Judicial Body: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Last Friday, a former Bosnian-Serb policeman, Darko Mrđa, was sentenced to 15 years in prisonby the Court (of BiH) for crimes against humanity. He was appearing for the murder of Said Sadić, who was abducted from his home in August 1992 and has since disappeared.

“You will not need your shoes anymore,” Darko Mrđa told Said Sadić when he came to his home in the village of Tukovi, before killing him two kilometers away. The disappearance of Said Sadić is one of 50 cases of enforced disappearances brought by TRIAL International before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In two decisions issued by the Constitutional Court, in 2012 and 2013, local authorities were ordered to conduct thorough and comprehensive investigations into those enforced disappearances cases.

In 2016, as a result of those decisions, an indictment was raised against Darko Mrđa for one of the reported enforced disappearance cases, and he was arrested. Darko Mrđa had previously been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for participating in the killing of 200 civilians, and in the commission of inhumane acts (in the form of murder attempts) against 12 other civilians in Koricanske Stijene, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 21 August 1992.

The conviction of Darko Mrđa for the murder of Said Sadić is great news for returnees and families of missing persons who felt intimidated by his return to Prijedor (his hometown). TRIAL International welcomes his condemnation as a major victory in the fight against impunity for crimes committed during the war.

Wednesday 22 November 2017, a historical verdict convicted Ratko Mladic, referred to by his detractors as “the Butcher of Bosnia”, of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

 

A turning point for justice in BiH

The suspect, who was arrested in 2011, has been judged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which Ratko Mladic referred to as a “satanic court”.

With more than 500 days of hearings and hundreds of witnesses appearing in Court, this trial is one of the most important in the history of the tribunal.

“This outcome confirms today my deep belief that the battle against impunity is worth fighting,” said Adrijana Hanušić Bećirović, Senior Legal Adviser at TRIAL International’s BiH Program. “It sends a strong message that earlier or later, justice can be served even under the most complex circumstances.” 

 

Ethnic killings and detentions

The accused commanded the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) between 1992 and 1996. According to the prosecution, he formed a “joint criminal enterprise” along with Radovan Karadzic and Slobodan Milosevic to create a Greater Serbia. For this purpose, they allegedly orchestrated an ethnic cleansing.

The alleged crimes in the indictment included, among others: the killing of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, their detention in living conditions calculated to bring about their physical destruction, the massacre of over 7’000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys of Srebrenica.

“This trial marks a historical moment for justice and victims of the conflict,” said Selma Korjenic, Head of TRIAL International’s BiH Program. “After much disappointment for victims, it is important that the international community sends the message that evil will be answered with a proportionate response.” 

The ICTY has indicted more than 160 individuals since its creation by the United Nations in 1993. After 24 years of existence, the Tribunal will close its doors at the end of the year.

Ratko Mladic has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the judges, but the verdict can be appealed.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) met with TRIAL International during a visit to Sarajevo. On that occasion, our Bosnia-based staff asked him a few questions.

BiH team meet ICTY Prosecutor Serge Brammertz in Sarajevo, May 2017
BiH team meet Prosecutor Serge Brammertz in Sarajevo, May 2017. ©TRIAL International

Could you share one or two milestones and challenges of your journey?

Among the most significant challenges of my time as ICTY Prosecutor were the cases against Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. It was an immensely important moment when Karadzic and Mladic were finally arrested in July 2008 and May 2011 respectively.

 Their arrests took place at a time when discussions on the closure of the ICTY were ongoing. Karadzic had been a fugitive from justice for almost 13 years and Mladic for almost 16 years. It seemed like all our hopes were gone. Everybody was very pessimistic about the likelihood of their arrests.

 When I was informed that the arrest operations had been successful, I had the feeling that something important had been achieved. Not only for the Tribunal, so we could complete what we started; but also for international justice, because it clearly demonstrated that nobody is beyond the reach of the law. And, most importantly, their arrests marked an important day for the victims who had waited for so long to see Karadzic and Mladic finally brought to justice. It is not exaggerated to say that Karadzic and Maldic’s arrests gave us hope. From then, we knew that we had a chance to bring meaningful justice to the victims.

 

How do you see the situation and development of rights of war crime victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Over the past 25 years, the ICTY has achieved credible results towards establishing the truth of what happened during the conflicts. We indicted 161 individuals and none of them remains at large. We have secured 81 convictions and have prosecuted individuals from all sides of the conflict, including many of the most senior political and military leaders. We proved that senior officials planned and implemented ethnic cleansing campaigns. Although there are areas where we could have done more, the Tribunal has certainly created a solid foundation that has given a starting point to build upon.

