Court Watch
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The ICTY’s primary objective is to bring those in- dividuals most responsible for such appalling acts to justice. These recent developments mark im- portant advancements toward the achievement of the tribunal’s goal.
In early December 2011, the ICTY submitted its most recent progress report to the UN Security Council. The ICTY reported that the last two fugi- tives wanted by the tribunal had been arrested, meaning none of the 161 persons indicted by the ICTY remains at large. The capture of these remaining fugitives signals the anticipated close of the tribunal’s work, which is now fully occupied with finishing its trials and closing appellate pro- cedures.
Also in December, former general colonel and commander of the army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ratko Mladic, pleaded not guilty to numerous charges against him. Mlad- ic was accused of supervising the murder of more than 7,000 Muslims at the supposed safe haven of Srebrenica, one of the most notorious massa- cre sites. Charges against Mladic also included 70 counts of murder, the shelling and sniping of Sa- rajevo, and supervising the torture and physical, psychological, and sexual abuse of civilians con- fined to detention centers.
Mladic’s arrest marked the end of a 16-year man- hunt, and he is now being held pending his trial at The Hague. The trial start date, originally sched- uled for late-March, was delayed until May 2012 in order to allow both sides more time to prepare. The trial is expected to be quite lengthy as pros- ecutors are attempting to prove Mladic is guilty of 106 crimes and estimate that they will need 200 hours before the ICTY to present 400 witnesses and over 28,000 documents.
In February 2012, the ICTY sentenced Jelena Ra- sic, the case manager for Bosnian war criminal Milan Lukic, to 12 months’ imprisonment after ac-
cepting a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to five counts of contempt against the tri- bunal. Rasic admitted to “knowingly and willfully interfer[ring] with the tribunal’s administration of justice” by procuring false witness statements from three Bosnian citizens in exchange for mon- ey.
Rasic was given credit for 78 days she had already served in detention. She will not actually serve the remaining eight months unless she is con- victed of another crime punishable by imprison- ment within the next two years. In determining to suspend the remaining portion of her sentence, the ICTY considered the difficult circumstances caused by Rasic being the only female detainee in the United Nations Detention Unit, her health condition, her relatively young age, and her status as a first-time-offender.
As these recent developments demonstrate, the ICTY has provided an effective means to punish the perpetrators of atrocious crimes against hu- manity. By bringing the indicted individuals to trial, the ICTY has served justice to thousands of victims and their families and has facilitated the creation of a lasting peace in the former Yugosla- via.
* Submitted by Kristen Klump
9
Genocide Charges Confirmed Against Former Guatemalan Dictator Rios Montt
On January 26, 2012, the Guatemalan Judge Carol Flores confirmed charges against José Efraín Rios Montt, the retired general, dictator and former de facto Guatemalan president. .Rios Montt is being charged with the crime of genocide and crimes against humanity, which were committed dur- ing his 17-month rule in Guatemala, in 1982-83. Rios Montt’s immunity based on his position as a member of the Guatemalan Congress prevented him from being tried in court before. However, his immunity from suit ended in the beginning of the
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 4 » May 2012
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