Monthly Archives: July 2008
Karadzic to face genocide trial
karadzic to face genocide trial
War crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic was taken into custody by the UN war crimes tribunal to face trial at The Hague on charges of genocide for his actions in the 1992-95 Bosnia war.
The former Bosnian Serb leader, arrested in Serbia last week, was taken to the Scheveningen detention centre near The Hague shortly after landing at dawn at Rotterdam airport.
“Radovan Karadzic was today transferred into the Tribunal’s custody, after having been at large for more than 13 years,” the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said in a statement.
The only higher ranking official to be brought before the tribunal for crimes during the Balkan wars was Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 at the detention centre months before a verdict was due at his trial.
Karadzic, 63, will appear before the court in coming days, at which time he can enter a plea. His lawyer in Belgrade has said Karadzic believes he will be cleared of genocide and will defend himself.
He faces two charges of genocide for the 43-month siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two.
He will have received a medical examination and met legal officials at the detention centre – standard practice for new detainees – and been assigned an en suite cell, identical to that occupied by Milosevic.
Died in detention
Milosevic spent his last five years at the centre and was found dead in his 15 square metre cell due to heart failure.
Karadzic, arrested last week after 11 years on the run, was most recently living under an assumed name, had grown a flowing beard and long-hair, and was working as an alternative healer.
Earlier, he was escorted to Belgrade airport by masked officials from the Serbian secret service. Security was also tight at the tribunal’s detention facility, with armed guards patrolling the inner walls.
On Tuesday, some 10,000 hardline Serb nationalists, many brought by bus from rural nationalist strongholds, showed their support for Karadzic in downtown Belgrade, chanting his name and holding up giant banners with his picture.
Clashes broke out when several dozen youths linked to hooligan groups threw flares, stones and garbage cans at riot police. Some 45 people, most of them policemen, were wounded.
Karadzic’s delivery to The Hague was key to Serbia securing closer ties with the European Union and his arrest was seen as a pro-Western signal by the new government sworn in this month.
His arrival at the UN war crimes tribunal is expected by the government to defuse tension and stop further protests, but also to unlock EU trade benefits.
Karadzic’s legal team had tried to delay his extradition but acknowledged they could only postpone, not stop, his transfer.
Relatives have said Karadzic is in good spirits and preparing his defence. He has had two suits delivered for his court appearance, one light, one dark.
There are 37 detainees at The Hague indicted for their roles in the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Released inmates say the ethnic rivalries that drove them to fratricide have faded within the prison’s walls, and most socialise and cook together, and engage in board games.
7 Bosnian Serbs guilty of genocide in Srebrenica
The Associated Press
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina – A court has convicted seven Bosnian Serbs of genocide committed in Srebrenica in 1995. Another four were acquitted.
Three former policemen were sentenced 42 years in prison; another three former policemen received 40-year sentences and one was sent to prison for 38 years.
Tuesday’s ruling was the Bosnian war crimes court’s first sentence related to Srebrenica, the worst massacre committed in Europe since World War II
The seven were convicted of killing of more than 1,000 captured Muslim Bosniak men after Bosnian Serb forces conquered the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
Bosnia to Rule in Srebrenica Genocide Trial
29 July 2008 Sarajevo _ Bosnia’s State Court is set to announce its verdict against eleven men accused of genocide in Srebrenica, in what is being seen as a test case for the country’s justice system.
It is the first time a verdict for genocide could be handed down in Bosnia, in what is also the country’s biggest genocide trial.
The indictment charges Milos Stupar, former commander of the Second Special Police Squad, Milenko Trifunovic, Petar Mitrovic, Brano Dzinic, Aleksandar Radovanovic, Slobodan Jakovljevic, Miladin Stevanovic, Velibor Maksimovic, Dragisa Zivanovic and Branislav Medan, all former members of that Unit, and Milovan Matic, former member of the Bosnian Serb Army, with having allegedly participated in the capture of several thousand Bosniaks (also known as Bosnian Muslims) in Srebrenica, and in taking 1,000 men to the Agricultural Cooperative warehouse in Kravica, where they were shot on the evening of July 13, 1995.
The trial against the eleven indictees began in May 2006. More then 100 witnesses and ten court experts have been examined during the course of regular and additional evidence presentation by both parties.
One of the witnesses was a Bosniak who survived the incident because he was shielded by the bodies of those who were killed in Kravica.
He remembered that the storage shed was completely full when prisoners were brought in, and how one of them complained to a soldier that he could not stand anywhere because the storage shed was full of people.
“The soldier pushed him with his foot. Then a burst of shots was heard, and the shooting started,” the witness said.
“I closed my eyes and waited to be killed. All the men fell. I lay down. There was blood everywhere.” Shooting and the explosions of bombs and grenade launchers lasted for around one hour, he said.
When the shooting quieted down, S1 continued lying on the floor among dead bodies, listening to yelling and laughter coming from outside.
“There was blood everywhere. I laid down on one of the dead men and put two dead bodies over me. I stayed like that for 24 hours,” S1 said.
In its closing arguments, the State Prosecution has called on the Trial Chamber to announce the indictees guilty and sentence each of them to 45 years’ imprisonment, which is the maximum imprisonment sentence prescribed by the Criminal Code of Bosnia ad Herzegovina.
“The Court should not hesitate to call the crime by its real name. What happened in Srebrenica was genocide. If a murder of 1,000 people and forcible resettlement of tens thousands of civilians, and a systematic approach to the commitment of those crimes, was not genocide, why do we then have all these theories, discussions and thesis that even a murder of one man can be considered as genocide?” Prosecutor Ibro Bulic said, presenting his closing arguments.
The Defence teams of the eleven indictees asked the Court to acquit the accused of all counts contained in the indictment, saying that the Prosecution had not managed to prove the allegations contained in the indictment, or that the genocide was committed in Srebrenica.
“The Defence does not deny that a crime did happen in Kravica but it denies that genocide was committed,” Stojan Vasic, one of the attorneys said.
“We can hardly say that there was an intention to destroy the entire Bosniak population. We could have said that genocide had been committed in Srebrenica had the women and children been killed as well,” attorney Bosko Cegar argued.
On July 12, 1995 the indictees allegedly guarded and controlled the road used by the buses to transport the civilians who were deported from Srebrenica.
The indictment alleges that several thousands of captured men were held in a meadow in Sandici and in its vicinity, in Bratunac municipality, before being transported to various locations, including the Agricultural Cooperative in Kravica, and killed.
Read more extensive coverage on the Kravica trial at BIRN’s Justice Report website here: http://www.bim.ba/en/126/10/
Capture of Bosnian Serb Wartime Leader Brings Little Closure for Srebrenica Survivors
In the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, where thousands of Muslim men and boys were massacred by Serb forces 13 years ago, the capture of the Bosnian Serb wartime leader, Radovan Karadzic, has brought renewed grief over the loss of loved ones. Stefan Bos reports for VOA from Srebrenica.
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| A recent photograph of Radovan Karadzic, who was living under false identity in Belgrade before his capture Monday |
A fountain flows as an eternal river of tears near the site where thousands of Muslim men and boys have been buried.
At the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center, about 3,000 graves with white pillar tomb stones are visible reminders of Europe’s worst massacre since World War Two. The remains of another 5,000 victims have yet to be identified or remain missing.
Bosnian Serb forces overran the town and rounded up men and boys in July of 1995, as part of an apparent plan to ethnically cleanse the area, and bring the region under Serb control.
Survivors are not celebrating the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who is charged with war crimes, including for his role in the Srebrenica massacre.
Beriza Kandzetovic, a 48-year-old mother of two, who fled to the Netherlands, has just returned to Srebrenica after learning that her brother’s remains have been found. Kandzetovic earlier buried her husband, who died in the town of Tuzla, as a soldier defending the region. Her father was among those killed in Srebrenica.