Justice for war crimes appears to be moving in the right direction in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But the reality is that too many victims today are still waiting for justice. 335 complex cases and 450 less complex cases have been completed so far. However, a considerable amount of work remains to be done, with approximately 5’000 suspects yet to be investigated.

There needs to be more comprehensive justice, which means prosecuting all of those suspected of crimes, regardless of their ethnicity or the ethnicity of their victims.

 

What are today’s main challenges regarding victims’ rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Many challenges remain today for victims’ rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the large number of cases still to be completed, one of the most significant challenges is undoubtedly the continued widespread denial of crimes, the non-acceptance of established facts and the glorification of war criminals throughout the entire region. Needless to say that the situation as it stands today threatens reconciliation and ultimately sustainable peace, but is also an insult to the victims.

 Justice for the victims also requires locating and identifying the missing persons from the conflicts. Yet, today, too many surviving family members in the region do not know the fate of their loved ones. Finally, there are many barriers for war crimes victims in obtaining compensation today.

 

How do you evaluate the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the transition of war crimes prosecution between the ICTY and domestic courts?

War crimes prosecutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina are headed in a positive direction, with an increased number of complex cases being investigated and prosecuted, including cases involving senior- and mid-level suspects and cases of conflict-related sexual violence.

 With the closure of the ICTY at the end of this year, it is now up to national courts only to continue our work. The task ahead for countries in the region, particularly Bosnia and Herzegovina, is immense. However, my Office will continue to provide support to the judiciaries to ensure that justice is served.

 

Now that the ICTY is about to close, what message would you like to address to legal actors still active on the ground?

At a time when politicians and officials in the region are playing the game of glorification of war criminals, denial of crimes and revisionism, legal actors working on the ground have a critical role to play.

 Legal actors in the region – be they judges, investigators, prosecutors – must stand united in their commitment to independent and impartial justice for all victims. That the current political environment is not conducive to accountability for war crimes must not prevent them from moving the justice process forward.

 Another critical issue today is the fact that students across the region, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are taught different histories of their shared past. To give chance to reconciliation and peace in the region, efforts must be urgently undertaken to ensure that younger generations are taught what has been proved in the courtrooms.

 

Read Selma Korjenic’s Op-Ed on ICTY

 

The ICTY may not have brought the desired reconciliation in BiH, but its influence and legacy provides a crucial basis for future endeavors. An op-ed by Selma Korjenic.

 

 

The last-resort tribunal

In 1993, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established in The Hague (Netherlands). Tasked with the prosecution of the highest-ranked suspects from across the region, it represented hope for thousands of victims and their families.

But since its opening – and arguably even before – it has been criticized for being, among others things, politicized, biased and unfair. The acquittals of high-profile defendants a few years ago only exacerbated that claim. Figures on all sides of the conflict felt they were judged too harshly and their opponents too clemently.

After 25 years of existence, the Tribunal will close its doors permanently in the coming months. And although it has not been perfect, its influence on the establishment of responsibility, fact-finding and victims’ empowerment has been significant.

 

Groundbreaking jurisprudence

The ICTY established many milestone decisions on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. As the first international tribunal since Nuremberg, its jurisprudence paved the way for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, mixed courts in Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Timor Leste, and more recently the International Criminal Court.

The ICTY trial of Duško Tadić, a member of Republika Srpska’s Army from Kozarac, was the first case to ever prosecute and punish sexual violence against man.

In Dragoljub Kunarac and others, the Tribunal was the first to prosecute sexual violence as the crime against humanity of enslavement. Similar charges were brought against Chadian dictator Hissène Habré last year.

But among all the ICTY’s achievements, none is more important than the voice it gave to survivors.

 

A stage for voiceless victims

The Balkans has experienced many wars in the past – the 1990s war the most recent and brutal example. After each conflict, countless crimes remained untold, or only shared through family narratives. The innocent suffered in silence.

The ICTY changed this dynamic. It gave survivors the possibility to speak and be heard, encouraging others to do the same. Many guilty verdicts relied heavily on their testimonies.

The Tribunal initiated a broader movement, giving many victims their purpose and agency back. It also led many to join victims’ associations, with a one shared goal: to seek for truth and justice.

 

The fights ahead

The ripple effect of the ICTY was particularly visible after 2005, when cases started being transferred to domestic courts. Already-empowered victims continued speaking up, demanding that BiH continue down the ICTY’s path. They also advocated for the realization of their other rights, such as reparations.

