The Trial of Draà ¾a Mihailoviàet al., or the Belgrade Process (), was the 1946 trial of Chetnik general Draà ¾a Mihailoviàand a number of other prominent convicted collaborators for high treason and war crimes committed during World War II.
Mihailoviàwas tried as a leader of the Chetnik movement during World War II (the "Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland", JVUO). His co-defendants were other prominent figures of the movement and members of the Yugoslav government-in-exile, such as Slobodan JovanoviÃÂ, along with members of ZBOR and of the Nediàregime like Velibor JoniÃÂ. The trial opened on June 10, 1946, before the Military Council of the Supreme Court of the Federal PeopleâÂÂs Republic of Yugoslavia, and lasted until July 15, 1946. The trial opened in the presence of about 60 foreign journalists. The court was located in the Summer Hall of the Infantry Training School at TopÃÂider in Belgrade.
In 2015, the Supreme Court of Serbia rehabilitated MihailoviÃÂ and overturned his conviction, ruling that it was the result of a communist political show trial that was fundamentally and inherently unfair.
The accused were tried before a military court. The president of the council was Mihailo ÃÂordeviàand the members Milija Lakoviàand Mihailo JankoviÃÂ, with Todor Popadiàas secretary. The assistant judges were Nikola Stankoviàand Radomir IliÃÂ. The prosecutor was Miloà ¡ MiniÃÂ, a high-ranking government official who took part in Tito-Mihailoviànegotiations in 1941. The assistant prosecutor was Miloà ¡ JovanoviÃÂ.
MihailoviÃÂ and others were tried mainly for their activities against Allied forces, the Yugoslav Partisans, for collaboration with the Germans and for war crimes against civilians. MihailoviÃÂ was indicted on 47 counts. He was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death.
The Allied airmen he had rescued in 1944 were not allowed to testify in his favor. Only two women came to testify in favor of MihailoviÃÂ. Reportedly, they were heckled by the audience and, after the trial, submitted to a professional interdiction. At the trial the witness that appeared were: Duà ¡an SimoviÃÂ, Radoslav ÃÂuriÃÂ, Jovan à  kavoviÃÂ, Mià ¡a Simoviàand Milan Grol.
The accused were, in the order their names were read out at the trial:
Out of the twenty-four accused individuals mentioned above, ten were tried in absentia.
Media teams were sent by the news agencies TASS, ÃÂTK, PAP, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, United Press, Overseas News Agency, International News Service, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Tele Press, the Albanian Telegraphic Agency and the following newspapers: Pravda, Izvestia, The Times, the Daily Worker, The New York Times, the New York Herald Tribune, the News Chronicle, the Daily Express and others.
MihailoviÃÂ is quoted as saying, in his final statement, "I wanted much; I began much; but the gale of the world carried away me and my work.". "Gale of the world" is sometimes translated "Winds of War."
The verdict was read on 15 July 1946. MihailoviÃÂ and ten others were sentenced to death by a firing squad (two in absentia). An appeal was rejected on 16 July and the nine were executed on 17 July. The remaining defendants were sentenced to penalties ranging from 18 months to 20 years in prison.
The trial showed, according to historian Jozo Tomasevich, that MihailoviÃÂ had never possessed firm and full control over his local commanders. A committee for the fair trial of General Mihailovic was set up in the United States, but to no avail.
Diplomat and author Walter Roberts stated that the trial was "anything but a model of justice" and that "it is clear that MihailoviÃÂ was not guilty of all, or even many, of the charges brought against him" though Tito would probably not have had a fair trial either, had MihailoviÃÂ prevailed.
At the time of the trial, there were protests from the Americans and the French, although both were moderated by their interest in the new government.
According to MihailoviÃÂ biographer Jean-Christophe Buisson, one of MihailoviÃÂ's lawyers, DragiÃÂ JoksimoviÃÂ, was arrested a few days after the execution and died in prison under unclear circumstances.
More recently, there were calls for a retrial and/or rehabilitation. MomÃÂilo NinÃÂiÃÂ was officially rehabilitated in 2006 and Slobodan JovanoviÃÂ in 2007 by Serbia. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Serbia invalidated MihailoviÃÂ's conviction. The court held that it had been a Communist political show trial that was controlled by the government. The court concluded that MihailoviÃÂ had not received a fair trial. MihailoviÃÂ was, therefore, fully rehabilitated.