As part of the celebration of the 690th anniversary of the monastery of St. Nicholas in Vranje, the bishop of Vranje, Bishop Pahomije, decorated The Hague convict Vladimir Lazarevic. At the ceremony, the bishop presented him with the Order of martyrs of Surdulica, after the previous blessing of the Holy Synod of bishops at the proposal of the Council of the Diocese of Vranje, for “fostering humanity and Orthodox values”.
Lazarevic is a retired general of the former Yugoslav Army, sentenced at The Hague tribunal to 14 years in prison for command responsibility, aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, which included deportation and forcible displacement of Kosovo Albanian civilians.
After he had served two-thirds of his sentence in prison, it was decided that he would be released.
This is not the first time Lazarevic has been honored in Serbia, a few years ago he was declared an honorary citizen of the municipality of Pantelej in Nis.
After his release from prison, in December 2015, he landed at Niš airport, accompanied by state and military leaders, and then he denied guilt in a speech. He claimed that he was convicted “without any material evidence”.
He was then welcomed by the then Ministers of Justice and Defense, Nikola Selaković and Bratislava Gašić, and was also attended by Aleksandar Vulin, who was Minister of Labor at the time, Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Ljubiša Diković, and Niš city officials./Nova.rs/