Bosnian Genocide Case
The Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), case 91,Individual indictment and convictions for the crime of genocide
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
As of 9 May 2007 theKrstić case
In 1998 General-Major Radislav Krstić was indicted for genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war, based on his alleged role in the events in and around the Bosniak enclave of Srebrenica between 11 July 1995 and 1 November 1995 at the ICTY. On August 2, 2001, after the Trial Chamber was convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that a crime of genocide was committed in Srebrenica, it had convicted Krstić ofPopović et al. case
At the ICTY, the trial of several senior Serb military and police officers facing charges ranging from genocide to murder and deportation for the crimes committed in Srebrenica began 14 July 2006. Their names are: * Ljubiša Beara,ICTY; "Press Release:Popovic Et Al. Srebrenica Trial to Begin 14 July 2006"; United Nations=Trial verdicts
= The Trial Chamber made its ruling on 10 June 2010, by which it stated that " e scale and nature of the murder operation, the targeting of the victims, the systematic and organized manner in which it was carried out, and the plain intention to eliminate every Bosnian Muslim male who was captured or surrendered proves beyond reasonable doubt that members of the Bosnian Serb Forces, including members of the VRS Main Staff and Security Branch, intended to destroy the Muslims of Eastern Bosnia as a group."''Prosecutor v. Popović et al'', ICTY TC II, 10 June 2010 (case no=Appeal verdicts
= The Appeals chamber issued its judgment on 30 January 2014. Ljubomir Borovčanin did not appeal the trial judgement and was transferred to Denmark in 2011 to serve his 17-year sentence, while Milan Gvero died, and thus the Appeals chamber terminated proceedings against him in March 2013 and held the Trial Judgement to be final in his regard. Regarding the rest, the chamber made the following rulings: *Vujadin Popović and Ljubiša Beara - found guilty of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, violations of the laws or customs of war, and crimes against humanity, through their participation in a joint criminal enterprise. The chamber granted their appeal regarding the killing of six Bosnian Muslim men near Trnovo by the Scorpions paramilitary unit, and consequently it reversed their convictions with regard to that killing. It also granted in part the prosecution's appeal to enter convictions for conspiracy to commit genocide against both Popović and Beara, and thus entered a conviction against the two appellants for this crime. Their sentences of life imprisonment were affirmed. *Drago Nikolić - his convictions for aiding and abetting genocide, and crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war through his participation in a joint criminal enterprise were upheld. The chamber reversed his convictions for the killing of six Bosnian Muslim men near Trnovo. His sentence of 35 years of imprisonment was affirmed. *Radivoje Miletić - found guilty of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war, through his participation in a joint criminal enterprise. The chamber also reversed his convictions for persecution and inhumane acts (forcible transfer) as crimes against humanity in connection with the forcible transfer of the Bosnian Muslim men who crossed the Drina River, fleeing Žepa. It also granted in part his ground of appeal concerning sentencing, recognizing that the trial chamber erred in law by considering his use of authority within the VRS Main Staff as an aggravating circumstance. The chamber also granted the prosecution's ground of appeal regarding "opportunistic" killings in Potočari, and entered a conviction against Miletić for murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war for these killings. His sentence of 19 years of imprisonment was reduced to 18 years of imprisonment. *Vinko Pandurević - found guilty of aiding and abetting violations of the laws or customs of war and crimes against humanity. He was also found guilty of failing to prevent and punish the crimes of his subordinates. The chamber granted the prosecution's appeal regarding a variety of incidents, and entered a number of new convictions. Pandurević was thus found guilty as an aider and abettor or through command responsibility, in relation to various criminal acts, of murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war, extermination as a crime against humanity, and persecution through murder and through cruel and inhumane treatment as a crime against humanity. The chamber entered new convictions for these crimes, and also set aside some of Pandurević's convictions at trial. In dismissing one of Pandurević's challenges regarding aiding and abetting, the chamber recalled that "specific direction" is not an element of aiding and abetting under customary international law. His sentence of 13 years of imprisonment was affirmed.Karadžić case
Radovan Karadžić (accused of genocide and complicity in genocide in several municipalities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, initially including: Bijeljina, Bratunac, Bosanski Šamac, Brčko, Doboj, Foča, Ilijaš, Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Bosanski Novi, Prijedor, Rogatica, Sanski Most, Srebrenica, Višegrad, Vlasenica, Zavidovići and Zvornik, but later excluding Brčko, Kotor Varoš and Višegrad). Karadžić was arrested in=Trial verdict
= On 24 March 2016 the Trial Chamber of the ICTY delivered its first-instance verdict against the accused. With regards to the counts of genocide, it found Karadžić not guilty on count 1, since it was not satisfied that genocide was committed in the seven municipalities, namely Bratunac, Foča, Ključ, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Vlasenica, and Zvornik, where the alleged persecutory campaign included or escalated to include conduct and intent which amounted to genocide. In relation to count 2, the Trial Chamber found Karadžić responsible for genocide on the basis of his participation in the Srebrenica joint criminal enterprise. It has been argued that the first-instance verdict against Karadžić, in relation to his conviction for the crime of genocide, "demonstrates an evolution in judicial interpretation of the enocideConvention, as ICTY judges in ''Karadžić'' appear more willing to infer genocidal intent and to embrace a generally broader view of the Convention".Mladić case
