Trial of Draža Mihailovic
Encyclopedia
The Trial of Draža Mihailović, or the Belgrade Process, was the trial of Draža Mihailović
and a number of other alleged so-called prominent collaborators for high treason
and war crimes in 1946. Mihailović was tried as a leader of the Chetnik movement during World War II (the "Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland", JVUO). His co-defendants were other prominent figures of the movement and members of the Yugoslav government-in-exile, such as Slobodan Jovanović
, but also members of ZBOR
and of the Nedić regime like Velibor Jonić
. The trial opened on June 10, 1946, before the Military Council of the Supreme Court of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, and lasted until July 15, 1946. The court was located in the Summer Hall of the Infantry Training School at Topčider
in Belgrade
.
, a high-ranking government 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 Allied forces
, the Yugoslav Partisans, for collaboration with the Germans and for war crimes against civilians. The latter was relegated to the end of the indictment and consisted of 7 items. Mihailović was indicted on 47 counts, 8 of which he was found guilty of and all of them for his actions against Tito's armed forces.
During the trial, Mihailović appeared physically and intellectually weakened, possibly by torture
. His answers were often incoherent. The Allied airmen he had rescued in 1944 were not allowed to testify in his favor. Only two women came to testify in favor of Mihailović. Reportedly, they were heckled by the audience and, after the trial, submitted to a professional interdiction.
Out of the twenty-four accused individuals mentioned above, ten were tried in absentia
:
The others were defended by the counsel chosen by the Court:
, 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.
Diplomat and author Walter Roberts
considers that the trial was "anything but a model of justice" and that "it is clear that Mihailović was not guilty of all, or even many, of the charges brought against him" though Tito would probably not have had a fair trial either, had Mihailović prevailed.
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.
According to Mihailović biographer Jean-Christophe Buisson, one of Mihailović's lawyers, Dragić Joksimović, was arrested a few days after the execution and died in prison under unclear circumstances.
. Thus far, Momčilo Ninčić
and Slobodan Jovanović
have been officially rehabilitated in Serbia.
Draža Mihailovic
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović was a Yugoslav Serbian general during World War II...
and a number of other alleged so-called prominent collaborators for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
and war crimes in 1946. Mihailović was tried as a leader of the Chetnik movement during World War II (the "Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland", JVUO). His co-defendants were other prominent figures of the movement and members of the Yugoslav government-in-exile, such as Slobodan Jovanović
Slobodan Jovanovic
Slobodan Jovanović was one of Serbia's most prolific jurists, historians, sociologists, journalists and literary critics. He distinguished himself with a characteristically clear and sharp writing style later called the "Belgrade style"...
, but also members of ZBOR
ZBOR
Yugoslav National Movement "Zbor" , commonly known simply as ZBOR, was a Yugoslav fascist and conservative nationalist movement formed in 1935 by Dimitrije Ljotić. ZBOR's ideology was a blend of Italian Fascism, Nazism, and Serbian Orthodox Christian fundamentalism...
and of the Nedić regime like Velibor Jonić
Velibor Jonic
Velibor Jonić was a Serbian fascist politician and government minister in World War II Serbia.Jonić was by profession a professor and worked at the University of Belgrade...
. The trial opened on June 10, 1946, before the Military Council of the Supreme Court of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, and lasted until July 15, 1946. The court was located in the Summer Hall of the Infantry Training School at Topčider
Topcider
Topčider is a forest park and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is divided between in the municipalities of Čukarica, Rakovica and Savski Venac...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
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, with Todor Popadić as secretary. The assistant judges were Nikola Stanković and Radomir Ilić. The prosecutor was Miloš MinićMiloš Minic
Miloš Minić was a Serbian communist politician....
, a high-ranking government 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 Allied forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
, the Yugoslav Partisans, for collaboration with the Germans and for war crimes against civilians. The latter was relegated to the end of the indictment and consisted of 7 items. Mihailović was indicted on 47 counts, 8 of which he was found guilty of and all of them for his actions against Tito's armed forces.
During the trial, Mihailović appeared physically and intellectually weakened, possibly by torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. His answers were often incoherent. The Allied airmen he had rescued in 1944 were not allowed to testify in his favor. Only two women came to testify in favor of Mihailović. Reportedly, they were heckled by the audience and, after the trial, submitted to a professional interdiction.