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| A Bosnian Muslim woman weeps among coffins of Srebrenica victims during funeral ceremony at Memorial center of Potocari near Srebrenica, northeast of Sarajevo, 11 Jul 2008 |
As she shows the grave, Kandzetovic, speaking in Dutch, says the arrest of Karadzic came 13 long years too late. She says, “Look what Karadzic and his commander, Ratko Mladic, have done.” She gestures to the thousands of tombstones. She says, “Do I now have to be happy about the arrest? It was all a game.” She asks why Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was found and arrested comparatively quickly, but not Karadzic. She says Karardzic’s detention and expected extradition to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague will not bring back her family.
In the Serbian capital, Belgrade, where Karadzic was arrested, and where he had lived openly, practicing alternative medicine under an assumed name, some still view Karadzic as a hero.
Photos of Karadzic and former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic, who is also wanted for war crimes but is still at large, are hanging at the bar of a Belgrade pub. There is also a picture of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who died in custody in The Hague before his war crimes trial ended.
This is the pub where Radovan Karadzic is said to have been a regular during his years in hiding. Nobody recognized him, as he sported a long white beard and white hair, including 49-year-old bar tender, Darka Raketic. “He was a friendly and good client, because he always paid his bills. I didn’t know he was Karadzic, but he must have seen the posters. I think he should be judged, in Serbia, not at the United Nations Tribunal at The Hague,” he said.
The pub is located near the grey apartment block in New Belgrade where authorities say Karadzic lived in recent years. Graffiti on the side of the building says: “This is the street of Radovan Karadzic.”
An old elevator with sliding doors leads to the third floor, where he had an apartment. The neighbors refuse to open their doors. But on the fifth floor, 70-year old Mirjana Savic is willing to talk to a reporter. “He had a very extrvagant look. He had a very long white beard, and he very special cap on $his head. sometimes he helped me to open the door. I thought he was a scientist or of that background. Because we have another scientist living here,” he says.
She and other residents in the neighborhood say they do not understand why Karadzic should be extradited to The Hague tribunal. Some Belgrade residents make clear, however, they support his arrest by the pro-Western government, saying it is the best way for their country to burry the past and join Europe.
Yet that’s small comfort for those still burying their loved once in Srebrenica near the fountain at the Potocari Memorial Center, not far from the burned out factories and remnants of bombed out homes.
Nearby, children play football. Survivor Beriza Kandzetovic does not know whether these youngsters are a sign of hope. Srebrenica, she says, is like a state of death, where people have long stopped living.
The Hunt for War Criminal Ratko Mladic
The Hunt for War Criminal Mladic
For the Many in the Former Yugoslavia, Ratko Mladic, Not Radovan Karadzic, Is the Catch
On July 11, 1995, hours after the Bosnian town of Srebrenica – a “UN safe haven” – wound up being overrun by Bosnian Serb forces, General Ratko Mladic was on camera, handing out sweets to Muslim children rounded up in the town’s main square. Mladic, patting one child on the head, consoled them that all would be fine.
(Oleg Stjepanovic/AP Photo)
That sinister image is forever imprinted in the minds of Srebrenica survivors. Hours later he ordered their brothers and fathers to be slaughtered in Europe’s worst instance of genocide since World War II.
For many witnesses and victims of the bloody wars in the former Yugoslavia, Mladic, rather than former President Slobodan Radovan Karadzic, who was arrested this week, is the big catch.
“To me, the most criminal is Mladic,” said Haira Capic, a mother who lost a 26-year-old son and a husband in Srebrenica.
“It would gives us comfort, if he was arrested and extradited to the Hague. We must continue to carry the burden of the children we lost,” insisted Capic. “Only half of the evil duo has been caught. Once Mladic as well as Karadzic is behind bars in the Hague, then the healing can truly begin.”
Karadzic’s recent arrest will encourage the Serbian government to step up its hunt for the war criminal Mladic.
Dusan Ignjatovic, director of the Tribunal’s Office of the National Council for Cooperation, said that Serbia has the political will to capture both Mladic and another fugitive, Goran Hadzic, a Croatian Serb leader during the war.
“We have shown that nobody was protected and that it is a matter of days before Mladic and Hadzic will be at the tribunal,” Ignjatovic told ABCNews.com.
Security expert Zoran Dragisic also thinks that Serbian authorities are on the road toward eventually capturing Mladic. “The Karadzic arrest happened while secret police were looking for Mladic. State authorities must have information about Mladic. The belt around Mladic is tightening and I am sure he will be arrested soon,” he said.
But it might not be so easy.
“Karadzic was seen as a comic figure in Serbia, while Mladic is considered a hero and a defender of Serbs,” said James Lyon of the International Crisis Group (ICG).
A survey published several years ago in Belgrade showed that 75 percent of Serbs interviewed in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia would not turn Mladic in if they met him in the street, while 50 percent said they would help him evade arrest.
Mladic, who had an army pension from Belgrade until the end of 2005, is believed to be enjoying the protection of hard-line officers inside Serbia.
These are the same Serbian military and secret service men who helped Mladic disappear after Milosevic’s defeat in October 2000. He continues to depend on supporters, especially among Serbs in Bosnia.
Posters in support of top war crimes suspects Karadzic and Mladic appeared in Bosnia’s eastern town of Visegrad on Wednesday night. They show photos of the two men, with slogans: “Our Serbian heroes”, “General, we won’t let them catch you” and “We are all your fellows.”
Mladic was indicted in 1995 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on 15 counts, including genocide – for orchestrating the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men, women and children in Srebrenica in July 1995 – and violation of the rules of war for his responsibility in the bombing of Sarajevo.
Mladic, 66, was born in the village of Kalinovik in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His father was killed by Croat Nazis when he was 2.
He graduated from Yugoslavia’s military academy in 1965 and joined the Yugoslav Communist Party that same year.
In the early 1990s, he was assigned to the Knin garrison, where the first assaults by Croatian Serbs against the Yugoslav Federation were taking place. After the 1992 ceasefire, he was made head of the Bosnian Serb army and organized the siege of Sarajevo.
The Serbian government has been close to arresting Mladic on several occasions but he evaded capture every time, leaving authorities baffled.
The ICG’s Lyon said there must be continued support and pressure for his arrest. “Over the years Serbia has always said, There are no war crime indictees in Serbia, and yet they keep coughing them up in fits and starts, depending on political expediency,” he said.
“So, it’s very clear – Mladic is in Serbia, he can be arrested by the Serbian authorities, provided there’s the political will,” Lyon added, “We need to say, Let’s get it over with. There are only two more left.”
Full indictment against Radovan Karadzic
THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
CASE NO. IT-95-5-I
THE PROSECUTOR OF THE TRIBUNAL
AGAINST
RADOVAN KARADZIC
RATKO MLADIC
INDICTMENT
Richard J. Goldstone, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, pursuant to his authority under Article 18 of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (“The Statute of the Tribunal”), charges:
THE ACCUSED
1. RADOVAN KARADZIC was born on 19 June 1945 in the municipality of Savnik of the Republic of Montenegro. From on or about 13 May 1992 to the present, he has been president of the Bosnian Serb administration in Pale.
2. RATKO MLADIC was born on 12 March 1943 in the municipality of Kalinovik of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is a career military officer and holds the rank of general in the Bosnian Serb armed forces. From on or about 14 May 1992 to the present, he has been the commander of the army of the Bosnian Serb administration.
SUPERIOR AUTHORITY
RADOVAN KARADZIC
3. RADOVAN KARADZIC was a founding member and president of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) of what was then the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The SDS was the main political party among the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As president of the SDS, he was and is the most powerful official in the party. His duties as president include representing the party, co-ordinating the work of party organs and ensuring the realisation of the programmatic tasks and goals of the party. He continues to hold this post.