The ICTY has overturned the victims’ previous passive role and given them the possibility to tell what happened them during the war. By giving them a voice, the Tribunal has directly influenced their empowerment to fight for their rights and never be silenced again.

Selma Korjenic, Head of BiH Program
@SelmaKorjenic1

 

Radomir Šušnjar, otherwise known as “Lalco”, is accused by several Bosnian and Serbian witnesses of being involved in the murders of 59 Bosniaks, who were burnt alive in Visegrad during the conflict. In June 1992, approximately 70 people – mostly women, children and elderly persons – were locked up in a room of a house. The building was set on fire and, despite trying to escape by climbing out of the windows, most of the victims were killed.

The eight survivors, two of whom died a few years later, were able to testify before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. “Lalco” is accused of personally locking the room where the civilians were, and of setting the building on fire.

Radomir Šušnjar had been hiding in France for many years. TRIAL International managed to trace him in the Parisian region and informed the Bosnian and French authorities of this. In 2014, Radomir Šušnjar was arrested and has since been the subject of extradition proceedings.

On 6 October 2017, he was charged in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the alleged murder of Bosniak civilians. On 18 June 2018, the French Council of State validated his extradition request, and on 30 October 2019, Lalco was found guilty by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the murder of 57 Bosniaks in Višegrad, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. On 20 March 2020, the Appeals Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed Šušnjar’s 20-year sentence.

 

In June 2010, TRIAL submitted an individual complaint to the European Court of Human Rights against Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH) concerning the enforced disappearance of Esad Aliskovic which occurred in July 1992. In this case, ACT is acting on behalf of Refika Aliskovic, the wife of the victim.

On 20 July 1992, almost two months after the attack on the village of Prijidor (29-30 April 1992), the Serb army launched an attack against Rakovcani, a village located in the “Brdo” sector of the Prijedor municipality. At the time of the attack, the applicant was at home with her husband, their daughters, her brother-in-law and his wife. The two men were separated from their family and forced to join other men from the same village who had already been placed under arrest. The soldiers gave no information whatsoever to the applicant or to her sister-in-law concerning the reasons for arresting their husbands nor concerning the place where they were being held. Evidence from several witnesses given before the ICTY affirm that the men arrested in Brdo were taken to the Keraterm camp around 20-21 July 1992, and locked up in Room 3. On 24 July, the soldiers opened fire against these prisoners leaving very few survivors. An eyewitness indicated to Refika Aliskovic that on the eve of this massacre some twenty detainees, including her husband, were summoned and taken away to an unknown destination. Since then, no information has been made available as to the fate and whereabouts of Esad Aliskovic.

More than 18 years after this incident, no official, prompt, impartial, comprehensive and independent enquiry whatsoever has been undertaken by the BH authorities in order to locate, Esad Aliskovic or his mortal remains and return them to his family, nor has anyone yet been prosecuted, judged or punished for these crimes. Refika Aliskovic has taken several measures in order to obtain information concerning her husband including contact with various national authorities and institutions (notably, the Police and the Federal Commission for Disappeared Persons) and with international institutions, such as the International Commission on Missing Persons. As of today all of these initiatives have been in vain.

On 16 July 2007, the Constitutional Court of BH, ruling in an action brought by several families of victims of enforced disappearances from the Prijador region, held that BH was in violation of the right not to be subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life of the families of those disappeared. Accordingly, the Court ordered the national institutions concerned to disclose all available information on the fate and whereabouts of the missing persons, including that relating to Esad Aliskovic.

Following this decision, the office of the Republika Srpska Commission of Inquiry into Involuntary Disappearances addressed a letter to the applicant which simply stated that her husband had been added to the register of the Federal Commission for Disappeared Persons with a statement of desire on the part of the authorities to come to a resolution of the cases of missing persons. Until today’s date the applicant has received no new or additional information whatsoever from the authorities concerning her husband’s disappearance or of the measures being taken to locate the bodies of those missing. The BH authorities have therefore been remiss in implementing until now, a decision of the Constitutional Court and have provided absolutely no pertinent information either to the Court or the applicant.

