Trial of Draža Mihailović
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The Trial of Draža Mihailović, or the Belgrade Process, was the trial of General Draža Mihailović and a number of other prominent figures for high treason and war crimes organized in 1946 by the new communist government of Yugoslavia. Mihailović was tried as a leader of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland and the Chetnik movement. His co-defendants were other prominent figures of the movement and members of the Yugoslav Government in exile, such as Slobodan Jovanović. The trial took place from June 10, 1946, before the Military Council of the Supreme Court of the Federative People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, and lasted until July 15, 1946. The court was located the Summer Hall of the Infantry Training School at Topčider in Belgrade.
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[edit] The Indictment
The accused were tried before a military court. The President of the council was Mihailo Đordević and the members Milija Laković and Mihailo Janković, and Todor Popadić as secretary. The assistant judges were Nikola Stanković and Radomir Ilić.
The prosecutor was Miloš Minić, a high-ranking communist official who took part in Tito-Mihailović negotiations in 1941. The assistant prosecutor was Miloš Jovanović.
Mihailović and others were tried mainly for their activities against Tito’s Partisan army, for alleged collaboration with the Germans and further for war crimes against civilians. The latter was relegated to the end of the indictment and consisted of 7 items. For Mihailović there were 47 items in the indictment, of 8 of which he was found guilty.
[edit] The Indicted
The accused were, in order their names were read out at the trial:
- Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović
- Dr. Stevan Moljević
- Dr. Mladen Žujović
- Dr. Živko Topalović
- Đuro Vilović
- Radoslav "Rade" Radić
- Slavoljub Vranješević
- Miloš Glišić
- Slobodan Jovanović
- Božidar Purić
- Dr. Momčilo Ninčić
- Petar Živković
- Radoje Knežević
- Dr. Milan Gavrilović
- Živan Knežević
- Konstantin Fotić
- Dragomir "Dragi" Jovanović
- Tanasije "Tasa" Dinić
- Velibor Jonić
- Đura Dokić
- Kosta Mušicki
- Boško Pavlović
- Dr. Lazar "Laza" Marković
- Dr. Kosta Kumanudi
Out of the 24 accused individuals mentoned above, 10 were tried in absentia:
- Slobodan Jovanović, PM of the government in exile
- Božidar Purić, PM of the government in exile
- Petar Živković, minister of the government in exile
- Dr. Momcilo Ninčić, minister of the government in exile
- Dr. Milan Gavrilović, ministers of the of the government in exile
- Radoje Knežević, minister of the of the government in exile
- Konstantin Fotić, ambassador of the of the government in exile to the USA
- Major Živan Knežević, director of the military chancellery of the presidium of the government in exile
- Dr. Živko Topalović, political leader of the Četnik movement.
- Dr. Mladen Žujović, political leader of the Četnik movement.
[edit] Legal Advice
The following were represented by the counsel chosen by themselves:
- Draža Mihailović, by the barristers Nikola Đonović and Dragić Joksimović;
- Djuro Vilović, by Dr. Milan Omčikus, barrister;
- Dragoljub "Dragi" Jovanović, by Slavko Dukanac, barrister;
- Tanasije Dinić, by Dr. Bogoljub Jovanović, barrister;
- Velibor Jonić, by Milan Živadinović, barrister;
- Djuro Dokić, by Dragoljub Joksimović, barrister;
- Dr. Lazar Marković, by Aleksandar Nikolić, barrister;
- Dr. Kosta Kumanudi, by Dr. Friedrich Pops, barrister;
The others were defended by the counsel chosen by the Court:
- Radoslav Radić, by Lazar Vučetić, barrister;
- Slavoljub Vranjesević and Miloš Glišić, by Blažo Radović, barrister;
- Kosta Mušički, by Đorđe Ćirić, barrister;
- Boško Pavlović, Radoje Knežević, and Dr. Milan Gavrilović by Slobodan Subotić, barrister;
- Dr. Mladen Žujović, Dr. Živko Topalović, by Nikola Radovanović, barrister,
- Slobodan Jovanović, by Miloš Terzić, barrister;
- Bozidar Purić and Petar Živković, by Pavle Miljaković, barrister;
- Dr Momcilo Ninčić, by David Alkalaj, barrister,
- Živan Knežević and Konstantin Fotić, by Dragutin Tasić, barrister.
[edit] Foreign Accreditations
Teams were sent by the agencies TASS, ČTK, PAP, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, United Press, Overseas News Agency, International News Service, the Jewish News Agency, Tele Press, the Albanian Telegraph Agency and following the newspapers: Pravda, Izvestia, The Times, the Daily Worker, The New York Times, the New York Herald Tribune, the News Chronicle, the Daily Express and others.
[edit] Convictions
Mihailović was sentenced to death by a firing squad on 15 July 1946. An appeal was rejected on 16 July and he was executed on 17 July along with a few others.
The others in the process were convicted to penalties ranging from death to long prison sentences.
At the time of the trial, there were protests from the Americans and the French, although both moderated by their interest in the new government.[1]
More recently, there were calls for a retrial and/or rehabilitation, mainly in Serbian circles.
[edit] Abuse of Process
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The trial was conducted publicly, with both ordinary citizens and the press present. It was also broadcast daily on radio. At the same time, the daily press was allowed to pour scorn on the accused on a daily basis, practically calling for execution. The pressure in the courtroom was intense, with frequent interventions and shouts from the public. In general, the tempo of the process was very fast, the trial lasting only 35 days. By comparison, the Nuremberg Process which was also considered to be very fast, lasted about 6 months.
[edit] References
- ^ Martin, David. Patriot or Traitor: The Case of General Mihailović: Proceedings and Report of the Commission of Inquiry of the Committee for a Fair Trial for Draja Mihailović. Hoover Archival Documentaries. Hoover Institution Publication, volume 191. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 1978.
