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Analysis: An Intense Year

28 December 2007  In its third year, the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of BiH sentenced ten persons to a total of 142 years and six months imprisonment for their participation in war crimes, while the Prosecution of BiH opened 312 investigations against 894 persons.

By: Aida Alic in Sarajevo

The appointment of new judges and prosecutors at the state level in the past year has led to the opening of new investigations and trials before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of BiH, as well as to intensive operations to arrest war crime suspects.


In 2007, the Court of BiH pronounced 17 verdicts, including ten second instance, four first instance verdicts and three verdicts that were revoked by the Appellate Chamber due to "wrongly determined factual status" and violation of "Criminal Procedure Code provisions".


The first legally binding verdict acquitting an indictee of all charges was pronounced this year. This was the verdict against Zoran Jankovic, who the Prosecution of BiH charged with having participated in crimes committed in Zvornik area in 1992.


The first guilt admission agreement was also signed this year. The Prosecution of BiH and Idhan Sipic signed an agreement by which he admitted the murder of one person in August 1995. However, after the indictee complained to the Trial Chamber concerning some parts of the indictment, the trial will be conducted after all.


Also this year, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council appointed six new prosecutors in the BiH Prosecutor's Office. At the end of the year it appointed David Schwendiman, a prosecutor from the USA, as its new chief of the War Crimes Section. Milorad Barasin, former Chief Prosecutor with the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Livno, was appointed as Schwendiman's deputy.


Awaiting justice at liberty


Acting on warrants issued by the Prosecution of BiH, in 2007 the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) arrested 29 persons considered to have participated in war crimes.


Vinko Kondic, an ex-officio attorney at the Court of BiH, was among those arrested. Kondic was arrested in December 2007, on the basis of suspicion that he participated in crimes committed in Kljuc area.


Radovan Stankovic's escape from the Foca prison in May 2007 and the transfer of Milorad Trbic from The Hague to the Court of BiH the following month will certainly be remembered.


Stankovic was the first indictee to be referred to the Court of BiH by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. The Court of BiH pronounced a second instance verdict sentencing him to 20 years' imprisonment for crimes committed in the Foca area, while Trbic was indicted for alleged involvement in the genocide in Srebrenica committed in July 1995.


In 2007, the Court of BiH initiated 16 processes against 22 persons charged with crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and confirmed 17 indictments, which were filed by the Prosecution of BiH against 29 persons. At the last week of December, Prosecution submitted three more indictments to the court for confirmation. The indictments are agains Predrag Kujundzic, ex paramilitary leader from Doboj, Novak Djukic, a former senior officer of Bosnian Serb army who has been charged for May 1995 shelling which killed over 70 people, and Suljo Karajic, who is hold responsible for war crime committed against Bosniaks in Bihac municipality.


Out of the total number of war crime indictees or suspects, the Court of BiH allowed 24 persons to defend themselves while on bail. Marko Samardzija and Momcilo Mandic are also awaiting their retrials while at liberty.


In November 2006, Samardzija was sentenced to 26 years' imprisonment for crimes committed in the Kljuc area. However, in May 2007, following the appeals by the Prosecution of BiH and the defence, the Appellate Chamber revoked the verdict and ordered a retrial. He was released in October and he is awaiting the retrial to commence.


Momcilo Mandic is in a similar position. In July 2007 he was acquitted of charges that he participated in the functioning and establishment of detention camps in the Sarajevo and Foca regions.


Following the pronouncement of the verdict, Mandic was released. However, he has been held in custody since then, because he is serving a five-year sentence for abuse of authority, which he committed as director of the Privredna banka in Srpsko Sarajevo. He is allowed to go home at weekends.


Hunger strike with vitamins


In January and again in September 2007, a number of indictees in went on hunger strike in protest at the non-harmonised application of criminal codes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


The Court of BiH applies the 2003 Criminal Code of BiH, which allows prison terms of up to 45 years. Local courts, on the other hand, apply the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(SFRY) and entity laws, which, according to the detainees, prescribe less severe punishments.


During the first hunger strike, in January 2007, some detainees were hospitalised in Kasindol hospital in Eastern Sarajevo due to exhaustion caused by hunger.


While they were on strike, the Court of BiH stressed that it "would not give way to the pressures". The trials continued according to the original schedule without the presence of the indictees, who refused to appear at hearings.