Consequently, Refika Aliskovic has requested the European Court of Human Rights:

to find that Esad Aliskovic is a victim of a violation by BH of the procedural aspects of Articles 2 (Right to life), 3 (Prohibition of torture) and 5 (Right to liberty and security), in conjunction with Articles 1 (Obligation to respect human rights) and 13 (Right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights, due to the absence of a prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation by the BH authorities in order to establish his fate and whereabouts, as well as to identify those responsible for these crimes and to prosecute, judge and punish them;

to find that Refika Aliskovic is herself a victim of a violation by BH of Article 3 in conjunction with Articles 1, 8 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights, due to the severe mental distress and anguish caused by the complete lack of information concerning the progress and conclusion of the official inquiry conducted by the BH authorities into the disappearance of Esad Aliskovic;

to request BH to order at last and as a matter of some urgency, an independent investigation with a view to locating Esad Aliskovic and, if discovered, to exhume, identify, and return with respect his remains to the family;

to request BH to identify and bring the perpetrators and accomplices of the arbitrary arrest and subsequent enforced disappearance of Esad Aliskovic before the competent civil authorities for prosecution, judgment and punishment without any further delay; and

to request BH to ensure that Refika Aliskovic obtains integral reparation through prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.

Procedure

After a preliminary examination of the admissibility of the application, on 28 September 2012 it was communicated to the Government of BiH.

In January 2013, REDRESS and the OMCT submitted to the ECHR an amicus curiae brief in relation with the present case to shed light on the link between enforced disappearance and the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment as well as the relationship between the continuing nature of enforced disappearance and the content of effective remedy and reparation for relatives of those who have “been disappeared”.

In January 2013 the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its reply, challenging the admissibility and the merits of the case. On 25 March 2013, on behalf of the applicants, TRIAL submitted its pleadings to the European Court of Human Rights challenging in detail the arguments put forward by the respondent State and highlighting a number of mistakes and contraddictions contained in its submission to the European Court. The latter transmitted a copy of TRIAL’s reply to the Government, fixing 13 May 2013 as the deadline for comments they may wish to make. On 3 June 2014 the European Court issued a decision, finding that in this case Bosnian authorities did all that could be reasonably expected given the special circumstances prevailing in the country up until 2005 and the large number of war crimes pending before local courts. The Court noted that “it is evident that not all of the direct perpetrators of the many crimes committed within the context of the ethnic cleansing of the Prijedor area have been punished”. Nevertheless, it valued the fact that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the State Court have convicted respectively 16 and 7 persons in connection with crimes committed in the area.

 

See also the Ramulic case where a loved one was also arbitrarily arrested on the same occasion

 

General Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict in BH during the period 1992-1995 and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. As of today, between 10,000 and 13,000 people are still missing without trace.

The arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance of Esad Aliskovic, took place during the first wave of the “ethnic cleansing” operations perpetrated by the Serb army during the military attack on Prijedor and the surrounding area in the spring and summer of 1992.

To date no one has been convicted, prosecuted and punished for the enforced disappearance of Esad Aliskovic, thus fostering an overall climate of impunity. The family of Esad Aliskovic has still not received any information on the fate and whereabouts of their loved one, nor an adequate and integral redress for the harm suffered.

 

In September 2008, TRIAL lodged six individual applications before the European Court of Human rights in relation to the disappearance of eight Bosniak men during the massacre at Mount Vlasic, on behalf of their relatives.

The cases concern:

  • Edin Elezovic, 24
  • Emir Elezovic, 22
  • Fahrudin Mujkanovic, 29
  • Serif Bajric, 50
  • Zafir Bajric, 21
  • Zijad Huskanovic, 26
  • Fahrudin Elezovic, 45
  • Asmir Memic, 28.

These civilians were detained at the Trnopolje concentration camp, located ten kilometers away from Prijedor, in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 August 1992, several buses arrived at the camp, organized by the Serb authorities to transport people out of Prijedor into Muslim-held territory and release them.

Late afternoon, the convoy stopped before reaching the line of separation between Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Muslim controlled territory. Over 200 men were then ordered out of the bus, and sent with other buses to the area of Koricanske Stijene, on Mount Vlasic. The rest of the convoy continued towards its initial destination.

The guards and soldiers commanded the 200 people to leave the buses, and to kneel down on the edge of a cliff. The men were then shot. Grenades were also thrown into the gorge, and wounded men at the bottom of the gorge were fired at. At least twelve men survived the massacre by falling of jumping from the cliff where the killing took place.

The exact fate of the other people, including Edin and Emir Elezovic, Fahrudin Mujkanovic, Serif and Zafir Bajric, Zijad Huskanovic, Fahrudin Elezovic and Asmir Memic, is to this day unclear. Their bodies have probably been buried in mass graves in various locations of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the aftermath of the massacre, but have never been found. More than 16 years after the event, no serious investigation has yet been undertaken by the authorities in order to locate the missing persons or bodies.

