Sreten Lukić (born 1955) is a former Serbian police general who served as the head of the Public Security Department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia during the Kosovo War (1998–1999). He was a prominent figure in the Serbian security forces during this period.
Career: Lukić rose through the ranks of the Serbian police force. By the late 1990s, he held significant command responsibility. In 1998, as the conflict in Kosovo escalated, he was appointed Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs and head of the Public Security Department (Resor javne bezbednosti – RJB). In this role, he exercised de jure and de facto command and control over all police units subordinate to the RJB that were deployed in Kosovo. This included regular police, special police units (PJP), and other MUP formations.
Indictment and Conviction by the ICTY: In 2003, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicted Sreten Lukić along with other high-ranking Serbian political and military officials for crimes committed in Kosovo in 1999. The indictment charged him with crimes against humanity (deportation, forcible transfer, murder, persecutions) and war crimes (murder) against the Albanian civilian population of Kosovo.
The trial, known as the "Kosovo Six" or "Milutinović et al." case, commenced in 2006. On 26 February 2009, the ICTY Trial Chamber found Lukić guilty of all charges. The Chamber concluded that he was part of a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) whose objective was to permanently alter the ethnic balance in Kosovo to ensure continued Serbian control. He was found to have significantly contributed to the JCE through his command role over MUP units involved in the forcible displacement and persecution of Kosovo Albanians.
He was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Appeals and Final Sentence: Lukić appealed his conviction and sentence. On 23 January 2014, the ICTY Appeals Chamber upheld his conviction on most counts but reduced his sentence to 20 years. The Appeals Chamber affirmed that Lukić had command responsibility and participated in the joint criminal enterprise. He was transferred to a prison in Portugal to serve his sentence.