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THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
THE PROSECUTOR OF THE TRIBUNAL
AGAINST
ZELJKO MEAKIC
MIROSLAV KVOCKA
DRAGOLJUB PRCAC
MLADEN RADIC a/k/a "KRKAN"
MILOJICA KOS a/k/a "KRLE"
MOMCILO GRUBAN a/k/a "CKALJA"
ZDRAVKO GOVEDARICA
GRUBAN
PREDRAG KOSTIC a/k/a "KOLE"
NEDELJKO PASPALJ
MILAN PAVLIC
MILUTIN POPOVIC
DRAZENKO PREDOJEVIC
ZELJKO SAVIC
MIRKO BABIC
NIKICA JANJIC
DUSAN KNEZEVIC a/k/a "DUCA"
DRAGOMIR SAPONJA
ZORAN ZIGIC a/k/a "ZIGA"
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:
1. From about 25 May to about 30 August, 1992, Serb forces collected and confined more than 3,000 Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from the opstina of Prijedor, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the former Yugoslavia, in inhumane conditions, under armed guard, in the Omarska "camp", located in a former mining complex approximately fifteen kilometres from the town of Prijedor. As set forth below, the Serb forces killed, raped, sexually assaulted, beat and otherwise mistreated the prisoners at Omarska.
Background - Omarska camp:
2.1. In May, 1992, intensive shelling of Muslim areas in the opstina Prijedor caused the Muslim residents to flee their homes. The majority of them then surrendered or were captured by Serb forces. As the Serb forces rounded up the Muslims and any Croat residents, they forced the Muslims and Croats to march in columns bound for one or another of the prison camps that the Serbs had established in the opstina. The Serb forces pulled many of the Muslims and Croats from the columns and shot or beat them on the spot.
2.2. On about 25 May 1992, about three weeks after Serbs forcibly took control of government authority in the opstina, and two days after the start of large scale military attacks on Muslim population centres, the Serb forces began taking prisoners to the Omarska camp.
2.3. During the next several weeks, the Serb forces continued to round up Muslims and Croats from Kozarac, Prijedor town, and other places in the opstina and interned them in the camps. Many of Prijedor's Muslim and Croat intellectuals, professional and political leaders were sent to Omarska. There were approximately 40 women in the camp, and all the other prisoners in the camp were men.
2.4. Within the area of the Omarska mining complex that was used for the camp, the camp authorities generally confined the prisoners in three different buildings: the administration building, where interrogations took place and most of the women were confined; the garage or hangar building; the "white house," a small building where particularly severe beatings were administered; and on a cement courtyard area between the buildings known as the "pista". There was another small building, known as the "red house", where prisoners were sometimes taken but most often did not emerge alive.
2.5. Living conditions at Omarska were brutal. Prisoners were crowded together with little or no facilities for personal hygiene. They were fed starvation rations once a day and given only three minutes to get into the canteen area, eat, and get out. The little water they received was ordinarily foul. Prisoners had no changes of clothing and no bedding. They received no medical care.
2.6. Severe beatings were commonplace. The camp guards, and others who came to the camp and physically abused the prisoners, used all manner of weapons during these beatings, including wooden batons, metal rods and tools, lengths of thick industrial cable that had metal balls affixed to the end, rifle butts, and knives. Both female and male prisoners were beaten, tortured, raped, sexually assaulted, and humiliated. In addition to regular beatings and abuse, there were incidents of multiple killings and special terror. Many, whose identities are known and unknown, did not survive the camp.
3. The persons accused in this indictment were commanders, guards and others responsible for the conditions and mistreatment of prisoners in Omarska camp or otherwise assisted the accused.
The Accused:
4. Zeljko MEAKIC also known as (hereinafter a/k/a) Mejakic, a/k/a Meagic, was in charge of Omarska camp beginning in late June, 1992, and was in a position of superior authority to everyone else in the camp. Before he took command of the camp, he was chief of security and had full authority over all the guards and any visitors. Before the war began in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he was a police official in Omarska village.
5. Miroslav KVOCKA and Dragoljub PRCAC were deputies to Zeljko MEAKIC and were in positions of authority superior to everyone in the camp other than MEAKIC. For most of the first month of the camp's operation, KVOCKA was the commander of the camp. Prior to the start of the war, both KVOCKA and PRCAC were officials at the Ministry of the Interior in Prijedor.
6. Mladen RADIC a/k/a Mlado RADIC a/k/a Krkan; Milojica KOS a/k/a Krle; and Momcilo GRUBAN a/k/a Ckalja were shift commanders who each supervised one of the three shifts of guards that operated the camp. As shift commanders, when they were on duty, they were in positions of superior authority to all the camp personnel, second only to the camp commander and his deputies.
7. The following accused were among those who acted as guards in the Omarska camp:
a. Zdravko GOVEDARICA
b. first name unknown GRUBAN
c. Predrag KOSTIC a/k/a KOLE
d. Nedeljko PASPALJ
e. Milan PAVLIC
f. Milutin POPOVIC
g. Drazenko PREDOJEVIC
h. Zeljko SAVIC
8. In addition to the above-listed accused, who regularly performed duties in Omarska camp, other Serbs entered the camp, subject to the authority of Zeljko MEAKIC, Miroslav KVOCKA, and Dragoljub PRCAC, where they killed, beat or otherwise physically abused prisoners. Among those who entered the camp were the following accused:
a. Mirko BABIC
b. Nikica JANJIC
c. Dusan KNEZEVIC a/k/a Duca
d. Dragomir SAPONJA
f. Zoran ZIGIC a/k/a ZIGA
General Allegations:
9. At all times relevant to this indictment, a state of armed conflict and partial occupation existed in the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
10. All acts or omissions set forth as grave breaches recognised by Article 2 of the Statute of the Tribunal occurred during that armed conflict and partial occupation.
11. All of the prisoners at the Omarska camp, and the Bosnian Muslims and Croats of the opstina of Prijedor referred to in this indictment were, at all relevant times, persons protected by the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
12. All of the accused in this indictment were required to abide by the mandate of the laws and customs governing the conduct of war, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
13. Unless otherwise set forth below, all acts and omissions set forth in this indictment took place between 24 May and 30 August 1992.
14. In each paragraph charging torture, the acts were committed by, or at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence of, an official or person acting in an official capacity, and for one or more of the following purposes: to obtain information or a confession from the victim or a third person; to punish the victim for an act the victim or a third person committed or was suspected of having committed; to intimidate or coerce the victim or a third person; and/or for any reason based upon discrimination of any kind.
15. In each paragraph charging crimes against humanity, a crime recognised by Article 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal, the alleged acts or omissions were part of a widespread or large-scale or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, specifically the Muslim and Croat population of the Prijedor district.
16. Paragraphs 4 through 15 are realleged and incorporated into each of the charges described below.
17. The term "Serb" refers either to Bosnian citizens of Serbian descent or to individuals for whom it is unknown whether they were Bosnian Serbs or citizens of Serbia proper.