Families of missing persons have taken several steps to obtain information about their relatives, through the Federal Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Office for Tracing Missing Persons of the Republika Srpska. These initiatives have proved vain. The only investigation that lead to a criminal conviction was led by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) against Darko Mrdja, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

On 16 July 2007, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, seized by several families of victims, ordered all the relevant Bosnian institutions to provide them with all available information on the whereabouts of their missing relatives. This judgement proved useless, as the families still have not received any information about their family members from any of the institutions.

The authors of the complaints request the Court to recognize that the lack of effective investigation by the authorities leads to:

  • with regard to the disappeared persons: a continuing procedural violation of article 2 (right to life) and 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR)
  • a violation of article 13, due to the absence of investigation and effective remedy;
  • with regard to the families of the missing persons: a continuing substantive violation of articles 3 and 8 for the psychological distress suffered, as well as for the interference with their family life.

 

Procedure

After a preliminary examination of the admissibility of the application, on 28 September 2012 it was communicated to the Government of BiH.

In January 2013, REDRESS and the OMCT submitted to the ECHR an amicus curiae brief in relation with the present case to shed light on the link between enforced disappearance and the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment as well as the relationship between the continuing nature of enforced disappearance and the content of effective remedy and reparation for relatives of those who have “been disappeared”.

In January 2013 the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its reply, challenging the admissibility and the merits of the case. On 25 March 2013, on behalf of the applicants, TRIAL submitted its pleadings to the European Court of Human Rights challenging in detail the arguments put forward by the respondent State and highlighting a number of mistakes and contraddictions contained in its submission to the European Court. The latter transmitted a copy of TRIAL’s reply to the Government, fixing 13 May 2013 as the deadline for comments they may wish to make.

On 3 June 2014 the European Court issued a decision, finding that in this case Bosnian authorities did all that could be reasonably expected given the special circumstances prevailing in the country up until 2005 and the large number of war crimes pending in local courts. The exhumation of the mortal remains of four of the applicants’ relatives was considered a significant achievement, as well as the identification of ten direct perpetrators by the State Court, the issuing of two international arrest warrants and the conviction of one perpetrator by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

 

The general context

The massacre at Mount Vlasic took place at the beginning of the Bosnian war, within the framework of an ethnic cleansing campaign led by the armed forces and police of the Republika Srpska, following the dismantling of Yugoslavia.

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 20,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict. Half of the 25,000 persons reported as missing in the aftermath of the conflict were found in various mass graves and identified. Approximately 13,000 persons are still missing.

Only one person was convicted by the ICTY in relation to the massacre of Koricanske Stijene. In May 2008, the Bosnian authorities eventually announced that four other persons had been arrested and would be prosecuted by national tribunals for this crime. Up to this day, the families of victims still have not received any information on the whereabouts of their relatives.

 

Twenty-two years ago, 13 men were victims of enforced disappearances during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Between 2008 and 2011, their relatives, with the help of TRIAL, submitted their cases to the European Court of Human Rights. Their fate and whereabouts remain unknown, although a few bones of four of them have been located and identified. Most of the perpetrators have not been judged, and no reparation has been offered. The European Court has nonetheless just ruled that Bosnia and Herzegovina has no responsibility in the way the cases have been handled. To the victims’ families, who now have nowhere else to turn to obtain the justice and redress that they have been waiting for over 20 years, the decisions resonate like a disavowal of their long struggle.

A seven-judge Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has decided not to examine the enforced disappearances of 13 Bosnian men in 1992 in the Prijedor area. Nearly six years after the first complaints were submitted by TRIAL on behalf of the families of the victims, the Court has recently rejected and declared them inadmissible. The Court found that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) did not violate its obligations to investigate the crimes concerned and to prosecute and sanction those responsible.

The victims’ relatives and the NGOs supporting the case were hoping a judgment from the ECHR would set the standards that domestic authorities would have to follow in terms of investigating crimes committed during the war, locating and exhuming the mortal remains of missing persons, and ensuring reparation measures for their families.

Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL takes note of the ECHR decisions with great disappointment: “Thirteen men were forcibly disappeared in 1992. They left behind their wives, their children and their parents. While evidence shows that six of them have been killed during the Mount Vlašić Massacre, others were victims of indiscriminate killings. More than 20 years later, only few bones of four of these men have been found and no thorough investigation has been undertaken in this direction. If the ECHR considers the complaints ill-founded, who then will help to reveal the fate and whereabouts of the victims to their beloved ones? The families are still awaiting justice to be served and, until the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones are established with certainly, they will not be able to mourn them and move on with their lives“.

