In this July 24, 1995 indictment, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and army commander General Ratko Mladic are charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the customs of war.
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INDICTMENT
THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
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 Serb.s. 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 jewelry, 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
Hrvatcka 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