Indictees
The accused were, in order their names were read out at the trial:- Draža MihailovićDraža MihailovicDragoljub "Draža" Mihailović was a Yugoslav Serbian general during World War II...
- Stevan MoljevićStevan MoljevicDr Stevan Moljević was Serbian and Yugoslav politician, lawyer and publicist, president of the Yugoslav-French Club, president of the Yugoslav-British Club, president of Rotary International Club of Yugoslavia and member of the Central National Committee of Yugoslavia in World War II...
- Mladen Žujović
- Živko TopalovićŽivko TopalovićŽivko Topalović was a Yugoslav socialist politician. Topalović became a leading figure in the Socialist Party of Yugoslavia, founded in 1921....
- Đuro Vilović
- Rade Radić
- Slavoljub Vranješević
- Miloš Glišić
- Slobodan JovanovićSlobodan JovanovicSlobodan Jovanović was one of Serbia's most prolific jurists, historians, sociologists, journalists and literary critics. He distinguished himself with a characteristically clear and sharp writing style later called the "Belgrade style"...
- Božidar Purić
- Momčilo NinčićMomcilo NincicMomčilo Ninčić was a Serbian politician and economist, and president of the League of Nations 1926-27.He finished school in law and completed a doctorate in Paris...
- Petar ŽivkovićPetar ŽivkovicPetar Živković was a Serbian soldier and political figure in Yugoslavia. He was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from January 7, 1929 until April 4, 1932.-Life:...
- Radoje Knežević
- Milan Gavrilović
- Živan Knežević
- Konstantin Fotić
- Dragomir "Dragi" JovanovićDragomir JovanovicDragomir Dragi Jovanović was a Serbian politician and Axis collaborator.Jovanović finished a law degree at the University of Belgrade's Law School. He received a job as a police officer in the city...
- Tasa Dinić
- Velibor JonićVelibor JonicVelibor Jonić was a Serbian fascist politician and government minister in World War II Serbia.Jonić was by profession a professor and worked at the University of Belgrade...
- Đura Dokić
- Kosta MušickiKosta MušickiKosta Mušicki was a general of the Serbian Volunteer Corps during World War II.Mušicki finished gymnasium in Zagreb and served Austria-Hungary in the First World War...
- Boško Pavlović
- Laza MarkovićLazar MarkovićLazar Marković is a Serbian footballer who plays for Serbian SuperLiga club FK Partizan.His older brother Filip is also a footballer, currently playing for FK Teleoptik.-Club career:...
- Kosta KumanudiKosta KumanudiKosta Kumanudi was a Serbian politician with the Democratic Party, and later with the Yugoslav Radical Peasant Democracy, forerunner to the Yugoslav National Party....
Out of the twenty-four accused individuals mentioned above, ten were tried in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
:
- Slobodan Jovanović, PM of the government in exile
- Božidar Purić, PM of the government in exile
- Petar Živković, minister of the government in exile
- Momcilo Ninčić, minister of the government in exile
- Milan Gavrilović, ministers of the government in exile
- Radoje Knežević, minister of the government in exile
- Konstantin Fotić, ambassador of the government in exile to the USA
- Major Živan Knežević, director of the military chancellery of the presidium of the government in exile
- Živko Topalović, political leader of the Četnik movement.
- Mladen Žujović, political leader of the Četnik movement.
Legal Advisors
The following were represented by the counsel chosen by themselves:- Draža Mihailović, by the barristers Nikola Đonović and Dragić JoksimovićDragić JoksimovićDragić Joksimović was a Serbian politician and attorney.Joksimović was born in Bačina, Kingdom of Serbia on July 18, 1893. He became politically active as a student in the Independent Radical Party and later within the Democratic Party...
; - Djuro Vilović, by Milan Omčikus, barrister;
- Dragoljub "Dragi" Jovanović, by Slavko Dukanac, barrister;
- Tanasije Dinić, by Bogoljub Jovanović, barrister;
- Velibor Jonić, by Milan Živadinović, barrister;
- Djuro Dokić, by Dragoljub Joksimović, barrister;
- Lazar Marković, by Aleksandar Nikolić, barrister;
- Kosta Kumanudi, by 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 Milan Gavrilović by Slobodan SubotićSlobodan SuboticSlobodan "Piksi" Subotić ) is a retired professional basketball player. A 2.01 m talented swingman, his incredible shooting ability helped Aris Thessaloniki qualify for three Euroleague final fours between 1988 and 1990. Subotić followed a successful career as a coach...