The decisions

On 3 June 2014 the ECHR issued a decision recently made public on the case Fazlić and others v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, dealing with 5 cases of enforced disappearances. The Court found that Bosnian authorities did all that could be reasonably expected given the special circumstances prevailing in the country. The ECHR noted that “it is evident that not all of the direct perpetrators of the many crimes committed within the context of the ethnic cleansing of the Prijedor area have been punished“. Nevertheless, it valued the fact that the ICTY and the State Court has convicted respectively 16 and 7 persons in connection with numerous crimes committed in the area.

On the same date, the ECHR also issued a decision on the case Mujkanović and others v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, finding that Bosnian authorities in this case also did all that could be reasonably expected given the special circumstances prevailing in the country up until 2005 and the large number of war crimes pending in local courts. The exhumation of the mortal remains of four of the applicants’ relatives was considered a significant achievement, as well as the identification of ten direct perpetrators by the State Court, the issuing of two international arrest warrants and the conviction of one perpetrator by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The plaintiffs

During the first months of the war ravaging BiH, 13 men were abducted from their families and taken to concentration camps. Evidence indicates that some of them were the victims of indiscriminate killings. Yet, their fate and whereabouts remain unknown, while only a few bones of four of them have been located and identified. More than 20 years afterwards, no thorough investigation has been undertaken by the authorities in order to locate the missing persons or bodies and to identify all those responsible for the crimes concerned, prosecute and sanction them.

Timeline of the cases

TRIAL represented the families of the victims in the proceedings before the ECHR. The applications were filed separately between 2008 and 2011. On 28 September 2012 the applications were merged in two separate cases and were at last communicated to the government of BiH. In January 2013 the government submitted its reply, challenging the admissibility and the merits of the cases. On 25 March 2013 TRIAL replied to the observations made by the government of BiH challenging the arguments put forward by the respondent State and reiterating the latter’s obligation to provide justice and redress to the victims. REDRESS and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) were allowed to submit an amicus curiae brief to the ECHR in support of the applications.

TRIAL’s support to victims’ quest of justice in BiH

TRIAL represents more than 230 victims of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings of war in BiH before the ECHR and the United Nations Human Rights Committee and supports them in their quest to find the truth about what happened to their loved ones and to obtain justice and redress. Prior to the present decisions of the ECHR, the UN Human Rights Committee had reversely ruled that BiH had indeed violated the basic human rights of the applicants in five separate cases of enforced disappearance, one of them concerning crimes committed in the Prijedor area.

Between 28 October and 5 November 2012 Ms. Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, conducted for the first time in the history of the mandate an official country mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

 

The visit was prompted by a general allegation submitted in May 2011 by TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity) and 12 organizations from BiH dealing with the subject of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war.1 The general allegation aimed at providing an analysis of the existing obstacles to the full implementation of BiH’s international obligations vis-à-vis victims of rape during the war, in particular: the inadequacy of existing criminal legislation dealing with rape; the high rate of impunity for perpetrators of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war; the lack of adequate protection of witnesses and victims of these crimes as well as the failure to provide victims with integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.The associations subscribing to the general allegation expressly called on the Special Rapporteur to conduct a country visit to BiH to gather first hand information on the situation of women victims of rape during the war and to issue a set of comprehensive recommendations.

On 30 October 2012, Ms. Manjoo held a meeting with civil society in order to discuss the situation of women victims of sexual violence during the war. TRIAL attended the meeting, together with associations representing women from all the ethnic groups present in BiH, and highlighted the main issues contained in its general allegation.

At the end of the visit, Ms. Manjoo issued a press release containing some preliminary findings. With regard to women victims of sexual violence during the war, she declared that recent initiatives taken by national authorities could constitute a positive step forward but were nonetheless hampered by the high levels of fragmentation in legislative standards and the lack of coherence among implementing authorities that determines a concrete lack of redress for these women.

The Special Rapporteur affirmed that “it was crucial for government authorities at all levels to recognize the existence of civilian women victims of rape and torture, regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds, and to ensure that they have equal access to remedies and services, regardless of their physical location within the country”. She also encouraged BiH authorities to ensure that the specific forms of sexual violence and their high prevalence rates experienced by women are adequately taken into consideration when implementing any initiative to provide justice and effective remedies to victims. Ms. Manjoo reiterated that it was crucial that BiH recognizes the experiences that women faced during the war and their entitlement to justice, reparations, information and assistance on the issue of missing persons and victims of enforced disappearance.

The Special Rapporteur further noted that, while compensation and redress have not yet been guaranteed to women victims of sexual violence during the war, even access to forms of social protection remains severely limited by the lack of a homogenous social welfare system that guarantees equal access to resources and services throughout the country.