Ratko Mladic was indicted On July 24, 1995 (amended on 10 October 2002) by the Prosecutor ICTY and accused of genocide and complicity in genocide in several municipalities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Srebrenica, Banja Luka, Bosanska Krupa, Bratunac, Vlasenica and Zvornik. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for theTolimir case
On 31 May 2007, Zdravko Tolimir (aka: 'Chemical Tolimir'), long time fugitive and a former Assistant Commander for Intelligence and Security of the VRS Main Staff who reported directly to the Commander of the Main Staff, Ratko Mladic, and who had been indicted by the Prosecutor of the ICTY on genocide charges in the 1992–95 Bosnia war was arrested by Serbian and Bosnian police. Tolimir is infamous for issuing request to use chemical weapons during genocide to gas civilians so Bosnian troops could surrender. Tolimir is thought to be one of the main organizers of the network helping top war crimes indictee Ratko Mladić elude justice. On 3 July 2007 Tolimir did not enter a plea, after which a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf, while on 16 December 2009 he pleaded not guilty to new charges. His trial commenced on 26 February 2010. The trial chamber issued its judgment on 12 December 2012 by which it found Tolimir guilty, among other things, of genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.Genocide convictions overturned on appeal
* Vidoje Blagojević (Srebrenica) is a former commander of the Bratunac Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army. He was captured on August 10, 2001, and soon interned at the ICTY at the Hague. Blagojević was tried along with Dragan Jokic. Both pleaded not guilty. In January 2005 Blagojević was acquitted of the charge of extermination as a crime against humanity, however he was found guilty of the other charges, including complicity to commit genocide by aiding and abetting genocide. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. On May 9, 2007, the ICTY's appeals court reversed the genocide conviction and reduced his sentence to 15 years which he is currently serving in prison.Plea bargains
Individuals indicted by ICTY for genocide in which such charges were withdrawn, with the accused pleading guilty to crimes against humanity: * Momir Nikolić was indicted by the Prosecutor of the ICTY 26 March 2002 charged withOther outcomes and pending cases
;Died while on trial * Slobodan Milošević was accused of genocide or complicity in genocide in territories within Bosnia and Herzegovina, including: Bijeljina, Bosanski Novi,Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Before the establishment of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there were several indictments for the crime of genocide, however only one inductee, Borislav Herak, has been found guilty of genocide. Since 2003 no indictments were filed for genocide before the local courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, other than the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Mačkić, Erna (2009-11-19)Rulings before the establishment of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Borislav Herak and Sretko Damjanović - on 7 February 1993 the District Military Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo filed an indictment with the District Military Court in Sarajevo against Herak, for genocide, war crimes against civilian population and war crimes against POWs, for crimes committed while he was a member of "Bioča Company" and "Kremeš Company", Damjanović (for genocide, war crimes against civilian population), for crimes committed while he was a member of "Kremeš Company" and Nada Tomić (for concealment of crime). In March 1993, by a judgment of District Military Court they were found guilty of all the offenses and Herak and Damjanović were sentenced to death. In July 1993, the second instance court partially accepted the appeals of defense lawyers, but upheld the first instance judgment with regards the finding of guilt for all the crimes and the penalties made. The third instance court, in December 1993, rejected the appeals of the defense layers and confirmed the judgment of the second instance court. After further procedural process, a retrial of Damjanović was ordered pursuant to the decision of the Human Rights Chamber for B&H and during the retrial Damjanović was acquitted of the charges of genocide. On appeal the court upheld the acquittal for genocide with regards Damjanović, as well as the sentence of 9 years imprisonment for other crimes. All the requests for retrial of Herak were rejected, making him the only person convicted of genocide by the local court in B&H before the establishment of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina,. Herak's death penalty was altered to 20 years imprisonment, and he was released from prison in August 2012. *Tešić Tešo and Borović Dušan - on 22 July 1996 Tešić, a member of paramilitary Vlasenica Brigade, and Borović, a member of volunteer units from Serbia, were indicted by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo since it was alleged that they "participated and organized systematic destruction of people, members of non-Serbian nationality", and thus committed the crime of genocide (under the Criminal Code of SFRY, or FBiH as adopted by the decree law) in northern part of Vlasenica Municipality and Bijeljina and Zvornik respectively. The Cantonal Court in Tuzla, on 19 September 1997, acquitted the accused of the charges since the charges were not proven, and this judgment was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 August 2000. *Čančar Veselin - on 11 November 1996 Čančar, a reserve captain of the JNA, was indicted by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo for, among other things, allegedly committing genocide on the territory of Foča. On 9 January 1998 the genocide charge was removed from the indictment, and the accused was finally found guilty of committing war crimes against civilian population.The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
