dalmacija (7462): 11. 28 February 1969.
  29. ^ "Смртна казна двоструком убици". Borba. 34 (48): 9. 19 February 1969.
  30. ^ "Smrtna kazna trostrukom ubojici". Slobodna Dalmacija (7746): 11. 29 January 1970.
  31. ^ "ТЕУФИК ЋАМЕТАНОВИЋ ОСУЂЕН НА СМРТ". Borba. 34 (304): 7. 4 November 1969.
  32. ^ a b c "SMRTNA KAZNA TREBA LI JE PONOVO UVESTI?" (PDF). Informer. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  33. ^ "Ubojica djevojčice osuđen na smrt". Slobodna Dalmacija (8715): 1. 23 March 1973.
  34. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna nad Stipom Tumbasom". Slobodna Dalmacija: 49143. 16 August 1974.
  35. ^ "Убица милиционара осуђен на смрт". Borba. 53 (161): 8. 15 June 1974.
  36. ^ "Streljanja bez tragova". Večernje Novosti. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  37. ^ "Две смртне казне у Призрену". Borba. 51 (168): 7. 20 June 1972.
  38. ^ "Četiri smrtne kazne". Slobodna Dalmacija (10145): 6. 12 November 1977.
  39. ^ "M. Hrkač osuđen na smrt". Slobodna Dalmacija (8011): 1. 8 December 1970.
  40. ^ "Ponovno pretres pred Vrhovnim sudom Srbije". Slobodna Dalmacija (8389): 3. 1 March 1972.
  41. ^ "Smrtna kazna za Miljenka Hrkača". Slobodna Dalmacija (9561): 3. 26 December 1975.
  42. ^ "Najstrože kazne". Slobodna Dalmacija (10280): 3. 22 April 1978.
  43. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna nad D. Gavrilovićem". Slobodna Dalmacija (10588): 16. 21 April 1979.
  44. ^ "Despotovu potvrđena smrtna kazna". Slobodna Dalmacija (10268): 3. 8 April 1978.
  45. ^ "Ратном злочинцу Рајчићу - смртна казна". Borba. 58 (90): 14. 2 April 1980.
  46. ^ Tomić, Vladan (1989). Nema mesta na nebu (PDF) (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Književne novine. p. 158. ISBN 86-391-0156-6.
  47. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna nad dvostrukim ubojicom". Slobodna Dalmacija (11365): 3. 23 October 1981.
  48. ^ "Paljoka Gecaj". SPSK. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  49. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna nad ubojicom". Slobodna Dalmacija (11503). Split: 12. 6 April 1982. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  50. ^ "Smrtna kazna Feratu Muji". Slobodna Dalmacija (11599). Split: 4. 29 July 1982. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  51. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna nad zločincem". Slobodna Dalmacija (12134). Split: 12. 26 April 1984. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  52. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna". Slobodna Dalmacija (13168). Split: 23. 23 July 1987. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  53. ^ "Smrtna kazna ubojici milicionera". Slobodna Dalmacija (11917). Split: 2. 12 August 1983. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  54. ^ Schiavo Lena, Enrico (10 December 2022). "KRATKA BELEŠKA O POGUBLJENJIMA U SFRJ OD 1985. DO 1992". SPSK. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  55. ^ "Strijeljan dvostruki ubojica". Slobodna Dalmacija (13290). Split: 27. 21 November 1987. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  56. ^ "Smrtna kazna za monstruma iz Kanjiže". Slobodna Dalmacija (12726): 27. 5 April 1986.
  57. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna". Slobodna Dalmacija (13532): 39. 30 July 1988.
  58. ^ "Smrtna kazna ubojici milcionera". Slobodna Dalmacija (13416): 40. 31 March 1988.
  59. ^ "Izvršena smrtna kazna". Slobodna Dalmacija (13898): 5. 9 August 1989.
  60. ^ "Svirepom ubojici smrtna kazna". Slobodna Dalmacija (13401): 38. 16 March 1988.
  61. ^ Simić, Jovanka (30 July 2005). "Njeno ime samo šapućemo". Večernje novosti.[dead link]

External links[edit]

  • www.deathpenalty.rs Serbia against Capital Punishment, a site devoted exclusively to the death penalty in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia
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