The Special Rapporteur highlighted that a prominent fear shared by many women survivors of war-time rape and torture that she met during her mission is the fact that time continues to pass by with no justice being served. In this sense, she indicated that “it was crucial to speed up efforts and achieve political solutions at State level”.

Finally, Ms. Manjoo recommended to BiH to promptly finalize the adoption of the Transitional Justice Strategy – stressing that it shall ensure the public acknowledgement and memorialization of women victims, their access to compensation, including non-material damages, and their empowerment – and of the Law on the Rights of Victims of Torture and Civilian Victims of War.

TRIAL will be actively engaged in the dissemination in BiH of the preliminary findings of the Special Rapporteur and will remain in direct contact with Ms. Manjoo to update her on all relevant developments in view of the release of the integral version of the report on the mission, which will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2013.

Overall Context

It is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 women were subjected to rape or other forms of sexual violence during the 1992-1995 war. In this context, rape was used as a means of implementing the strategy of ethnic cleansing and to increase inter-ethnic hatred. As of today, less than 100 people have been convicted for these crimes by national courts and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Impunity remains rampant. The existing legal framework in BiH does not allow victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence to obtain integral reparation and compensation for the harm suffered.

For more information:

  • See the integral version of the general allegation
  • See the executive summary of the general allegation
  • See the press release issued by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women at the end of the visit
  • See the website of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women

Geneva / Sarajevo, 5 April 2012

Under the title BETWEEN STIGMA AND OBLIVION, A Guide on Defending the Rights of Women Victims of Rape or other Forms of Sexual Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, TRIAL has just published, in cooperation with UN Women a legal Guide for victims of sexual violence committed during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Using true examples and refering to best practices, the Guide aims to offer victims of sexual violence and the organisations that support and defend them a new tool for action, rooted in international law.

According to Gabriella Citroni, TRIAL senior legal advisor, “In order to claim for a victim’s rights, it is necessary to know what these rights are. The aim of this Guide is to familiarize victims of rape with their rights and existing international mechanisms to which they could resort. Ideally, this should represent a tool to empower women victims of sexual violence to leave the limbo where they have been kept over the past years, between stigma and oblivion”.

The Guide was  launched during a public event held in Sarajevo on 4 April 2012, organized by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), TRIAL and Medica Zenica with the support of UN Women and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina

“BETWEEN STIGMA AND OBLIVION – A Guide on Defending the Rights of Women Victims of Rape or other Forms of Sexual Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (preface by Madeleine Rees)

is available here in electronic format

  • in English
  • in Bosnian

ICTY PRESS RELEASE

Sarajevo, 4 April 2012

A public debate on wartime sexual violence and accountability was held today in Sarajevo during which the Tribunal’s Outreach Programme premiered its documentary “Sexual Violence and the Triumph of Justice“. The event was attended by some 80 guests, amongst whom were victims, Bosnian government officials, members of academia, Embassy and NGO representatives as well as journalists. 

The public dialogue, organised in cooperation with TRIAL and Medica Zenica with the support of UN Women and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlighted the challenges, gaps and efforts in obtaining justice and redress for survivors of wartime sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The focus was on the rights of the victims, the obligations of states in ensuring accountability for crimes of wartime sexual violence and the pursuit of criminal justice for these crimes.The Outreach Programme’s documentary was praised by the audience. “I would like to congratulate the Outreach program on this film which presents the important work of the Tribunal in prosecuting crimes of sexual violence, as well as the support and care provided to witnesses who come to testify in The Hague. I believe it would be useful to provide copies of the film to all judges and prosecutors in BiH in order to encourage them in their future work on war crimes cases,” said Bakira Hasečić, Head of the Association Women Victims of War.

The screening was followed by a round table discussion. The panel was composed of  Nerma Jelačić, ICTY Head of Outreach; Lejla Mamut, Human Rights Co-ordinator at TRIAL; Božidarka Dodik and Ibro Bulić from the BiH Prosecutor’s Office; Alma Taso-Deljković, Head of the Witness Support Office at the BiH Court; Gorana Mlinarević, ACIP’s project coordinator for “Implementation of gender-sensitive monitoring of trials of war sexual violence cases in the Court of BiH”; Esma Palić, expert team member of the Sexual Violence Victims Improvement Programme; and Sahiba Haskić, Director of NGO Medica Zenica.

The panelists spoke about the rights of and support provided to victims and witnesses of wartime sexual violence and the prosecution of war crimes containing elements of sexual violence in cases before local Bosnian courts.