So far the Prosecutor's office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has only filed indictments for the crime of genocide relating to the Srebrenica massacre, stating that "investigations have not shown elements of genocide for any other areas han Srebrenica. Many analysts, indicate that the reasons for that lie in the fact that prosecutors are not willing to stray from the case law of ICTY, but Erna Mackic writing in BIRN BiH in November 2009 stated that "some rights activists believe this may change" once the ICTY trial of Radovan Karadžić is over.=Arrested
= *Marko Boškić - on 25 August 2004, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested and charged Boškić with fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents. In 2006, he was sentenced to 63 months in prison for immigration fraud offenses. Subsequently, on 29 April 2010, he was extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina and handed over to members of SIPA (State Investigation and Protection Agency) and is to be charged for the alleged participation in Srebrenica genocide. In July 2010, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for crimes against humanity. *Dragan Nešković - On 25 August 2010, State Investigation and Protection Agency had arrested Nešković in Bijeljina on suspicion of participation in Srebrenica genocide. *Branko Popić - was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers for suspicion of participating in Srebrenica genocide. He was deported to Bosnia and Herzegovina. *Dejan Radojković - was arrested in January 2009 in USA, and was deported in 2012 to Bosnia and Herzegovina to face the charges of his alleged participation in the Srebrenica genocide. *Milorad Obradovic - was arrested in Munich, Germany in January 2018 for suspected activity in the numerous kidnappings, illegal imprisonments and murders of Bosnian Muslims in the Prijedor region of Bosnia in the spring and summer of 1992. *Nine former Bosnian Serb military officers and troops were arrested in Bosnia on September 16, 2020, for suspected of involvement in the killings of 44 Muslim Bosniak civilians during the 1992-95 Bosnian War. *Dusan Culibrk- was arrested in Bosnia in November 2020 on charges of taking part in the killing of 51 non-Serb civilians in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina early in the war in the 1990s *Seven former Bosnian Serb military and police officials were arrested in Bosnia on December 8, 2020, on charges of unlawfully imprisoning and torturing 150 Bosniak and Croat civilians around the central Bosnian town of Donji Vakuf in the spring and summer of 1992.=Indicted to stand trial
= *Nedeljko Milidragović and Aleksa Golijanin - on 19 July 2012, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment under which both of the accused were charged with the criminal offense of genocide committed in Srebrenica in the period from 10 to 19 July 1995. At the relevant period Milidragović was a commander of the 2nd platoon of the 1st Company, Jahorina Training Center of the Special Police Brigade of the RS Ministry of Interior (SBP of the RS MUP), while Golijanin was a Deputy Commander of the 3rd Platoon of the 1st Company, Jahorina Training Center of SBP of the RS MUP. Neither of the accused were in custody, and the available data suggested that Milidragović lived in Belgrade, while Golijanin resided in Sremska Kamenica, both in Serbia. On 18 March 2015 both were arrested in Serbia. *Srećko Aćimović - the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against the accused on 28 December 2015, charging him with the criminal offense of genocide in Srebrenica, through aiding and abetting. *Tomislav Kovač - the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina indicted the accused for genocide in Srebrenica on 29 December 2017. The indictment was sent to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for confirmation. *On 28 December 2017, 14 Bosnian Muslims were indicted the Bosnian government for crimes against Serbs. *Former Bosnian-Serb general Milomir Savcic was indicted on charges of genocide near Srebrenica on December 31, 2019. *Ranko Radulovic - the Montenegrin citizen and former Bosnian Serb fighter was charged in September 2020 with crimes against humanity for involvement in attacking Bosniaks, rape, hostage-taking and property destruction in the Foca area of Bosnia in 1992.=Mitrović and others case ("Kravice")
=The First Instance Verdict On 29 July 2008, after a two-year trial, the Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found seven men guilty of genocide for their role in the Srebrenica massacre including the deaths of 1000 Bosniak men in a single day. In the trial verdict the Court found that the accused Milenko Trifunović, Aleksandar Radovanović, Brano Džinić, Slobodan Jakovljević and Branislav Medan, by their actions as co-perpetrators (not as members of JCE), committed the criminal offence of
The Appellate Panel verdict, decisions of the Constitutional Court and retrial *Milovan Matić - the Appellate Panel upheld the trial verdict, and thus refused as unfounded the appeal filed by the Prosecutor.News (2009-10-27)
The Appellate Panel verdict in Mitrović case, decision of the Constitutional Court and retrial In a separate judgment the Appellate Panel partially accepted the appeal of Petar Mitrović and found him guilty of the criminal offense of genocide, but as an accessory (aiding and abetting), and sentenced him to 28 years of imprisonment. On 22 October 2013 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina upheld the appeal of Petar Mitrović, finding that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had violated his rights from Article 7 of the European Convention of Human Rights, when it applied the new Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, instead of the one that was in force when the crime of genocide was committed. The case was remanded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a new trial. Pursuant to the decision of the Constitutional Court the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina terminated the execution of the sanction of imprisonment for the accused and released him from prison before the initiation of new trial. The Panel of the Section I for War Crimes of the Appeals Division of the Court of BiH sent out on 29 April 2014 a verdict in this case accepting in part the appeal of defense for the accused, thus revising the previous judgment in relation to its legal qualification, finding the accused Petar Mitrović guilty of the criminal offense of genocide, now under the Criminal Code of SFRY, as an accessory (aiding and abetting), and sentencing him to 20 years imprisonment.