4. RADOVAN KARADZIC became the first president of the Bosnian Serb administration in Pale on or about 13 May 1992. At the time he assumed this position, his de jure powers, as described in the constitution of the Bosnian Serb administration, included, but were not limited to, commanding the army on the Bosnian Serb administration in times of war and peace and having the authority to appoint, promote and discharge officers of the army.
5. In addition to his powers described in the constitution, RADOVAN KARADZIC’S powers as president of the Bosnian Serb administration are augmented by Article 6 of the Bosnian Serb Act on People’s Defence which vested in him, among other powers, the authority to supervise the Territorial Defence both in peace and war and the authority to issue orders for the utilisation of the police in case of war, immediate threat and other emergencies. Article 39 of the same Act empowered him, in cases of imminent threat of war and other emergencies, to deploy Territorial Defence units for the maintenance of law and order.
6. RADOVAN KARADZIC’S powers are further augmented by Article 33 of the Bosnian Serb Act on Internal Affairs, which authorised him to activate reserve police in emergency situations.
7. RADOVAN KARADZIC has exercised the powers described above and has acted and been dealt with internationally as the president of the Bosnian Serb administration in Pale. In that capacity, he has, inter alia, participated in international negotiations and has personally made agreements on such matters as cease-fires and humanitarian relief that have been implemented.
RATKO MLADIC
8. RATKO MLADIC was, in 1991, appointed commander of the 9th Corps of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) in Knin in the Republic of Croatia. Subsequently, in May 1992, he assumed command of the forces of the Second Military District of the JNA which then effectively became the Bosnian Serb army. He holds the rank of general and from about 14 May 1992 to the present, has been the commander of the army of the Bosnian Serb administration.
9. RATKO MLADIC has demonstrated his control in military matters by negotiating, inter alia, cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreements; agreements relating to the opening of Sarajevo airport; agreements relating to access for humanitarian aid convoys; and anti-sniping agreements, all of which have been implemented.
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
10. At all times relevant to this indictment, a state of armed conflict and partial occupation existed in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
11. All acts or omissions herein set forth as grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (hereafter “grave breaches”) recognised by Article 2 of the Statute of the Tribunal occurred during that armed conflict and partial occupation.
12. In each paragraph charging crimes against humanity, crimes recognised by Article 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal, the alleged acts or omissions were part of a widespread, systematic or large-scale attack directed against a civilian population.
13. The term “UN peacekeepers” used throughout this indictment includes UN military observers of the United Nations.
14. The UN peacekeepers and civilians referred to in this indictment were, at all relevant times, persons protected by the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
15. The accused in this indictment were required to abide by the laws and customs governing the conduct of war, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
CHARGES
16. The charges set forth in this indictment are in three parts:
Part I of the indictment, Counts 1 to 9, charges a crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes that were perpetrated against the civilian population and against places of worship throughout the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovinia.
Part II of the indictment, Counts 10 to 12, charges crimes relating to the sniping campaign against civilians in Sarajevo.
Part III of the indictment, Counts 13 to 16, charges crimes relating to the taking of UN peacekeepers as hostages.
PART I
COUNTS 1-2
(GENOCIDE)
(CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY)
17. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, from April 1992, in the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by their acts and omissions, committed genocide.
18. Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians were persecuted on national, political and religious grounds throughout the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thousands of them were interned in detention facilities where they were subjected to widespread acts of physical and psychological abuse and to inhumane conditions. Detention facility personnel who ran and operated the Omarska, Keraterm and Luka detention facilities, among others, including, but not limited to Zeljko Meakic (Omarska), Dusko Sikirica (Keraterm) and Goran Jelisic (Luka), intended to destroy Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat people as national, ethnic, or religious groups and killed, seriously injured and deliberately inflicted upon them conditions intended to bring about their physical destruction. The conditions in the detention facilities, which are described in paragraphs 20-22 hereunder, are incorporated in full herein.
19. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, between April 1992 and July 1995, in the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by their acts and omissions, and in concert with others, committed a crime against humanity by persecuting Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians on national, political and religious grounds. As set forth below, they are criminally responsible for the unlawful confinement, murder, rape, sexual assault, torture, beating, robbery and inhumane treatment of civilians; the targeting of political leaders, intellectuals and professionals; the unlawful deportation and transfer of civilians; the unlawful shelling of civilians; the unlawful appropriation and plunder of real and personal property; the destruction of homes and businesses; and the destruction of places of worship.
DETENTION FACILITIES
20. As soon as military forces from Bosnia and elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia began to attack towns and villages in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thousands of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians were systematically selected and rounded up on national, ethnic, political or religious grounds and interned in detention facilities throughout the territory occupied by the Bosnian Serbs. These facilities include, but are not limited to:
| Detention Facility | Dates of existence |
| Omarska | May – August 1992 |
| Keraterm | May – August 1992 |
| Trnopolje | May – December 1992 |
| Luka | May – July 1992 |
| Manjaca | Summer 1991 – December 1992 |
| Susica | June 1992 – September 1992 |
| KP Dom Foca | April – mid-1993 |
21. Many of these detention facilities were staffed and operated by military and police personnel and their agents, under the control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC. In addition, Bosnian Serb police and military interrogators had unfettered access to all of the detention facilities and operated in conjunction with the personnel in control of these detention facilities. These facilities and personnel include, but are not limited to:
| Detention Facility | Commander | Guards |
| Omarska | Zeljko Meakic (police) | police/military |
| Keraterm | Dusko Sikirica (police) | police/military |
| Trnopolje | Slobodon Kuruzovic (military) | police/military |
| Luka | Goran Jelisic (police) | paramilitary |
| Manjaca | Bozidar Popovic (military) | military |
| Susica | Dragan Nikolic (military) | military |
| KP Dom Foca | Milorad Krnojelac | military |
22. Thousands of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians, including women, children and elderly persons, were detained in these facilities for protracted periods of time. They were not afforded judicial process and their internment was not justified by military necessity. They were detained, in large measure, because of their national, religious and political identity. The conditions in the detention facilities were inhumane and brutal. Bosnian Serb military and police personnel in charge of these facilities, including Dragan Nikolic (Susica), Zeljko Meakic (Omarska), Dusko Sikirica (Keraterm) and other persons over whom they had control, subjected the civilian detainees to physical and psychological abuse, intimidation and maltreatment. Detention facility personnel, intending to destroy Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat people as national, ethnic or religious groups, killed, seriously injured and deliberately inflicted upon them conditions intended to bring about their physical destruction. Detainees were repeatedly subjected to and/or witnessed inhumane acts, including murder, rape, sexual assault, torture, beatings, robbery as well as other forms of mental and physical abuse. In many instances, women and girls who were detained were raped at the camps or taken from the detention centres and raped or otherwise sexually abused at other locations. Daily food rations provided to detainees were inadequate and often amounted to starvation rations. Medical care for the detainees was insufficient or non-existent and the general hygienic conditions were grossly inadequate.
TARGETING OF POLITICAL LEADERS, INTELLECTUALS AND PROFESSIONALS
23. Particularly singled out for persecution by the Bosnian Serb military, Bosnian Serb police and their agents, under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, were civilian political leaders and members of the primary Bosnian Muslim political party, the Party for Democratic Action (SDA), and the principal Bosnian Croat political party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), from the cities of Prijedor, Vlasenica, Bosanski Samac and Foca, amongst others. In many instances, lists identifying leaders of the SDA and the HDZ were provided by the SDS to personnel of the Bosnian Serb military, police and their agents. Using these lists, Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat political leaders were arrested, interned, physically abused and, in many instances, murdered. Some local SDA leaders who were persecuted because of their political beliefs include, but are not limited to, Muhamed Cehajic (Prijedor), Sulejman Tihic (Bosanski Samac), and Ahmet Hadzic (Brcko).