Lejla Mamut from TRIAL emphasised that “in line with the international obligations it has accepted, BiH has the duty to guarantee victims of gross human rights violations, including victims of rape and sexual violence, their right to truth, justice and reparation. In order to help victims resort to existing international mechanisms and demand the realization of their rights by the State, TRIAL drafted and presented a Guide containing information about all relevant international instruments and stating the procedures which need to be followed, hoping that victims and their representatives will reach out for the existing international instruments and in that way exert pressure on the State to guarantee their rights.”

Speaking about the prosecution of war crimes containing elements of wartime sexual violence before national judiciary in BiH, Božidarka Dodik, a prosecutor if the BiH Office of the Prosecutor, concluded: “For a judicial system to be truly efficient in prosecuting these types of crimes, it must be supported not only by institutional mechanisms that the state is required to provide, but also through activities of civil society which should work towards raising the awareness of citizens and combating existing prejudices, and exert constant pressure against all those responsible for the progress of society as a whole.”

Similar events will be held in Tuzla on 19 April, Mostar on 24 April and Prijedor from 22 to 26 May 2012.

Geneva, 6 July 2010

During the month of June, TRIAL (Track Impunity Always-a Swiss Association against Impunity) submitted to the European Court of Human rights two individual complaints against Bosnia-Herzegovina concerning the enforced disappearances of Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic following an action carried out by Serb forces. These two cases become the 13th and 14th respectively which TRIAL has submitted to the European Court.

On 20 July 1992, during the period that ethnic cleansing operations were being carried out in the greater Prijedor region, the Yugoslav army attacked Rakovcani, a village in the “Brdo” sector of the municipality of Prijedor. The soldiers arbitrarily arrested a large number of men in the village, including Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic, and escorted them to a destination undisclosed to their families.

Several witnesses have reported to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that following the attacks which took place in the Brdo sector, the men who were arrested were taken to the Keraterm camp and held for several days in the No 3 unit. On 24 July, the soldiers opened fire against the persons being held at this unit, resulting in the death of around 130 persons. The bodies were then taken away to a place which has remained unidentified to this date.

However several eyewitnesses have reported that neither Esad Aliskovic nor Enes Ramulic was killed during this massacre. In the case of Esad Aliskovic, he was said to have been ordered, together with another twenty or so other detainees, to leave the camp on the eve of the tragic event and reportedly taken from there to an unknown destination. As to Enes Ramulic, he was indeed held in the No 3 unit on the day of the massacre but was said to have survived the shooting. A few days later he was reportedly transported, together with the other survivors, to a destination which has also remained unidentified. This is the last time that both men were seen alive: they have been missing without trace ever since.

More than 18 years after this incident, no official, prompt, impartial, comprehensive and independent enquiry whatsoever has been undertaken by the BH authorities in order to locate Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic and where appropriate to locate, identify and return their remains to their families. Nor to this date has anyone been prosecuted, judged or punished for these crimes. The close relatives of the missing men have regularly registered their condemnation of these events with the competent authorities and also with the international organizations present in Bosnia-Herzegovina and other institutes in charge of handling cases concerning missing persons.

On 16 July 2007, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina notably ordered the relevant national institutions to divulge all available information concerning the fate and whereabouts of Esad Aliskovic and Enes Ramulic. Nevertheless, as of today’s date, the Bosnian authorities have not complied with this order nor have they supplied any noteworthy information whatsoever to the applicants.

According to Philip Grant, President of TRIAL, “the families of those disappeared are weary of the lack of cooperation on the part of the national authorities. Not only must they mourn their loved ones without having any proper information on their fate, but they must also live with the conviction that those responsible are going unpunished”.

For this reason, in June 2010, TRIAL lodged two individual complaints with the European Court requesting that it condemn Bosnia-Herzegovina for violation of Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights for not opening up the obligatory enquiries and proceedings. They also contend that they themselves are victims of violations of Articles 3 and 8 (right to respect for family and private life) due to the impassive attitude of the authorities with regard to their distress, as well as the impossibility to properly mourn and bury their loved ones according to their religious beliefs.

Overall Context

It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict in BH during the period 1992-1995 and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. As of today, between 10,000 and 13,000 people are still missing without trace.

Since its creation, TRIAL has submitted fourteen cases concerning Bosnia-Herzegovina to the European Court of Human Rights. Seven other cases are the subject of proceedings before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Overall, these proceedings concern 55 victims of enforced disappearances or massacres, as well as their close relatives.

TRIAL is also active on other cases of enforced disappearances or torture whether it be in Algeria, Libya or Nepal and has taken action on behalf of more than twenty families before the various relevant international legal instances.

For further information

See Aliskovic and Ramulic cases.