Retrial in Miloš Stupar case Stupar, who allegedly acted as the Commander of the 2nd Šekovići Detachment of the Special Police, was charged for the crime of genocide under the command responsibility since he allegedly failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent members of his Detachment from taking part in the perpetration of genocide in Srebrenica, and following the perpetration of the offense he failed to take the necessary steps to punish them. Stupar was found guilty in the first instance verdict, of 29 July 2009, but the Appellate Panel of the Section I for War Crimes, by its verdict on 9 September 2009, modified the trial verdict in its sentencing part and, among other things, ordered a retrial with regards Stupar before the panel of the Appellate Division of Section I of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Appellate Division made its verdict on 5 May 2010 by which it had acquired Stupar of all charges, since he was not ''de facto'' or ''de jure'' Commander of the 2nd Šekovići Detachment of the Special Police and since he did not have the effective control over the perpetrators of the crimes.
=Milorad Trbić case
=First instance verdict Milorad Trbić, a former reserve Captain of the Zvornik brigade of the army of the Republika Srpska, was charged with genocide pursuant to Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC BiH) in conjunction with the killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group. On 16 October 2009 Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a first instance verdict, found Milorad Trbić directly responsible for the crimes he committed as part of a joint criminal enterprise to destroy all the Bosniaks brought into his area of responsibility during the period following the fall of Srebrenica. The Court sentenced Trbić for his participation in the crimes to thirty years imprisonment.
Second instance verdict On 16 October 2009 the Appellate Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, following a public hearing, refused as unfounded the appeals submitted by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Defence Counsel, and confirmed the verdict and the sentence in its entirety.
Decision of the Constitutional Court and retrial On 6 November 2014 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina upheld the appeal of Milorad Trbić finding that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had violated his rights from Article 7 of the European Convention of Human Rights, when it applied the new Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, instead of the one that was in force when the crime of genocide was committed. The case was remanded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a new trial. After the decision of the Constitutional Court the Panel of the Appellate Division of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 3 February 2015 sent out the Verdict dated 19 January 2015 under which the judgment of the first instance court is revised in terms of the application of the Criminal Code and decision as to the sanction and so the actions for which Trbić is found guilty under the first-instance judgment are defined as the criminal offense of Genocide in violation of Article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia taken over based on the Law on Application of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Criminal Code of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia as read with Article 22 (co-perpetration) of the said Code. The Court revised the judgment in terms of the sanction as well, and so pronounced on Trbić a prison sentence for a term of twenty years. The remaining part of the judgment of the first-instance court remained unchanged.
=Radomir Vuković ''et al'' case
=First instance verdict and second instance order for retrial On 21 October 2008 the Court issued a Decision on the joinder of cases of Radomir Vuković (X-KR-06/180-2) and Zoran Tomić (X-KR-08/552), and the main trial commenced on 4 December 2008. Both were charged with the criminal offense of genocide, and both pleaded not guilty. On 22 April 2010 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina pronounced the first-instance verdict finding both the accused guilty of knowingly assisting in the perpetration of the crime of genocide because, as members of the special police force of the 2nd Detachment of the Šekovići Special Police of the Republika Srpska MUP, they participated in keeping the road passable during the transportation of Bosniaks by trucks and buses, for later capturing a large number of Bosniak men who attempted to escape from the UN Safe Area and taking them to Kravica Farming Cooperative where they participated in their execution. They were each sentenced to a long term imprisonment of 31 years. On 11 May 2011 the Panel of the Court's Appellate Division of the Section I for War Crimes, following a public session, delivered an Appellate Decision revoking the Trial Verdict and ordering a retrial before the Appellate Panel.
Second instance verdict On 25 January 2012 the Chamber of the Appellate Division of the Section I for War Crimes, following a public session, delivered the second-instance verdict by which Radomir Vuković was found guilty of perpetrating the criminal offense of aiding and abetting in genocide, and was sentenced to long-term imprisonment of 31 years. Zoran Tomić was acquitted.