24. In addition to persecutions of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat political leaders, the Bosnian Serb military, police and their agents systematically targeted for persecution on national or religious grounds, Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat intellectuals and professionals in many towns and villages including Prijedor, Vlasenica, Bosanski Samac and Foca, among others. Individuals who were persecuted include, but are not limited to Abdulah Puskar (academic), Ziko Crnalic (businessman) and Esad Mehmedalija (attorney) from Prijedor; Osman Vatic (attorney) from Brcko.
DEPORTATION
25. Thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from the areas of Vlasenica, Prijedor, Bosanski Samac, Brcko and Foca, among others, were systematically arrested and interned in detention facilities established and maintained by the Bosnian Serb military, police and their agents and thereafter unlawfully deported or transferred to locations inside and outside of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians, including women, children and elderly persons, were taken directly from their homes and eventually used in prisoner exchanges by Bosnian Serb military and police and their agents under the control and direction of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC. These deportations and others were not conducted as evacuations for safety, military necessity or for any other lawful purpose and have, in conjunction with other actions directed against Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians, resulted in a significant reduction or elimination of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats in certain occupied regions.
SHELLING OF CIVILIAN GATHERINGS
26. Beginning in July 1992 and continuing through to July 1995, Bosnian Serb military forces, under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, unlawfully fired on civilian gatherings that were of no military significance in order to kill, terrorise and demoralise the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilian population. These incidents include, but are not limited to the following:
| Location/Type of Civilian Gathering | Municipality | Date | Casualties |
| Sarajevo (picnic) | Sarajevo | 03/07/92 | 10 |
| Sarajevo (airport) | Sarajevo | 11/02/93 | 4 |
| Srebrenica (playground) | Srebrenica | 12/4/93 | 15 |
| Dobrinja (soccer game) | Sarajevo | 01/06/93 | 146 |
| Dobrinja (water line) | Sarajevo | 12/07/93 | 27 |
| Sarajevo (residential street) | Sarajevo | 28/11/93 | 11 |
| Ciglane Market (fruit market) | Sarajevo | 06/12/93 | 20 |
| Alipasino Polje (children playing) | Sarajevo | 22/01/94 | 10 |
| Cetinjska St (children playing) | Sarajevo | 26/10/94 | 7 |
| Sarajevo (Livanjska Street) | Sarajevo | 08/11/94 | 7 |
| Sarajevo (flea market) | Sarajevo | 22/12/94 | 9 |
| Tuzla (plaza) | Tuzla | 24/05/95 | 195 |
APPROPRIATION AND PLUNDER OF PROPERTY
27. Shortly after armed hostilities broke out in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb forces quickly suppressed armed resistance in most villages and cities. During and after the course of consolidating their gains, Bosnian Serb military and police personnel, and other agents of the Bosnian Serb administration, under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, systematically and wantonly appropriated and looted the real and personal property of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians. The appropriation of property was extensive and not justified by military necessity. It occurred from April 1992 to January 1993 in the municipalities of Prijedor, Vlasenica, and Bosanski Samac, among others.
28. The appropriation and looting of said property was accomplished in the following manner and by the following means, among others:
A. Thousands of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians were forced into detention facilities where they remained for protracted periods of time. Upon entering these internment facilities, the personnel who ran the internment facilities systematically stole the personal property of the detainees, including jewellery, watches, money and other valuables. The detainees were rarely provided receipts for the property taken from them or given their property back upon their release.
B. Civilians interned in these camps witnessed and/or were subjected to physical and psychological abuse. After witnessing or experiencing serious abuse, thousands of internees were forcibly transferred from these camps to locations inside and outside the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before being forcibly transferred, many detainees were compelled to sign official Bosnian Serb documents wherein they “voluntarily” relinquished to the Bosnian Serb administration title to and possession of their real and personal property.
C. In many instances, Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilian detainees were taken from internment camps to their homes and businesses and forced to turn over to their escorts money and other valuables. In other instances, they were used as labourers to load property from Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat homes and businesses onto trucks for transportation to parts unknown. This occurred with the consent and approval of those in control of the detention facilities.
D. Many Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians who were not interned in camps were forced to stay in their communities where they were subjected to physical and psychological abuse from Bosnian Serb military and police and their agents, paramilitary forces and lawless elements of the Bosnian Serb community. Conditions for many became intolerable and they left. Before leaving, many civilians were compelled to sign official Bosnian Serb documents wherein they “voluntarily” relinquished to the Bosnian Serb administration their rights to their real and personal property. In some cases, Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians who left their communities were permitted to take with them limited amounts of personal property and money, but even that property was stolen from them at Bosnian Serb checkpoints or at other locations.
E. In many instances during and after the Bosnian Serb military take-over of towns and villages, Bosnian Serb military, police and their agents, entered the homes of non-Serb civilians and plundered the personal property of non-Serb civilians.
DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY
29. Persecution throughout the occupied territory by Bosnian Serb military, police and their agents, or third parties with their acquiescence, involved the systematic destruction of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat homes and businesses. These homes and businesses were singled out and systematically destroyed in areas where hostilities had ceased or had not taken place. The purpose of this unlawful destruction was to ensure that the inhabitants could not and would not return to their homes and communities. The cities, villages and towns, or Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat portions thereof, where extensive destruction of property occurred include, but are not limited to the following:
| Town/Village | Municipality | Approximate dates of destruction |
| Grebnice | Bosanski Samac | 19-22 April 1992 |
| Hrvatska Tisina | Bosanski Samac | 19-22 April 1992 |
| Hasici | Bosanski Samac | 19-22 April 1992 |
| Derventa | Derventa | 4 April 1992 |
| Vijaka | Derventa | 4 April 1992 |
| Bosanski Brod | Bosanski Brod | 3 March 1992 |
| Odzak | Odzak | July 1992 |
| Modrica | Modrica | Late April 1992 |
| Vidovice | Orasje | 29 April and 4 May 1992 |
| Gradacac | Gradacac | mid-1992 |
| Piskavice | Vlasenica | 22 April 1992 |
| Gobelje | Vlasenica | 28 April 1992 |
| Turalici | Vlasenica | 28 April 1992 |
| Djile | Vlasenica | 1-3 May 1992 |
| Pomol | Vlasenica | 1 May 1992 |
| Gaj | Vlasenica | 1 May 1992 |
| Besici | Vlasenica | 1 May 1992 |
| Nurici | Vlasenica | 1 May 1992 |
| Vrsinje | Vlasenica | 1 May 1992 |
| Dzamdzici | Vlasenica | 8 May 1992 |
| Pivici | Vlasenica | 11 May 1992 |
| Hambarine | Prijedor | 23 May 1992 |
| Ljubija | Prijedor | 23 May 1992 |
| Kozarac | Prijedor | 24 May 1992 |
| Biscani | Prijedor | 20 July 1992 |
| Carakovo | Prijedor | 20 July 1992 |
| Rizvanovici | Prijedor | 20 July 1992 |
| Sredice | Prijedor | 20 July 1992 |
| Zikovi | Prijedor | 20 July 1992 |
DESTRUCTION OF SACRED SITES
30. Muslim and Catholic places of worship were systematically damaged and/or destroyed by Bosnian Serb military forces and others. In many instances, where no military action had taken place or had ceased, these sacred sites were also damaged and/or destroyed. These places of worship include, but are not limited to those mentioned in paragraph 37 of this indictment. Bosnian Serb military and police forces failed to take reasonable and necessary measures to ensure that these religious sites would be protected.
31. The events described above were directed against Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians. Individually and collectively, these actions taken by or on behalf of the Bosnian Serb administration, have been on such a large scale and implemented in such a systematic way that they have destroyed, traumatised or dehumanised most aspects of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat life in those areas where the Bosnian Serb administration has taken control.
32. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC knew or had reason to know that subordinates in detention facilities were about to kill or cause serious physical or mental harm to Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats with the intent to destroy them, in whole or in part, as national, ethnic or religious groups or had done so and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
33. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC individually and in concert with others planned, instigated, ordered or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of persecutions on political and religious grounds or knew or had reason to know that subordinates were about to do the same or had done so and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
By these acts and omissions, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 1: GENOCIDE as recognised by Articles 4(2)(a),(b),(c) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 2: a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY as recognised by Articles 5(h) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
COUNTS 3-4
(UNLAWFUL CONFINEMENT OF CIVILIANS)
34. From the outset of hostilities in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thousands of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians were unlawfully interned in detention facilities. Many of these facilities were established and operated by the Bosnian Serb military, police and their agents under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC. As described in paragraphs 18 and 20-22 of this indictment and incorporated in full herein, the conditions in these facilities were inhumane. Countless civilians were abused and many perished in these internment facilities.
35. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC individually and in concert with others planned, ordered, instigated or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning and preparation or execution of the unlawful detention of civilians or knew or had reason to know that subordinates were unlawfully detaining civilians and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
By these acts and omissions, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 3: a GRAVE BREACH as recognised by Articles 2(g) (unlawful confinement of civilians), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 4: a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR (outrages upon personal dignity) as recognised by Articles 3, 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
COUNT 5
(SHELLING OF CIVILIAN GATHERINGS)
36. As described in paragraph 26 of this indictment, which is incorporated in full herein, Bosnian Serb military forces fired upon civilian gatherings that were of no military significance, thereby causing injury and death to hundreds of civilians. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, individually and in concert with others planned, instigated, ordered or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of unlawful attacks against the civilian population and individual civilians with area fire weapons such as mortars, rockets and artillery or knew or had reason to know that the Bosnian Serb military forces were about to unlawfully attack the civilian population and individual civilians, or had already done so, and failed to take the necessary and reasonable steps to prevent such shelling or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
By these acts and omissions, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 5: a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR (deliberate attack on the civilian population and individual civilians) as recognised by Articles 3, 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
COUNT 6
(DESTRUCTION OF SACRED SITES)
37. Since April 1992 to the end of May 1995, in territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by the Bosnian Serb military and police, including areas where no military conflict was ongoing, there has been widespread and systematic damage to and destruction of Muslim and Roman Catholic sacred sites. In areas such as Banja Luka, the near total obliteration of these religious sites has occurred. The sites in the Banja Luka area include the following:
MUSLIM SACRED SITES
| Name of Mosque | Location | Date of Destruction or Damage |
| Sefer-Beg Mosque | Banja Luka | 09.04.93 |
| Ferhadija Mosque | Banja Luka | 07.05.93 |
| Arnaudija Mosque | Banja Luka | 07.05.93 |
| Mosque in Vrbanje | Banja Luka | 11.05.93 |
| Zulfikarova Mosque | Banja Luka | 15.05.93 |
| Behram-Efendija Mosque | Banja Luka | 26.05.93 |
| Mehidibeg Mosque | Banja Luka | 04.06.93 |
| Sufi Mehmed-Pasa Mosque | Banja Luka | 04.06.93 |
| Hadzi-Begzade Mosque | Banja Luka | 04.06.93 |
| Gazanferija Mosque | Banja Luka | 04.06.93 |
| Hadzi-Sebenova Mosque | Banja Luka | 14.06.93 |
| Hadzi-Kurt Mosque | Banja Luka | 14.06.93 |
| Hadzi-Pervis Mosque | Banja Luka | 06.09.93 |
| Hadzi-Osmanija Mosque | Banja Luka | 08.09.93 |
| Hadzi-Omer Mosque | Banja Luka | 09.09.93 |
| Hadzi-Salihija Mosque | Banja Luka | 09.09.93 |
ROMAN CATHOLIC SACRED SITES
| Name of Church | City | Date of Destruction or Damage |
| Church of St. Joseph at Trno | Banja Luka | 24.10.91 |
| Parish Church | Banja Luka | 00.12.91 |
| St. Bonaventura Cathedral | Banja Luka | 31.12.91 |
| St. Vincent Monastery | Banja Luka | 00.12.92 |
| Village Church | Vujnovici | 05.05.95 |
| Parish Church | Petricevac | 06.05.95 |
| St. Anthony of Padua Church and Franciscan Monastery | Banja Luka | 07.05.95 |
| Parish Church | Sergovac | 07.05.95 |
| Village Church | Majdan | 08.05.95 |
| Parish Church | Presnace | 12.05.95 |
38. In other areas, damage and destruction to places of worship has been widespread These sites include, but are not limited to the Aladza Mosque (Foca); the Sultan Selim Mosque (Doboj); the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Obri Chapel and the Sevri-Hadzi Mosque (Mostar); the parish church (Novi Seher) and the Carsijska Mosque (Konjic). Bosnian Serb military and police forces failed to take reasonable and necessary measures to ensure that these religious sites were protected.
39. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, individually and in concert with others planned, instigated, ordered or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the destruction of sacred sites or knew or had reason to know that subordinates were about to damage or destroy these sites or had done so and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent them from doing so or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
By these acts and omissions, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 6: a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR (destruction or wilful damage to institutions dedicated to religion) as recognised by Articles 3(d), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
COUNT 7
(EXTENSIVE DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY)
40. After the take-over of Foca (8 April 1992), Bosanski Samac (17 April 1992), Vlasenica (21 April 1992), Prijedor (30 April 1992), Brcko (30 April 1992) and other municipalities in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb military and police forces and other elements over whom they had control, under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, systematically destroyed, or permitted others to destroy, for no justifiable military reasons, Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat businesses and residences in occupied cities and villages. The areas where extensive destruction occurred include those areas described in paragraph 29 of this indictment, which is incorporated in full herein.
41. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, individually and in concert with others planned, instigated, ordered or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the extensive, wanton and unlawful destruction of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat property, not justified by military necessity or knew or had reason to know that subordinates were about to destroy or permit others to destroy the property of Bosnian Muslim or Bosnian Croat civilians or had done so and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent this destruction or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
By these acts and omissions, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 7: a GRAVE BREACH as recognised by Articles 2(d) (destruction of property), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
COUNTS 8-9
(APPROPRIATION AND PLUNDER OF PROPERTY)
42. As described in paragraphs 27-28 of this indictment, which are incorporated in full herein, Bosnian Serb military and police personnel and other agents of the Bosnian Serb administration, under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, systematically appropriated and looted the real and personal property of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians.
43. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, individually and in concert with others planned, instigated, ordered or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the extensive, wanton and unlawful appropriation of real and personal property owned by Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians or knew or had reason to know that subordinates were about to appropriate real and personal property of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians or had done so and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent this appropriation or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
By these acts and omissions, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 8: a GRAVE BREACH as recognised by Articles 2(d) (appropriation of property), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 9: a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR (plunder of public or private property) as recognised by Articles 3(e), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
PART II
COUNTS 10-12
(SARAJEVO SNIPING)
44. Since 5 April 1992, the City of Sarajevo has been besieged by forces of the Bosnian Serb army. Throughout this siege, there has been a systematic campaign of deliberate targeting of civilians by snipers of the Bosnian Serb military and their agents. The sniping campaign has terrorised the civilian population of Sarajevo and has resulted in a substantial number of civilian casualties, killed and wounded, including women, children and elderly. Between 5 May 1992 and 31 May 1995, snipers have systematically, unlawfully and wilfully killed and wounded civilians in the area of Sarajevo, including but not limited to the following individuals:
KILLED
Children
Elma Jakupovic, age 2, at Jukiceva Street, No 17, on 20 July 1993
Elvedina Colic, age 4, at Kobilja Glava on 8 August 1993
Adnan Kasapovic, age 16, at Dj.A.Kuna Street on 24 October 1994
Nermina Omerovic, age 11, at Djure Danicica Street on 8 November 1994
Women
Almasa Konjhodzic, age 56, at the intersection of Kranjcevica and Brodska Streets on 27 June 1993
Sevda Kustura, age 50, at Spicasta Stijena on 5 August 1993
Sada Pohara, age 19, at Zarka Zgonjanina Street, No 13, on 30 August 1993
Saliha Comaga, age 38, at Mujkica Brdo, Ugorsko, on 8 September 1993
Edina Trto, age 25, at Ivana Krndelja Street on 26 September 1993
Hatema Mukanovic, age 38, at Obala 27 July 89 Street on 11 January 1994
Radmila Plainovic, age 51, at Vojvode Putnika Street on 7 February 1994
Lejla Bajramovic, age 24, at B. Boris Kidric Street, No 3, on 8 December 1994
Elderly
Hajrija Dizdarevic, age 66, at Ivo Kranjcevic Street 11 on 17 July 1993
Marko Stupar, age 64, at Zmaja od Bosne No 64 Street on 12 January 1994
Fadil Zuko, age 63, at Stara Cesta Street, bb on 2 February 1994
Dragomir Culibrk, aged 61, at Prvomajska BB on 16 June 1994
Men
Adnan Mesihovic, age 34, at Hasana Brkica Street on 3 September 1993
Junuz Campara, age 59, at Milutin Djuraskovic Street on 6 September 1993
Augustin Vucic, age 57, at Ante Babica Street on 13th March 1994
Jasmin Podzo, age 23, at Mala Berkusa Street 10 on 4 March 1995
WOUNDED
Children
Boy, age 2, at Stara Cesta Street on 26 June 1993
Boy, age 12, at Kupalista swimming pool on 5 August 1993
Girl, age 9, at Kobilja Glava on 8 August 1993
Boy, age 14, at Dzemal Bijedic Street on 3 September 1993
Girl, age 8, at Ivana Krndelja Street on 3 September 1993
Boy, age 15, at X transverzale Street bb on 4 October 1993
Boy, age 13, at Donji Hotonj II Street on 10 November 1993
Boy, age 12, at Petra Drapsina Street on 28 November 1993
Boy, age 17, at Dzemala Bijedica Street on 10 January 1994
Boy, age 5, at Zmaja od Bosne Street on 19 June 1994
Girl, age 16, at Senada Mandica-Dende Street on 26 June 1994
Boy, age 13, at Miljenka Cvitkovica Street on 22 July 1994
Boy, age 7, at Zmaja od Bosne Street on 18 November 1994
Girl, age 13, at the cross-roads of Rogina and Sedrenik Streets on 22 November 1994
Boy, age 14, at Sedrenik Street on 6 March 1995
Women
Female, age 20, at Hotonj on 5 August 1993
Female, age 52, at Franca Rozmana Street on 6 August 1993
Female, age 55, at Spanskih Boraca Street on 30 August 1993
Female, age 35, at Ivana Krndelja Street on 3 September 1993
Female, age 32, at Nikola Demonja/ Grada Bakua Street area on 6 January 1994
Female, age 46, at Olimpijska Street, No 15, on 18 January 1994
Female, age 42, at 21 Maj Street on 9 May 1994
Female, age 50, and female, age 62, at Nikole Demonje Street on 25 May 1994
Female, age 45, at Mojmilo- Dobrinja Road on 13 June 1994
Female, age 46, at Zaim Imamovic Street, No 15 on 20 July 1994
Female, age 54, at Baruthana Street on 8 November 1994
Female, age 28, at Zmaja od Bosne Street on 9 November 1994
Female, age 28, at Zmaja od Bosne Street on 18 November 1994
Female, age 24, at Franca Lehara Street, No 3 on 8 December 1994
Female, age 49, at Sedrenik Street on 10 December 1994
Elderly
Female, age 71, at “Ciglane” Market on 17 September 1993
Female, age 72, at Nikole Demonje Street on 2 October 1993
Female, age 60, at Lovcenska Street on 7 December 1993
Male, age 63, at St Anto Babic on 13 March 1994
Male, age 62, at Omladinskih Radnih Brigada Street on 16 June 1994
Male, age 61, at Prvomajska BB on 16 June 1994
Male, age 67, at Senad Mandic Denda Street, on 17 July 1994
Male, age 63, at Sedrenik Street on 11 December 1994
Male, age 62, at Sedrenik Street on 13 December 1994
Female, age 73, at the intersection of Zmaja od Bosne and Muzejska Streets on 18 December 1994
Men
Male, age 36, at Trg of Zavnobih on 1 February 1993
Male, age 52, at Kobilja Glava on 25 June 1993
Male, age 29, at Stara Cesta Street on 7 October 1993
Male, age 50, and male, age 56, at Brace Ribara Street on 2 November 1993
Male, age 36, at Stara Cesta Street on 14 December 1993
Male, age 27, at Zmaja od Bosne Street on 19 June 1994
Male, age 20, male, age 27, male, age 39, and male, age 34, at Zmaja od Bosne Street on 9 November 1994
Male, age 29, at Sedrenik Street on 8 December 1994
Male, age 46, and male, age 33, at intersection of Franje Rackog and Marsala Tita Streets on 3 March 1995
Male, age 52, at Sedrenik Street on 6 March 1995
45. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC individually and in concert with others planned, ordered, instigated or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the sniping of civilians or knew or had reason to know that subordinates were sniping civilians and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
As to the deliberate attacks by sniper fire against the civilian population and individual civilians, which resulted in death and injury to said civilians, and acts and omissions related thereto, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 10: a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR (deliberate attack on the civilian population and individual civilians) as recognised by Articles 3, 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
As to the killing by sniper fire of these civilians, among others, and acts and omissions related thereto, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 11: a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY as recognised by Articles 5(a) (murder), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
As to the wounding by sniper fire of these civilians, among others, and acts and omissions related thereto, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC committed:
Count 12: a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY as recognised by Articles 5(i) (inhumane acts), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
PART III
COUNTS 13-16
(HOSTAGES/HUMAN SHIELDS)
46. Between 26 May 1995 and 2 June 1995, Bosnian Serb military personnel, under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, seized 284 UN peacekeepers in Pale, Sarajevo, Gorazde and other locations and held them hostage in order to prevent further North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) airstrikes. Bosnian Serb military personnel held the UN peacekeepers throughout their captivity by force or by the threat of force. In some instances, the UN hostages were assaulted. During and after protracted negotiations with Bosnian Serb leaders, the UN hostages were released in stages between 3 June 1995 and 19 June 1995.
47. After seizing UN peacekeepers in the Pale area, Bosnian Serb military personnel, under the direction and control of RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, immediately selected certain UN hostages to use as “human shields,” including but not limited to Capt. Patrick A. Rechner (Canada), Capt. Oldrich Zidlik (Czech Republic) Captain Teterevsky (Russia), Maj. Abdul Razak Bello (Nigeria), Capt. Ahmad Manzoor (Pakistan) and Maj. Gunnar Westlund (Sweden). From on or about 26 May 1995 through 27 May 1995, Bosnian Serb military personnel physically secured or otherwise held the UN peacekeepers against their will at potential NATO air targets, including the ammunition bunkers at Jahorinski Potok, the Jahorina radar site and a nearby communications centre in order to render these locations immune from further NATO airstrikes. High level Bosnian Serb political and military delegations inspected and photographed the UN hostages who were handcuffed at the ammunition bunkers at Jahorinski Potok.
48. RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, individually and in concert with others planned, instigated, ordered or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the taking of civilians, that is UN peacekeepers, as hostages and, additionally, using them as “human shields” and knew or had reason to know that subordinates were about to take and hold UN peacekeepers as hostages and about to use them as “human shields” or had done so and failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent them from doing so or to punish the perpetrators thereof.
In regard to UN peacekeepers seized and held hostage between 26 May 1995 and 19 June 1995, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, by their acts and omissions, committed:
Count 13: a GRAVE BREACH as recognised by Articles 2(h) (taking civilians as hostage), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 14: a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR (taking of hostages) as recognised by Articles 3, 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
In regard to the UN peacekeepers used as “human shields” on 26 and 27 May 1995, RADOVAN KARADZIC and RATKO MLADIC, by their acts and omissions, committed:
Count 15: a GRAVE BREACH as recognised by Articles 2(b) (inhuman treatment), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 16: a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR (cruel treatment) as recognised by Articles 3, 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
July 1995
_______________________
Richard J. Goldstone
Prosecutor
Radovan Karadzic arrest: Serbia vows his ex-army chief Ratko Mladic will be arrested for war crimes
A new era in relations between Serbia and the west beckoned today as Belgrade reaped rewards from the surprise arrest of Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian genocide suspect, and pledged to apprehend the other most wanted alleged war criminal, General Ratko Mladic.
The strong signals from Serbia boosted the chances of full Balkan integration into the European mainstream after almost 20 years of nationalism, violence, war, isolation, and recalcitrance.
Serbia’s new pro-western government won plaudits from Brussels and other western capitals today and built momentum for the rapid inclusion of Serbia, the pivotal state in the Balkans, into European structures.
In Belgrade, a bizarre picture emerged of how Karadzic, who masterminded the 42-month siege of Sarajevo and is held politically responsible for the massacre of almost 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in July 1995, reinvented himself as a bearded New Age guru and devotee of alternative medicine living modestly in a Belgrade suburb and touring the country to deliver homilies on a better life.
On the run for 12 years after being indicted for war crimes in 1995, Karadzic was arrested by Serbian police on Monday evening while taking a bus in Belgrade, according to the Serbian government. His lawyer contested that scenario, saying his client was detained last Friday and had been held incommunicado and at an unknown location for three days.
Karadzic is expected to be transferred swiftly for trial to the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Sources in Belgrade said he could be extradited as soon as Friday.
Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian foreign minister, told the Guardian his government was resolved to cement its new relationship with the EU by moving to arrest Mladic, also charged with genocide. He said Serbia would “cooperate fully” with tribunal, adding: “European integration is the utmost priority of this government. I think we have demonstrated that we are truly committed to international law.”
Following the arrest, EU foreign ministers and officials called for Serbia to be put on the fast track to EU membership. “This is a very good thing for the rapprochement of Serbia with the European Union,” said Bernard Kouchner of France, currently chairing the EU.
The European commissioner dealing with expanding the EU into the Balkans, Olli Rehn, called on the union to reward Belgrade immediately with trade benefits and an agreement that serves as a precursor to formal membership talks.
Serbia built on the pro-western message of the Karadzic arrest by stating that it would return ambassadors to EU countries that recognised the independence of the breakaway state of Kosovo in February. Serbia bitterly rejects western-backed Kosovo independence and the secession had made Serbia’s relations with the west much more troubled.
Officials from the new Serbian government, only a fortnight in office, displayed pictures and provided details of the genocide suspect’s new life, indicating Karadzic felt secure under the alias Dragan Dabic and under a cleverly disguised new identity. The exposure of Karadzic’s secret life indirectly damned the previous nationalist government of Vojislav Kostunica, suggesting it could easily have arrested him.
Karadzic faces several charges of genocide, complicity in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his leadership of the Serbian campaign of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia in the 1992-95 war which left 100,000 dead, 2 million mainly Bosnian Muslims uprooted, and a society destroyed.
The arrest is seen as the strongest possible signal that President Boris Tadic and his pro-western government are bent on joining the European mainstream. Since Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in Serbia, Belgrade has been at odds with the west. An attempt in 2003, after Milosevic was overthrown in 2000, to integrate with Europe was wrecked with the assassination of prime minister, Zoran Djindjic.
A senior Serbian official said it was “very likely” that Mladic was being sheltered by “fellow soldiers, a big network out there. But we are going to get to them, it is only a matter of time”.
Today, there appeared to be relatively little resistance to the arrest from Serbia’s ultra-nationalists. A few dozen demonstrators smashed some shop windows on Belgrade’s Republic Square but were cleared within half an hour by a contingent of about 150 riot police.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/22/radovankaradzic.mladic
‘Architect of mass murder,’ Radovan Karadzic arrested after 13 years
‘Architect of mass murder,’ Serb arrested after 13 years
Radovan Karadzic stands accused of genocide against Muslims in the former Yugoslavia
Aileen McCabe, Canwest News Service; with files from Reuters; Agence France-Presse
Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, accused of genocide by the war-crimes tribunal in The Hague, was arrested Monday, bringing an end to a nearly 13-year search for a man wanted for his part in the massacre of thousands of civilians.
Serbian government sources said he had been under surveillance for several weeks after a tip from a foreign intelligence service.
“Karadzic was located and arrested,” the government said in a statement, which gave few details. It’s believed he was captured in Belgrade and is undergoing formal identification, including DNA testing.
“Karadzic was brought to the investigative judge of the War Crimes Court in Belgrade, in accordance with the law on co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),” it added.
A war-crimes official who requested anonymity said the 63-year-old had offered “no resistance” when he was arrested on Serbian territory, and appeared to have been in a “depressive mood,” according to Agence France- Presse.
People celebrated in the streets of Sarajevo on news of Karadzic’s arrest. State radio played excerpts of his speeches.
Richard Holbrooke, the former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe who negotiated the 1995 Dayton accords that ended the war in Bosnia, welcomed Karadzic’s capture, describing him as the Osama bin Laden of Europe, “a real, true architect of mass murder.”
The arrest came on the eve of a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers scheduled to discuss closer relations with Serbia after the formation of a new pro-western government led by President Boris Tadic’s Democratic Party. The EU welcomed the capture as a milestone in Serbia’s EU aspirations.
Karadzic, who carved the “statelet” of Republika Srpska out of the Serbian areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina, declared Pale his capital and named himself president. He’s charged with genocide stemming from the massacre in Srebrenica — where at least 7,500 Muslim men and boys were murdered — and with ethnic cleansing for driving tens of thousands of Muslims out of the Serb-held areas of Bosnia.
The expulsions were accompanied, according to international observers, by widespread killings, and up to 20,000 rapes in a calculated program of terror.
His indictment also includes the 43-month siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, in which some 10,000 civilians were killed.
Along with his former military commander Ratko Mladic, Karadzic had evaded the ICTY since 1995, when they were charged with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war. Mladic is still at large.
With his impressive mane of steely grey hair, Karadzic was the most recognizable villain remaining at large from the war, and for that reason alone, many think he should have been caught long ago.
But stories abound that over the years, he has gone to amazing lengths to disguise himself. Several people claim he has shaved off his hair and often wears monk’s robes in public.
There were few sightings of Karadzic during his years on the run. He stepped down as president of Srpska in 1996, a week after The Hague Tribunal revealed the existence of a secret indictment against him and issued an international arrest warrant for him. He was seen once more in public a few months later, at his son’s baptism at a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Montenegro, and then he vanished
In 2002, reacting to international criticism that it was not even trying to catch Karadzic, the NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia staged several raids on homes they said the fugitive had been hiding out in, but they failed to find him.
In 2004, when Carla Del Ponte, the chief UN war-crimes prosecutor, once again demanded that more effort be put into catching Karadzic, NATO troops and Serb police stepped up their search, but again to no avail.
Karadzic used his time underground productively, publishing a book of children’s poetry shortly after the raids in 2002, and the semi-autobiographical Miraculous Chronicles of the Night in 2004, which was a bestseller at the book fair in Belgrade.
