Fikret Alić

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Fikret Alić is a Bosniak who survived the Keraterm and Trnopolje concentration camps near Prijedor in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War in 1992. In the summer of 1992, the image of his emaciated body behind barbed wire at Trnopolje helped make the world aware of the brutality being carried out against non-Serb civilians. Journalists were invited to visit the camps by Radovan Karadžić, and they visited Omarska and Trnopolje, speaking with prisoners and camp staff despite restrictions. Alić was among a group of prisoners newly moved from Keraterm and held in a corner of Trnopolje, which was used as a transit camp for deportations in the Prijedor area. The footage and reports aired on 6 August 1992, showing Alić’s gaunt condition and the harsh conditions in the camps, and they sparked international outrage about the war in Bosnia.

A United Nations report described Trnopolje as a camp used for mass deportations, especially of women, children, and elderly men, while Omarska and Keraterm were described as camps where many non-Serb men were held under deadly conditions. Conditions in the camps included harassment and malnutrition, and there were reports of rapes, beatings, torture, and killings. The term “concentration camp” was used to reflect the harsh and inhumane regimes in these camps.

Alić later described how his injuries were caused by the brutal treatment at Keraterm and that he had to be smuggled out of the camp disguised as a woman. His image and testimony helped bring attention to the war crimes and were used as evidence in international tribunals.