Decision of the Constitutional Court and retrial On 27 October 2015 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina upheld the appeal of Radomir Vuković finding that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had violated his rights from Article 7 of the European Convention of Human Rights, when it applied the new Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, instead of the one that was in force when the crime of genocide was committed. The case was remanded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a new trial. After the decision of the Constitutional Court the Panel of the Appellate Division of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 17 December 2015 sent out the Verdict under which the judgment of the first instance court is revised in terms of the application of the Criminal Code and decision as to the sanction and so the actions for which Vuković is found guilty under the first-instance judgment are defined as the criminal offense of Genocide in violation of Article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia taken over based on the Law on Application of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Criminal Code of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. The Court revised the judgment in terms of the sanction as well, and so pronounced on Vuković a prison sentence for a term of twenty years. The remaining part of the judgment of the first-instance court remained unchanged.
=Momir Pelemiš and Slavko Perić
=First instance verdict The accused Momir Pelemiš acted as Deputy Commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Zvornik Infantry Brigade (1st Battalion), and as Acting Commander of the 1st Battalion in the period between July 9 and 21, 1995, whereas in the period between July 14 and 17, 1995, the accused Slavko Perić acted as Assistant Commander for Security and Intelligence in the 1st Battalion. The court confirmed the indictment against the accused on 28 November 2008, charging both the accused for genocide. At a plea hearing before Section I for War Crimes of the Court, held on 16 January 2009, both of the accused pleaded not guilty, and the main trial commenced on 10 March 2009. On 31 October 2011, the Trial Panel of the Section 1 of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced the first-instance verdict, sentencing Momir Pelemiš and Slavko Perić to 16 and 19 years of prison respectively for the criminal offense of genocide, finding that the accused knowingly provided assistance to members of the joint criminal enterprise aimed at killing the able-bodied Bosniak men from Srebrenica, during a widespread and systematic attack carried out on the UN safe area in Srebrenica between 10 July and 1 November 1995 by members of the Republika Srpska Army and the RS MUP.
Second instance verdict On 26 December 2012 the Chamber of the Appellate Division of the Section I for War Crimes, following a public session, delivered the second-instance verdict by which it revoked the Trial Verdict with regards the accused Momir Pelemiš and ordered a retrial before the appeals chamber. It also partially changed the judgment against Branko Perić, such that he is re-sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.
Retrial in Momir Pelemiš case The main trial before the Panel of the Section I for War Crimes of the Appellate Division of the Court of BIH was initiated on 14 February 2013, and the second-instance verdict was pronounced on 13 June 2013. The Appellate Division found the accused not guilty of the crime of genocide.
=Duško Jević ''et al'' case
=First instance verdict On 22 January 2010 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the Indictment in the Duško Jević ''et al.'' case, charging the accused Duško Jević, Mendeljev Đurić and Goran Marković with the criminal offense of genocide, in relation to Srebrenica massacre. On 19 April 2010 the Court issued a Decision on merging this case with the case against Neđo Ikonić, against whom the Court issued, on 21 January 2010, a decision ordering the accused into one-month custody, after he was arrested in the United States of America and extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and against whom it had later confirmed the indictment, charging the accused with the criminal offense of genocide in Srebrenica. Ikonić pleaded not guilty to the charges. Accused Jević was at the relevant time in the capacity of Deputy Commander of the Special Police Brigade of the MUP RS and the Commander of the Training Center of the Special Police Brigade Jahorina; the accused Đurić, in the capacity of the Commanding Officer of the 1st Company of the Training Center Jahorina; the accused Marković, in the capacity of the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Platoon of the 1st Company of the Training Center Jahorina and the accused Ikonić, in the capacity of the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Company of the Training Center Jahorina of the MUP RS Special Police Brigade. On 25 May 2012 the Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina pronounced the first-instance verdict in which it had found the accused Jević and Đurić guilty for willingly aiding members of the joint criminal enterprise to commit genocide in Srebrenica, while Ikonić and Marković were found not guilty for the charged crimes. Jević was sentenced to 35 and Đurić to 30 years imprisonment.
Second instance verdict On 16 August 2013 the Appellate Panel of the Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered its second instance verdict by which it had reduced the long-term imprisonment sentence of the accused Jević to 32 years and of the accused Đurić to 28 years, refusing as ill-founded the appeal filed by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
=Željko Ivanović case
=First instance verdict and second instance order for retrial The accused Željko Ivanović was charged with a criminal offense of genocide, in which he allegedly participated as a member of the Special Police Unit of the 2nd Šekovići Detachment, RS MoI, during the period from 10 to 19 July 1995 in and around Srebrenica. On 29 June 2009 the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge of genocide. On 24 April 2012 the Trial Panel of the Section I for War Crimes of the Court of BiH pronounced a Trial Verdict finding the accused guilty of the criminal offense of crimes against humanity and had sentenced the accused to imprisonment for a term of 13 years. The prosecution moved the Appellate Panel of the Court to grant its appeal, revoke the contested verdict and schedule a retrial, or to alter the verdict by finding the accused guilty of the criminal offense of genocide, while the defense appealed as well. On 5 December 2012, the Panel of Section I for War Crimes of the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH granted the appeals of the prosecutor and the defense, and revoked the first instance verdict of the Court and scheduled a retrial before the Panel of the Appellate Division.
