Name: Dubrava prison, May 1999
Start: 1999-05-19
End: 1999-05-23
Location: Dubrava prison

Dubrava prison, May 1999

NATO bombed Dubrava prison on 19 and 21 May 1999, killing prisoners and a prison official. On 22 May prisoners lined up in the yard were fired on with automatic weapons and grenades; on 23 May those in hiding were attacked. The death toll and attribution remain disputed.

DisputedThe 1998–1999 warDetention and prisonsCrimes

Editorial status: Awaiting verificationDrafted from the cited sources; not yet fully reviewed by the editors.

Key facts

Date: 19–23 May 1999
Place: Dubrava prison
Coordinates: Exact location
Sources: 3
Evidence status: Evidence status: Disputed. Serious sources give different versions, figures or interpretations. The positions and their reasons are set out.

Content warning

This material describes violence, death or loss. Read it when you are ready; you can close it at any time.

HRW reports at least 19 killed by NATO bombs and at least 70 plus 12 killed on 22–23 May, “as many as 96” in total by government forces, attributing the killings to prison guards, special police and possibly paramilitaries; the Humanitarian Law Center gives 25 killed by NATO, 59 on 22 May and 8 on 23 May [1] [2].

The Yugoslav government attributed the deaths to the bombing and an escape attempt; HRW wrote that it was not clear how many were killed by bombs and how many afterwards, but that testimony left no doubt Serbian forces deliberately killed a substantial number. The incident was not among the crime sites in the Milutinović and Đorđević judgments; in Kosovo, a former guard was acquitted at first instance in 2025 see the case.

This point is disputed. The Yugoslav government attributed the deaths to the bombing; figures differ between sources and no international judgment rules on the event.

How do we know this?

Dozens of prisoners were killed at Dubrava prison in May 1999, some by NATO bombing and a large number on 22–23 May by Serbian forces, according to HRW and the HLC.
Evidence status: Disputed. Serious sources give different versions, figures or interpretations. The positions and their reasons are set out.Last reviewed: 16 September 2026
The Yugoslav government attributed the deaths to the bombing; figures differ between sources and no international judgment rules on the event.
- Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward, Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo, 2001
- Humanitarian Law Center, Dubrava Prison → 116 → State Crime, 2026

Sources

Last reviewed: 16 September 2026

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