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.

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.

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

Reactions to Judgment in Skočić Case

The Higher Court in Belgrade trial chamber rendered a judgment on February 22^nd, 2013 convicting members of the “Sima’s Chetniks” paramilitary group, because of war crimes against a civilian population, committed against a group of Roma in 1992 in the vicinity of Zvornik. Zoran Stojanović and Zoran Đurđević from Šabac were sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment each, Zoran Alić and Tomislav Gavrić were sentenced to ten years of imprisonment each, Dragana Đekić and Đorđe Šević were sentenced to five years of imprisonment each, and Damir Bogdanović was sentenced to two years of imprisonment. Zoran Alić was released from detention, but confined to his place of residence.

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 1^st, 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).

Debate Held on War Crimes Trials in Serbia

A debate on war crimes trials in Serbia was held on Thursday, January 17^th, 2013 in the Media Center in Belgrade. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) organized the debate anent the presentation of its Report on War Crimes Trials in 2012. Representatives of the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP), the Higher Court in Belgrade, the Court of Appeals in Belgrade, representatives of the OSCE, EULEX, the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Higher Courts in Niš and Prokuplje, Embassies, the Ministry of Justice and the state administration, and of non-governmental organizations attended the debate.

Report on war crime trials in Serbia in 2012

You can download the Report on War Crime Trials in Serbia in 2012 here.

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.

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.

Judgment in Mark Kashnjeti Case based on unconvincing evidence