Second instance verdict On 17 June 2003 the Appeals Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found the accused guilty of the crime of genocide, as an accessory, and had sentenced him to a 24-year long-term imprisonment.
Decision of the Constitutional Court and retrial On 28 March 2014 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina upheld the appeal of Željko Ivanović finding that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had violated his rights from Article 7 of the European Convention of Human Rights, when it applied the new Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, instead of the one that was in force when the crime of genocide was committed. The case was remanded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a new trial. Pursuant to the decision of the Constitutional Court, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina terminated the execution of the sanction of imprisonment for the accused and released hom from prison before the initiation of new trial. After the decision of the Constitutional Court the Panel of the Appellate Division of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Ivanović guilty of the criminal offense of genocide, but now under Article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Socialistic Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, taken in conjunction with Article 24 of the same Code (complicity), and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment.
=Goran Sarić case
= On 29 August 2013 the Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina charged Sarić for the criminal offense of genocide for the massacre committed in Srebrenica. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against Sarić on 9 September 2013.First instance verdict On 16 February 2018 the Panel of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a judgment acquitting Goran Sarić of the charges for the criminal offense of genocide in Srebrenica.
=Aleksandar Cvetković case
= On 18 January 2010 Cvetković was arrested by the Israeli International Investigations Unit as he is suspected to have participated in the Srebrenica genocide. On 15 August 2013 Cvetković was extradited from Israel to Bosnia and Herzegovina to stand the trial on the charges of participation in Srebrenica genocide. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against Cvetković on 12 September 2013. He was accused that, as a member of the 10th Sabotage Detachment of the Main Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, in late June 1995, he participated in the launch of the first attack on the UN safe area of Srebrenica and the UNPROFOR base with the aim to intimidate the Bosniak population, and that, on 11 July 1995, he participated in the military operation "Krivaja -95", or the capture of the UN safe area of Srebrenica. He was also accused that, after the entry into Srebrenica, and after the entire Bosniak population had been expelled from the safe area, on 16 July 1995, at the Branjevo Farming Cooperative, together with other members of the 10th Sabotage Detachment, he fired form an automatic rifle at the detainees gathered in groups of ten men, on which occasion, at least nine hundred detained Bosniak men and young boys from the Srebrenica enclave were summarily executed, and only two detainees survived.First instance verdict The Trial Panel of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered, on 2 July 2015, a verdict acquitting the accused of all the charges for the criminal offense of genocide under Article 171(a) and (b) of the Criminal Code of BiH, as read with Article 29 of the same Code.
=Stanišić Ostoja and another case
= Ostoja Stanišić and Marko Milošević were arrested on 21 June 2012, under the allegations of participation in the Srebrenica genocide, through knowingly aiding the perpetration of genocide in the area of the villages Petkovci and Đulići, municipality of Zvornik. On 2 August 2012 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against the accused. At the relevant period Ostoja Stanišić was the Commander of the 6th Zvornik Brigade Battalion, while Marko Milošević was the Deputy Commander of the 6th Zvornik Brigade Battalion. On 5 September 2012 both of the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.First instance verdict The Trial Panel of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered, on 31 March 2017, a verdict by which the accused Ostoja Stanišić was found guilty of the crime of genocide and sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment, while the accused Marko Milošević was acquitted.
=Josipović case
=First instance verdict By the decision of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina of 5 September 2014 suspect Branimir Tešić was ordered into one-month custody, while in relation to the suspect Miodrag Josipović the Court ordered a number of prohibiting measures including the ban on leaving the place of residence (house arrest). Both are suspected of committing the crime of genocide. On 2 October 2014 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against both of the accused for the crime of genocide. The indictment alleges that Josipović, in the capacity as the Chief of Public Security Station Bratunac and member of Police Forces Staff of Zvornik Public Security Center quartered in the Public Security Station Bratunac, and Tešić, as Deputy Commander of Bratunac Police Station, in the period from 12 July to 19 July 1995 aided and abetted the partial destruction of Bosniaks from Srebrenica enclave. On 16 December 2014 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against the accused Dragomir Vasić, Danilo Zoljić and Radomir Pantićon, charging them with the criminal offense of genocide in Srebrenica, through aiding and abetting. On 29 November the Court of BiH acquitted the accused.
