ICTY: Indictments joindering motion

The Hague Prosecution filed a joint indictment against Mico Stanisic and Stojan Zupljanin with the Tribunal.

The two men are charged with crimes against humanity and violation of laws and practices of warfare committed on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As of 1991 Mico Stanisic was Minister without Portfolio, appointed by the Serbian People’s Assembly. In April 1992 he took over the post of Minister with the newly established Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was in this capacity that he became member of the Government.

As of 1991 Stojan Zupljanin was chief of the Regional Centre of Safety Services, based in Banja Luka. From May to July 1992 he was a member of the Crisis Committee of the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina. In 1994 he was appointed as internal affairs advisor to Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadzic, who is now at The Hague, awaiting his trial to begin.

The indictment charges them on the basis of their individual criminal responsibility. It explains that the term “committed”, which is often used in the indictment, does not imply that any of them personally committed some actions, but it means that they did that as “part of a joint criminal enterprise”.

They participated in that enterprise together with Momcilo Krajisnik (at The Hague, awaiting a second instance verdict to be pronounced), Karadzic, Biljana Plavsic (sentenced to 11 years), Nikola Koljevic (committed suicide), Momcilo Mandic (acquitted of charges by a first instance verdict pronounced by the War Crimes Chamber in Sarajevo), Velibor Ostojic (at liberty), Ratko Mladic (on the run since the indictment was filed against him at The Hague) “and other Bosnian Serb leaders”.

They are charged with crimes committed in Banja Luka, Bileca, Bosanski Samac, Brcko, Doboj, Donji Vakuf, Gacko, Ilijas, Kljuc, Kotor Varos, Pale, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Teslic, Vlasenica, Visegrad, Vogosca and Zvornik municipalities in the course of 1992.

“Mico Stanisic and Stojan Zupljanin knew or had reason to know about the alleged crimes, mentioned in the indictment, which were committed by their subordinates. However, they failed to undertake the necessary measures in order to prevent those crimes or sanction the perpetrators”.

The indictment further charges them with murder, forcible resettlement, deportation, cruel treatment and inhumane acts and so on.

Mico Stanisic surrendered in March 2005, when the indictment against him was announced.

Stojan Zupljanin was arrested in June 2008. The first indictment against him was filed in December 1999.