Various medical reports on health state of the indictees suggested that, during the strike, they did take tea, juice, coffee, water, soup and apples, and they were given infusions while they were in the hospital.


The first strike was halted after the Constitutional Court of BiH rendered a decision rejecting the appeal of Abduladhim Maktouf concerning violation of his human rights in the course of the trial due to application of laws. The decision indicated that the appeal was unfounded because "the constitutional rights and the rights guaranteed under the international laws have not been violated".


In September 2007, detainees in the Correctional Facility in Kula in Eastern Sarajevo started another hunger strike. They made the same requests as the ones made by the strikers in January.


At the trial of the four indictees charged with crimes committed in Bratunac in July 1995, indictee Mladen Blagojevic got sick in the courtroom due to exhaustion caused by the fact that he did not take any food. The strike lasted for more than a month before it was halted, without any explanation.


In July, Milorad Trbic started an individual hunger strike that lasted for 24 days. Trbic refused to consume food, because he thought he was not guilty and he asked the Court of BiH to dismiss the criminal process against him. After the Court of BiH confirmed the indictment against him, his trial commenced in November 2007.


Unprotected witnesses


The War Crimes Chamber has examined about 800 witnesses during its two and a half years in operation. Some witnesses have testified under pseudonyms with protection of their personal data; there were testimonies via video links with no tone or voice, and testimonies from separate rooms in the Court of BiH building.


In order to protect witnesses, the Court of BiH has excluded the public from some trials. So, 20 hearings were held behind closed doors. Of this number, 11 were held as part of the trial of the four indictees charged with crimes committed in Vojno detention camp near Mostar during 1993 and 1994.


At some trials, persons suspected of crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as persons convicted by the ICTY, have testified as prosecution or defence witnesses.


Some indictees charged with war crimes before the Court of BiH have testified as protected witnesses. At one trial, an indictee testified in his own favour, but, at the request of his defence, the Trial Chamber ordered the introduction of protective measures and the exclusion of the public during his testimony.


The media was not allowed to publish his name, although his defence attorney had announced earlier that his client would testify in his own favour at the beginning of the defence evidence presentation process.


At the trial of 11 indictees charged with genocide in Srebrenica, most witnesses were former members of the Republika Srpska Army who were involved in the happenings in July 1995.


Despite the introduction of protection measures, the personal data of some witnesses was revealed during the trial on several occasions.


During the trials for crimes committed in Vojno detention camp and Omarska and Keraterm detention camps near Prijedor, the personal data of several protected witnesses was revealed.


Despite the protective measures and the fact that their safety was ensured by the Court of BiH, several witnesses were exposed to unpleasant experiences.


At the trial of Zeljko Lelek, who is charged with crimes committed in Visegard area in 1992, the indictee threatened witness Bakira Hasecic several times.


In early December 2007, Lelek insulted Hasecic in the presence of court policemen in the Court of BiH hall. Hasecic leads the Association of "Women, Victims of War" whose members are rape survivors.


Protected prosecution witness A was also exposed to pressure and threats. He was offered money if he would be prepared to make a false statement at the trial of Zdravko Mihaljevic for crimes committed against civilians in Kiseljak area. The incident was reported by the prosecution, which also opened an investigation against several persons due to "existence of a grounded suspicion that they helped in revealing of the protected witness' identity" and "interfered with the work of the judiciary".


Another protected witness found himself in a similar situation. He was supposed to testify as a defence witness of one of the 11 indictees charged with genocide in Kravica, committed in July 1995, but, due to "anonymous threats" his testimony was postponed.


The first trials for crimes committed in the areas of Vlasenica, Bugojno, Nevesinje, Cazin,Velika Kladusa and Jajce are due to commence next year.


The trial of the four indictees charged with having committed crimes in Omarska and Keraterm detention camp is expected to end next year.


The process has been ongoing before the Court of BiH for a year already. The trials of the 11 indictees charged with genocide in Kravica, which has been going on for more than a year, and that of former policeman Zeljko Lelek, charged with crimes committed in Visegrad, are also expected to end soon.


Aida Alic(aida@birn.eu.com) is BIRN - Justice Report journalist. Justice Report is weekly BIRN publications.