=Found guilty for other crimes
=Franc Kos ''et al.'' case On 12 August 2010 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment in the "Franc Kos ''et al.'' case" charging the accused Franc Kos, Stanko Kojić, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja, as members of the 10th Sabotage Detachment of the Main Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, with the criminal offence of genocide in Srebrenica. At the plea hearing, on 8 September 2010, the accused Vlastimir Golijan pleaded guilty while the accused Kos, Kojić and Goronja pleaded not guilty to the criminal offense of genocide. On 15 June 2012 the Section I for War Crimes of the Court of BiH delivered its first-instance Verdict, finding that the crime of genocide was committed in Srebrenica in the relevant period, but concluding that all the accused are guilty of crimes against humanity. Stanko Kojić was sentenced to 43, while Franc Kos and Zoran Goronja were both sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. Vlastimir Golijan was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment. On 15 February 2013 the Appellate Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina made its judgment rejecting the appeal of the Prosecutor's Office and partially accepting the appeal of the accused, and reduced their sentences. Franc Kos was sentenced to 35 years, Stanko Kojić to 32 years, Vlastimir Golijan to 15 years and Zoran Goronja to 30 years of imprisonment.
Božidar Kuvelja case On 17 January 2010 Božidar Kuvelja, a former Police Officer of the II Platoon of the 1st Company of the Jahorina Training Center, was deprived of liberty in the area of Čajniče by order of the Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes within the BiH Prosecutor's Office and is suspected to have participated in the Srebrenica genocide. He was ordered into custody on 19 January 2011. On 4 March 2011 the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina had sent the indictment to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the confirmation. Kuvelja is charged with, among other things, the alleged execution of around one thousand Bosniak man and boys during the Srebrenica genocide. On 9 March 2011 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the Indictment, charging Kuvelja with the criminal offense of genocide. Kuvelja subsequently pleaded not guilty. On 11 January 2013 the Trial Panel of the Section I for War Crimes of the Court of BiH pronounced a Trial Verdict finding the accused guilty of crimes against humanity and had sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment. Both the prosecutor and the defense have indicated that they would appeal the judgment. On 19 November 2013 the Court confirmed the first instance judgment, rejecting both the defense and prosecutor's appeal.
=Plea bargains
= *Vaso Todorović - the Court confirmed the indictment against him on 2 June 2008, under which it was alleged that Todorović, as a member of the Special Police of the 2nd Šekovići Detachment during the period from 10 July to 19 July 1995, with an intention to partially exterminate a group of Bosniak people, participated in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at forcible relocation of around 40 thousand civilians from the UN Protection Zone Srebrenica, and was charged with the crime of genocide. On 23 June 2008 Todorović pleaded not guilty, and the trial was initiated on 13 October 2010. Todorović made a plea agreement with the Prosecution on 16 October 2010, after which the charge of genocide was replaced by crimes against humanity. On 22 October 2010 he was found guilty of aiding and abetting murder and deportation and forcible transfer as a crime against humanity committed in Srebrenica in July 1995, and was sentenced to six years imprisonment. *Dragan Crnogorac - on 15 November 2010, Crnogorac was deprived of liberty in Banja Luka by order of the Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes within the BiH Prosecutor's Office and is suspected to have, as a member of the police forces of the Jahorina Training Center – a part of the RS MoI, personally participated in the capture of Muslim men in the village of Sendici who had tried to escape Srebrenica and their execution, during the genocide of July 1995. Crnogorac struck a plea bargain after being indicted for genocide, after which he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes against humanity.German prosecutions
During the late 1990s the German courts handed down custodial sentences to several individuals who were found guilty by the German courts of participating in genocides in Bosnia. Two of these cases were cited in the judgement handed down by the ICTY against Radislav Krstic, when considering whether the Srebrenica massacre met theNovislav Džajić
Novislav Džajić was indicted in Germany for participation in genocide, but the Higher Regional Court failed to find that there was sufficient certainty, for a criminal conviction, that he had intended to commit genocide. Nevertheless, Džajič was found guilty of 14 cases of murder and one case of attempted murder. At Džajić's appeal on 23 May 1997, theNikola Jorgić
The Higher Regional Court ( Oberlandesgericht) of Düsseldorf, in September 1997, handed down a genocide conviction against Nikola Jorgic, a Bosnian Serb from the Doboj region who was the leader of a paramilitary group located in the Doboj region. He was sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment for his involvement in genocidal actions that took place in regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, other than Srebrenica. His appeal was dismissed by German Federal Constitutional Court.=Application before the European Court Of Human Rights
= On 12 July 2007,Maksim Sokolović
On 29 November 1999, the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Düsseldorf condemned Maksim Sokolović to 9 years in prison for aiding and abetting the crime of genocide and for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.Đurađ Kušljić