, barrister; - Mladen Žujović, Živko Topalović, by Nikola Radovanović, barrister,
- Slobodan Jovanović, by Miloš Terzić, barrister;
- Bozidar Purić and Petar Živković, by Pavle Miljaković, barrister;
- Momcilo Ninčić, by David Alkalaj, barrister,
- Živan Knežević and Konstantin Fotić, by Dragutin Tasić, barrister.
Foreign Accreditations
Teams were sent by the agencies TASSTelegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union , was the central agency for collection and distribution of internal and international news for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations...
, ČTK
CTK
CTK may refer to:*ČTK, Czech Press Agency ; before 1993 Czechoslovak Press Agency *CTK - CiTylinK , an airline based in Accra in Ghana...
, PAP
Polish Press Agency
Polish Press Agency is a Poland's news agency owned by Polska Agencja Prasowa S.A., distributing political, economic, social, and cultural press releases as well as events info and online news, in a similar way to Reuters, Agence France-Presse and AP....
, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
, United Press
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, Overseas News Agency, International News Service
International News Service
International News Service was a U.S.-based news agency founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.Established two years after the Scripps family founded the United Press Association, INS scrapped among the newswires...
, the Jewish News Agency, Tele Press, the Albanian Telegraph Agency and following the newspapers: Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
, Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, the Daily Worker
Daily Worker
The Daily Worker was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, some attempts were made to make it appear that the paper reflected a...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
, the News Chronicle
News Chronicle
The News Chronicle was a British daily newspaper. It ceased publication on 17 October 1960, being absorbed into the Daily Mail. Its offices were in Bouverie Street, off Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8DP, England.-Daily Chronicle:...
, the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and others.
Convictions
The trial showed, according to historian Jozo Tomasevich, that Mihailović had never had firm and full control over his local commanders. A committee for the fair trial of General Mihailovic was set up in the United States, but to no avail. Mihailović is quoted as saying, in his final statement, "I wanted much; I began much; but the gale of the world carried away me and my work.".Diplomat and author Walter Roberts
Walter Roberts (writer)
Walter R. Roberts is a writer, lecturer, and former government official.-Life and career:He was born in Austria , educated at the University of Vienna and Cambridge University ....
considers that the trial was "anything but a model of justice" and that "it is clear that Mihailović was not guilty of all, or even many, of the charges brought against him" though Tito would probably not have had a fair trial either, had Mihailović prevailed.
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.
According to Mihailović biographer Jean-Christophe Buisson, one of Mihailović's lawyers, Dragić Joksimović, was arrested a few days after the execution and died in prison under unclear circumstances.
Modern views
More recently, there have been calls for a retrial and/or rehabilitationPolitical rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation is the process by which a member of a political organization or government who has fallen into disgrace, is restored to public life. It is usually applied to leaders or other prominent individuals who regain their prominence after a period in which they have no influence or...
. Thus far, Momčilo Ninčić
Momcilo Nincic
Momčilo Ninčić was a Serbian politician and economist, and president of the League of Nations 1926-27.He finished school in law and completed a doctorate in Paris...
and Slobodan Jovanović
Slobodan Jovanovic
Slobodan Jovanović was one of Serbia's most prolific jurists, historians, sociologists, journalists and literary critics. He distinguished himself with a characteristically clear and sharp writing style later called the "Belgrade style"...
have been officially rehabilitated in Serbia.
Proceedings
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 13 March | Mihailović is captured. |
| 24 March | Aleksandar Ranković Aleksandar Rankovic Aleksandar "Leka" Ranković was a Yugoslav communist politician of Serbian origin considered to be the third most powerful man in Yugoslavia after Josip Broz Tito and Edvard Kardelj.... announces the capture of Mihailović, as well as charges against him. |
| 2 April | The US State Department announces it has requested that American Army personnel be allowed to testify at the trial. |
| 17 May | The trial is delayed to 10 June. |
| 10 June | The trial begins. |
| 15 July | Death sentence delivered to Mihailović. He is given eight and a half hours to appeal to the Yugoslav Presidency. |
| 16 July | Appeal is denied by the Presidency. |
| 17 July | Execution by firing squad is carried out. |