Today marks 26 years since one of the most horrific massacres committed by Slobodan Milošević’s Serbian regime against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
On May 19, 1999, a nightmare began at Dubrava High Security Prison that would last until May 24. During this six-day period, Serbian forces executed 160 Albanian prisoners, while over 300 others were severely wounded.
What began as incarceration turned into systematic torture and cold-blooded executions, as part of a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing during the height of the Kosovo War. The aim was the physical extermination of innocent Albanians as the Serbian military and police unleashed widespread atrocities across the region.
Inside the walls of Dubrava, a memorial plaque now bears the names of the victims, standing as a silent witness to this brutal massacre. The pain remains deep and unresolved — the Dubrava Prison Massacre is still waiting for justice, and continues to be one of the most painful scars on the Albanian people’s collective memory.
Many of the survivors were left in inhumane conditions for months after the massacre, traumatized and broken, their voices still echoing in the call for truth and accountability.