In 1999 Đurađ Kušljić was found guilty for committing genocide and sentenced to life-imprisonment by a German court for killing of six Bosniaks and order of expulsion of other non-Serb population while he was police chief of Vrbanjci (municipality Kotor Varoš) in 1992. Qualification of his crimes was changed to complicity in genocide on appeal, but his sentence was unaltered. It has been argued by some legal scholars that the "courts have taken a relatively extensive view" with regards the mental element of genocide in that case. On 11 January 2006 Kušljić filed an appeal before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina claiming that his fair trial rights were violated when it was not made possible for him to participate in the procedure before the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications of B&H and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of B&H, when it was decided that B&H would not request his extradition regarding the criminal procedure against him for genocide, although in his view B&H had jurisdiction, since he did not even know the procedure was underway. The Court dismissed his appeal for being ''ratione materiae'' incompatible with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Austrian prosecutions
Duško Cvjetković, who was allegedly a commander of a Bosnian-Serb militia group in Kucice, was arrested in Austria on 19 May 1994. On 27 July 1994 the Prosecutor's Office ofThe Netherlands prosecutions
A former UN interpreter, Hasan Nuhanović and the family of Rizo Mustafić, an electrician who worked for the UN Battalion at Srebrenica, have filed a criminal complaint requesting that genocide charges be brought against three Dutch military officials: commander Thom Karremans, his deputy Rob Franken and second in command Berend Oosterveen, because Nuhanović's family members were forced out of UN compound (his father and brother were killed subsequently), as well as Mustafić who is still missing. The public prosecutor in The Netherlands has decided to open an investigation pursuant to the criminal complaint. On 7 March 2013 Dutch authorities decided not to prosecute, while Nuhanović indicated that he would appeal that decision. The families lodged a complaint about the public prosecutor's decision with the Military Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Arnhem-Leeuwarden, but on 29 April 2015 the Court of Appeal dismissed the complaint, finding that prosecutions were unlikely to lead to a conviction. Against the decision by the Court of Appeal the families submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights complaining that the Court of Appeal had failed to order the criminal prosecution of the three Netherlands servicemen, or at least a criminal investigation into their involvement in the deaths of their relatives. On 30 August 2016 the European Court of Human Rights declared the application as inadmissible for being manifestly ill-founded, concluding that "it cannot be said that the domestic authorities have failed to discharge the procedural obligation under Article 2 of the Convention to conduct an effective investigation ... which was capable of leading to the establishment of the facts, ... and of identifying and – if appropriate – punishing those responsible".Serbian prosecutions
On 11 August 2010, Humanitarian Law Center, a human rights non-governmental organization from the Republic of Serbia, filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor of the Republic of Serbia against an unspecified number of members of the former Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) for the alleged commitment of the war crime of genocide in Srebrenica, according to Article 14 of the Criminal Code of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (KZ SRJ) with regards to Article 22 of the KZ SRJ as co-perpetrators.Swiss prosecutions
In May 2016 the first-instance court in Switzerland found the Swiss politician Donatello Poggi guilty for racial discrimination and had sentenced him to a two-year suspended prison sentence, for denial of genocide in Srebrenica in two opinion articles on the ''Corriere del Ticino'' and ''TicinoLibero'' websites. On 13 June 2017 the second-instance court rejected his appeal.Civil Suits
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In a case of ''Ferida Selimović et al. v. the Republika Srpska'' the Human Rights Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided on 49 applications comprising the "Srebrenica cases" which involved applications filed by immediate family members of Bosniak men presumed to have been killed as part of the mass executions during the Srebrenica genocide in July 1995. The cases raised issues under Articles 3, 8, and 13 of theUnited States
In 1994 two set of complaints (''Doe v. Karadžić'' and ''Kadić v. Karadžić''), both with multiple plaintiffs, filed suits under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, against Radovan Karadžić for various atrocities "carried out by Bosnian-Serb military forces as part of a genocidal campaign".Kadić v. Karadžić, 70 F.3d 232, 238-46 (2d Cir. 1995). The district court dismissed both cases claiming that named statutes required "state action", however the court of appeals revised and remanded that judgment, stating that "Karadžić may be found liable for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in his private capacity and for other violations in his capacity as a state actor, and that he is not immune from service of process". Karadžić was personally served with summons and complaint in each action during his visits to U.N. in New York, and he actively participated through his lawyers in the proceedings ( Ramsey Clark, as his attorney), until the Supreme Court of the United States denied his request to review the decision of the court of appeals. In 2000, the district court entered order of default in ''Kadić v. Karadžić'', after which the case proceeded to a damages phase in which the jury returned a verdict of US$745 million (US$265 million in compensatory damages and US$480 million in punitive damages), which was then incorporated in the judgment of the court, in favour of fourteen plaintiffs. The court also issued a permanent injunction by which Karadžić and his subordinates were enjoined and restrained from committing or facilitating "any acts of 'ethnic cleansing' or genocide (...) or any other act committed in order to harm, destroy or exterminate any person on the basis of ethnicity, religion and/or nationality". In the same year, in ''Doe v. Karadžić'', the court decided in favour of twenty-one plaintiffs, and awarded them US$407 million in compensatory damages and US$3.8 billion in punitive damages. As of 2008 the plaintiffs did not receive damages. Deputy High representative for Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe Netherlands
Currently two cases are being conducted before The Hague District Court in the Netherlands against the State of theReferences and notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Bosnian Genocide Prosecutions Bosnian genocide