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Nenad Tanaskovic jailed for 12 years

24 August 2007  The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sentenced Nenad Tanaskovic to 12 years imprisonment for crimes against humanity committed against civilians on the territory of Visegrad municipality in 1992.

Former Visegrad policeman Nenad Tanaskovic has been found guilty of six of the seven counts in the indictment he was facing, and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.

Tanaskovic was found guilty of having illegally detained, tortured, forcibly transported, persecuted and raped civilians and destroyed their property.

Judge Hilmo Vucinic has said that, after reviewing the documentation available in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS and listening to prosecution witnesses, Tanaskovic's claim that he was just a driver during the happenings in Visegrad in May and June 1992 proved to be unsustainable.

Tanaskovic was acquitted of the sixth charge in the indictment due to lack of evidence. He has also been acquitted of the parts of the indictment under counts 3 and 7 that charged him with killing and keeping civilians in inhumane conditions. The Trial Chamber has not been able to establish that the indictee is guilty of this, Judge Vucinic has said.

The main trial has lasted for almost six months. The indictment, under which Tanaskovic pleaded not guilty, was confirmed on 9 October 2006 and the trial started on 2 February 2007.

Prosecutor David Schwendiman and his team examined 12 witnesses, including four protected ones. Defence attorney Radmila Radisavljevic examined ten witnesses including the indictee himself. In its closing arguments, the prosecution requested that an imprisonment for a term of 25 years be pronounced, while the defence argued that Tanaskovic's guilt was not proved and that he should be released.

Both parties to the proceeding have the right to file an appeal with the Appellate Chamber, which will render a final and binding decision.