Acquittal of former Chiefs of State Security Service Jovica Stanišić and Frankao Simatović

The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has handed down a judgment finding Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, leading Serbian State Security (SDB) officials, not guilty on all counts of the indictment which charged them with the crimes that the units under the control of the SDB committed in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) between 1991 and 1995. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) considers this ICTY judgment to be a trivialisation of the role of Simatović and Stanišić – and consequently, of the role of the then leadership of Serbia in the wars in Croatia and BiH.


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Acquittal of former Chiefs of State Security Service Jovica Stanišić and Frankao Simatović

The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has handed down a judgment finding Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, leading Serbian State Security (SDB) officials, not guilty on all counts of the indictment which charged them with the crimes that the units under the control of the SDB committed in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) between 1991 and 1995. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) considers this ICTY judgment to be a trivialisation of the role of Simatović and Stanišić – and consequently, of the role of the then leadership of Serbia in the wars in Croatia and BiH.


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Facts established in the Perišić Case constitute the point of departure for re-examining Serbia’s role in wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Momčilo Perišić: “We cannot cast  Ratko and the others aside – they are demanding extremely expensive ammunition to strike targets on the ground. Why? Because it is very efficient  […]”                       Steno-notes of the 17th Supreme Defence Council session, held on 10 January 1994, page 56


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Kosovo Albanians Kabashi and Bytyqi Acquitted of Charges for War Crime in Opterusha

The District Court in Prizren mixed trial panel presided by international Judge Mariola Pasnik[1], rendered a judgment on February 1st, 2013, acquitting the accused Ejup Kabashi and Sokol Bytyqi of charges for the commission of a war crime against civilian population from Article 142 in relation to Article 22 of the Criminal Code of Yugoslavia (the criminal offence which is also incriminated by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo in Article 152 in relation to Article 31).


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Although the verdict is founded on evidence, it has not brought justice for the victims

On the occasion of the acquittal by the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the partial re-trial in Haradinaj et al, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) holds that neither the initial trial nor the partial re-trial in this case have brought justice to the victims of the crimes listed in the indictments. In addition, this procedure has been particularly burdened by a number of deficiencies with regard to witness protection and  lack of professionalism of investigators in gathering evidence.


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Although the verdict is founded on evidence, it has not brought justice for the victims

On the occasion of the acquittal by the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the partial re-trial in Haradinaj et al, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) holds that neither the initial trial nor the partial re-trial in this case have brought justice to the victims of the crimes listed in the indictments. In addition, this procedure has been particularly burdened by a number of deficiencies with regard to witness protection and  lack of professionalism of investigators in gathering evidence.


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Statement by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Croatia on the ICTY Appeals Judgment in the operation “Storm” case

After the Appeals Judgment for Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Croatia highlights that even 17 years later, the most serious crimes committed during the operation “Storm” are without punishment while the victims are without justice and recognition.


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HLC on the Acquittal of Gotovina and Markac

The ICTY’s final judgment in the trial of General Gotovina and General Markac brings no justice to the victims. According to the appellate decision for acquittal, no form of state responsibility of the Republic of Croatia has been established for the crimes committed during and after  Operation Storm. Accordingly, no joint criminal enterprise has been established, nor even the generals’ individual criminal responsibility.


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Statement on the occassion of non-appealable judgment to generals Gotovina and Markač

On the occasion of adopting a non-appealable verdict, brought by the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY, which releases Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač from custody, Documenta – Centre for Dealing with the Past wants to, once more, emphasize the need to bear in mind families of victims and not let the crimes committed during the operation ‘Storm’ remain a tragedy without an epilogue.


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