Suva Reka

On 26 March 1999, police officers of the Suharekë Police Department killed 53 Kosovo Albanian civilians in that town. Among those killed were 49 members of the Berisha family, including 23 children, one pregnant woman and a 100-year-old woman. The remains of 23 victims from Suharekë were found at Batajnica.

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The family compound of the Berisha family consisted of several houses. Officers of the Suva Reka Police Department killed two men at the entrance to one of the houses, and surrounded the house, in which there were some 50 members of the extended Berisha family. The policemen then ordered the people in the house to come out and separated men from women and children. 

The policemen killed seven men, took their bodies into one of the houses and set fire to the house.  They ordered the others (mostly women, children and the elderly) to run to the shopping centre and the Calabria pizza restaurant. Another man and his eight-months-pregnant wife were killed near the shopping centre. The policemen locked the remaining civilians inside the pizzeria and threw a couple of hand grenades inside. After the blasts, they entered the pizzeria to kill those who were still alive.    

In 2009-2010, the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade convicted several policemen over the crime in Suharekë. They were sentenced as follows:  Radojko Repanović and Slađan Čukarić each to 20 years in jail, Miroslav Petković to 15 years and Milorad Nišavić to 13 years.

nr.

name

last name

father's name

date of birth

place of birth

date of incident

1 AFRIM BERISHA MUSLI 03.04.1974 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
2 ARTA BERISHA HAMDI 14.07.1981 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
3 BESIM BERISHA VESEL 01.01.1973 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
4 DRILON BERISHA SEDAT 20.02.1986 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
5 FATIME BERISHA MALIQ 03.09.1956 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
6 FATMIRE BERISHA VESEL 19.12.1975 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
7 GENC BERISHA BESIM 09.01.1995 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
8 GRANIT BERISHA BESIM 01.01.1996 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
9 HAJDIN BERISHA VESEL 23.08.1962 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
10 HAMDI BERISHA SAHIT 11.07.1946 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
11 HANUMSHAHE BERISHA HAMDI 28.12.1987 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
12 HAVA BERISHA RAMADAN 18.11.1930 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
13 HEROLINDA BERISHA NEXHAT 26.11.1985 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
14 JASHAR BERISHA MELIT 16.11.1943 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
15 LIRIE BERISHA HAZIR 21.02.1973 Vlaški Drenovac/Llashkadrenoc, opština Mališevo/Malishevë 3/26/99
16 MAJLINDA BERISHA NEXHAT 26.05.1983 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
17 MIHRIJE BERISHA RAIF 24.08.1973 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
18 MUSLI BERISHA SAHIT 15.01.1939 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
19 NEXHMEDIN BERISHA VESEL 19.08.1962 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
20 REDON BERISHA NEXHAT 23.05.1997 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
21 SOFIJE BERISHA NEBIH 20.05.1940 Koriša/Korishë, opština Prizren 3/26/99
22 VESEL BERISHA SHABAN 02.12.1937 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99
23 ZANA BERISHA HAMDI 11.05.1985 Suva Reka/Suharrekë, opština Suva Reka/Suharrekë 3/26/99