The former president is said to have a whole network of supporters who are not tempted by the $5-million price on his head, and who are still willing to hide him, even after the international Srebrenica Commission ruled that the “massacre” he is charged with allowing to happen on his watch qualified as genocide.
There have long been rumours that Karadzic occasionally visits his wife and family in Pale, in Bosnia, but no reliable sightings. When his 83-year-old mother died, there was a flurry of speculation that he would somehow show up at her funeral in Montenegro, but he did not appear.
In 1990, when the ruling Communist party in Yugoslavia began to come apart at the seams, Karadzic was able to pick up the pieces in Bosnia with his Serbian Democratic Party.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
Radovan Karadzic: Poet, psychologist and architect of the slaughter of 8,000 Bosnian men and boys at Srebrenica
By Sophie Borland
Last updated at 8:57 AM on 22nd July 2008
Poet, psychologist and relentless Serb patriot, Radovan Karadzic was born in a stable in Savnik, Montenegro in 1945.
His father, Vuk, was in jail during much of his childhood.
Vuk had been a member of the Chetniks, the Serb nationalist guerillas who fought for the Allies against both Nazi occupiers and communist partisans in the Second World War.
Karadzic’s mother Jovanka has described her son as loyal, serious and a hard worker, who used to help her in the home and in the field. He was respectful towards the elderly and helped his school friends with their homework.
Wanted men: Radovan Karadzic, second right, and his general Ratko Mladic, first left, in April 1995
In 1960, Karadzic moved to Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, where he graduated as a doctor and became a psychologist in a city hospital.
It was in Sarajevo that Karadzic met his wife, Ljiljana. But he also became a poet and fell under the influence of the Serb nationalist writer Dobrica Cosic, who encouraged him to go into politics.
Karadzic, who was also an enthusiastic player of a single-string Serbian instrument known as the ‘gusle’, became head of the Bosnian Serb Democratic Party in 1989.
The flamboyant, bouffant-haired leader showed few signs of the hatred to come. He regularly played high-stakes poker with his Muslim and Croat neighbours.
But amid the chaos and violence of Yugoslavia’s disintegration, his assertion of ‘historic Serbian rights’ led to appalling slaughter.
He is one of the most wanted men in the world and is accused of leading the murders of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats.
Victims of war: A graveyard in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war in February, 1994
Grim task: International forensic experts examine dozens of bodies in a mass gravelinked to the Srebrenica massacre
His forces slaughtered 8,000 Muslim men and boys from Srebrenica in July 1995 in an horrific massacre.
He was also charged over the shelling and siege of Sarajevo which left thousands forced to eat grass to survive, and the use of 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995, according to the United Nations.
Although he has twice been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, he has been in hiding since the end of the war in Bosnia in 1995 and until now has never been arrested.
It is thought that following the Dayton Agreement that ended the war, he immediately fled to the mountainous southeastern area of the Serb-controlled part of Bosnia, where he was protected by paramilitaries.
Still popular: Serbian police officers arresting Karadzic’s supporter in front of the special court in Belgrade, Serbia, last night
After he went underground there were numerous reported sightings and many raids including some by the SAS to try and capture him.
But, thumbing his nose at the West, four years ago he was able to get a book published. Miraculous Chronicles of the Night, set in 1980s Yugoslavia, tells the story of a man jailed by mistake after the death of former Yugoslav strongman Josip Broz Tito.
The following year Bosnian investigators reported two separate sightings of Radovan Karadzic.
He was allegedly spotted with his wife Ljiljana in southeastern Bosnia and then with his brother Luka in Belgrade.
His wife then urged him to surrender saying that ‘enormous pressure’ had been put onto her.
There was increased pressure to capture him in Spring 2005 after a video of Bosnian Serb soldiers shooting hostages taken from Srebrenica was shown during the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic, former Yugoslav president.
Officials in the Serbian capital of Belgrade announced that they had captured several of Karadzic’s generals in connection with the footage but they never arrested the leader himself.
Mr Karadzic has always denied the charges against him claiming that the UN tribunal had been ‘created to blame the Serbs’.
Top War Crimes Fugitive Karadzic Arrested by Serb security forces
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Bosnian Serb wartime president Radovan Karadzic, one of the world’s most wanted men, has been arrested, a statement from the office of Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Monday.
“Karadzic was located and arrested,” the statement said. He was detained and taken to see judges of the war crimes court.
Karadzic, leader of the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-95 Bosnia war, was indicted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague in July 1995 for authorizing the shooting of civilians during the 43-month siege of Sarajevo.
He was indicted for genocide a second time four months later for orchestrating the slaughter of some 8,000 Muslim men after Mladic’s forces seized the U.N. “safe area” of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia.
He went underground in 1997 after losing power.
(Editing by Ralph Boulton)
URGENT – Radovan Karadzic arrested in Serbia
July 21, 2008 2:59 PM
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – The office of Serbian president says former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, a top war crimes suspect, has been arrested in Serbia.
President Boris Tadic’s office says in a statement that Karadzic was arrested on Monday evening ”in an action by the Serbian security services.”
Karadzic has been indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia for genocide during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. He has been hiding since 1998.
AP-WS-07-21-08 1735EDT
40,000 mourners gathered at the Potocari Memorial Centre near Srebrenica
By Jusuf Ramadanovic for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo — 15/07/08
 Survivors and relatives of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre attend the memorial ceremony at Potocari on Friday (July 11th). [Getty Images] |
An estimated 40,000 mourners gathered at the Potocari Memorial Centre near Srebrenica on Friday (July 11th) to mark the 13th anniversary of Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II. They were remembering the systematic slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys by Republika Srpska forces under the command of General Ratko Mladic, currently a fugitive war crimes indictee.
On this anniversary, 308 newly identified bodies were reburied, bringing the number of known dead to over 8,000. They included the body of 15-year-old Kasim Omerovic, whose mother attended the ceremony.
“The knowledge that on July 11th 1995 … people were killed only because they were Muslim causes astonishment among us, because we cannot believe that something like that could have happened in Europe after World War II,” said the leader of BiH’s Islamic community, Reis-ul-Ulema Mustafa Ceric. He asked the EU to declare July 11th a European day of mourning, on which the continent would pledge never to allow “another Holocaust or genocide”.
Prior to the commemoration itself, a three-day, 100km-long March of Peace to Srebrenica occurred, beginning in the town of Nezuk, through which the few surviving men of Srebrenica managed to reach territory controlled by the Bosnian Army. The March of Peace has been staged several years, gaining in international character with each passing year. Citizens of many other countries were among the 2,500 participants this time.
US Ambassador to BiH Charles English joined them for a short section. In brief remarks that earned applause from the marchers, he said, “Genocide occurred here. This fact cannot be minimised; it cannot be evaded and cannot and must not be denied.”
Recovery teams have faced numerous problems in locating and identifying victims’ remains, as the killers scattered them to evade detection. For instance, searchers found the remains of one victim, Sadik Oric, in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia — several hundred kilometers from Srebrenica in Vojvodina.
The Council of Ministers of BiH pronounced July 11th a day of mourning for the entire country, including both of its entities and the Brcko District. However, Republika Srpska rejected the decree and refused to lower its flags. RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said he was not interested in the decision of BiH’s three-member presidency or of the council of ministers.
“The suffering of the Serbs in and around Srebrenica during those three years was in no way inferior,” Dodik added, in response to The Hague tribunal’s recent release of former Bosniak military commander Naser Oric. His original conviction was overturned this month on appeal.
Nonetheless, every year more and more people from Serbia come to Potocari to remember Srebrenica. Among them are members of Women in Black, who say Serbia must confront its past and extradite war crimes indictees Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic to The Hague.
