Roland Bartetzko

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Roland Bartetzko
Birth nameRoland Bartetzko
Nickname(s)Shaban
Born1970
Würselen, West Germany
Allegiance Germany
Flag of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia.svg Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
UCK KLA.svg Kosovo Liberation Army
Service/branch German Army
Logo of Croatian Defence Council.svg Croatian Defence Council (HVO)
UCK KLA.svg Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
Years of service1987–1992 (Bundeswehr)
1992–1994 (HVO)
1998–1999 (KLA)
RankHD H 32 Oberfeldwebel HFla.svg Oberfeldwebel
Battles/warsBosnian War
Kosovo War

Roland Bartetzko (born 1970) is a former German soldier who fought with the Croatian Defence Council in the Bosnian War (1992–1995) and the Kosovo Liberation Army in the Kosovo War (1998–1999). In 2001, Bartetzko orchestrated a car bombing outside a Yugoslav government office in Pristina, killing one Serb civilian and injuring four others. He was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism, being the first Westerner to be charged with murder in post-war Kosovo. The following year, he was convicted on all counts by an international court and sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment. Bartetzko's sentence was later commuted to 20 years' imprisonment. He was released on parole in 2015.

Biography[]

Early life and the Yugoslav Wars[]

Roland Bartetzko was born in the town of Würselen, near Aachen, in 1970.[1] He joined the Bundeswehr in 1987.[2] By the time he left the Bundeswehr in 1992, he had reached the rank of staff sergeant (German: Oberfeldwebel). In 1992, he travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to fight in the Bosnian War and joined the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).[1] "To be able to call myself a soldier, I thought I had to fight," Bartetzko later remarked. "Otherwise, I could have joined a paintball club." Bartetzko was one of approximately 100 German citizens who volunteered to fight with the HVO, most of whom were far-right extremists. Bartetzko has denied being a neo-Nazi.[3] Bartetzko was assigned to the Ante Bruno Bušić Brigade, which fought the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also fought during the Siege of Mostar.[2]

Bartetzko left the HVO in April 1994, citing the "very cruel scenes, which could be described as atrocities" he witnessed being committed by his fellow HVO fighters.[4] He subsequently volunteered to fight with the Croatian Army and participated in Operation Mistral 2 in the closing stages of the Bosnian War. Upon returning to Germany, Bartetzko was arrested for allegedly stealing a woman's handbag. Following the outbreak of the Kosovo War in 1998, Bartetzko travelled to Tirana, Albania. He subsequently crossed the Albanian–Yugoslav border into Kosovo and joined the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as a volunteer. During his time with the KLA, he assumed the nom de guerre Shaban, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar.[2]

Terrorism conviction[]

On 18 April 2001, a car bomb exploded near the Centre for Peace and Tolerance in Pristina, the headquarters of the Yugoslav passport office in Kosovo, killing one civilian and injuring four others, including a woman.[5] Yugoslav government official Aleksandar Petrović was later identified as the man killed in the bombing. The device used in the attack was filled with metal fragments.[6] According to UNMIK spokesman Andrea Angeli, it contained around 10 kilograms (22 lb) of explosive. "For the future of Kosovo it could not be a more tragic incident," UNMIK police spokesman Derek Chappell stated. "This is an attack against everything that people trying to build this country are working for."[5] The crime scene was quickly secured by UNMIK police and British KFOR personnel. UNMIK and KFOR soon discovered the detonator that had been used in the attack; Bartetzko's fingerprint was found to be on it.[7] Bartetzko was arrested several days after the bombing.[6] He was charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism.[8] He was the first Westerner to be charged with murder in post-war Kosovo.[6]

In 2001, Bartetzko was discharged from the Bundeswehr under Paragraph 55 (5) of the Soldiers' Act, which is enforced when a soldier has "culpably violated their duty to serve" or "seriously endangered the military order or the reputation of the Bundeswehr".[3] Bartetzko's trial commenced in February 2002; he pleaded not guilty.[6] The trial was held under heavy security, with United Nations police officers wearing ballistic vests and armed with automatic rifles.[8] The prosecution argued that the bombing was a "revenge attack" stemming from Bartetzko's "hatred of Serbs". On 10 May 2002, Bartetzko was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment.[6]

Imprisonment[]

Bartetzko was incarcerated at the Dubrava Prison in western Kosovo. He filed an appeal against the first-instance verdict, and on 12 November 2002, the Supreme Court of Kosovo reduced his sentence from 23 years to 20 years. In 2009, Bartetzko filed a request for interim measures with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, alleging violations of his right to effective legal remedy, right to appeal, and human rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. In August 2010, the motion was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.[9]

Bartetzko was released on parole in 2015. Upon his release, he relocated to Pristina and found work providing legal services to a local media company, having studied law while imprisoned. He is an active contributor to the question-and-answer website Quora, where he discusses his wartime experiences. In 2018, Bartetzko published a memoir, The Smell of War: Lessons from the Battlefield. He continues to maintain that he was not responsible for the bombing of the Yugoslav passport office and has accused UNMIK of framing him.[3]

Bibliography[]

  • Bartetzko, Roland (January 2018). The Smell of War: Lessons from the Battlefield. SMS Publishing. ISBN 978-9951562355.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Arielli, Nir (2018). From Byron to Bin Laden. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-67498-223-9.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rujevic, Nemanja (10 May 2017). ""Shabani" gjerman nuk e di sa serbë ka vrarë". Deutsche Welle (in Albanian). Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rujevic, Nemanja (14 February 2019). "Als deutscher Guerillero in den Jugoslawienkriegen". Deutsche Welle (in German). Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  4. ^ Arielli 2018, p. 188
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Kosovo capital hit by bomb blast". BBC News. 18 April 2001. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "German guilty of Pristina bomb attack". BBC News. 10 May 2002. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  7. ^ Ip, Kwai Hong (2008). Arnold, Roberta (ed.). Law Enforcement Within the Framework of Peace Support Operations. Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 118. ISBN 978-9-0474-3138-1.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Ball, Howard (2002). War Crimes and Justice: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-5760-7899-0.
  9. ^ Constitutional Court of Kosovo (16 August 2010). "Decision on the Request for Interim Measures" (PDF). Retrieved 16 June 2020. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links[]

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