Drazen Erdemovic

Drazen Erdemovic, a Bosnian Croat was born on 25 November 1971 in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

After the war broke out in 1992, he served in the Bosnian Army for three months, but deserted because of its refusal to allow him a food ration.

He then joined the Bosnian Croatian ranks of the HVO (The Croatian Defence Council). He became rich by clandestinely helping Serbs to cross the demarcation lines. He was arrested for his illicit activities but managed to escape and find refuge in a Bosnian Serb camp. It was at this point in time that he enrolled in the 10th sabotage detachment of the Bosnian Serb Army.

On 16 July 1996, Drazen Erdemovic and other members of the 10th sabotage detachment of the Bosnian Serb Army, made their way to the Pilica collective farm where buses were scheduled to arrive from Srebrenica filled with Bosnian Muslim civilians who had beforehand surrendered to the police and the Bosnian Serb army.

On leaving the buses, in groups of 10, these non-armed civilians were led away to a nearby field adjacent to the farmhouse and executed. In total these executions resulted in the death of close to 1200 Bosnian Muslims.

Drazen Erdemovic was arrested on 2 March 1996 by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). He was transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on 30 March 1996.