Karadzic: Death Threats and Human Shields

Testifying at the trial of Radovan Karadzic, a former Commander of an UNPROFOR Unit based in Gorazde says that an operation conducted by Bosnian Serbs to take UN staff hostage was “ordered and coordinated by high level officials”.

Jonathon Riley, former Commander of the First Battalion of British military units with UNPROFOR, which was based in Gorazde in 1995, testified for the Hague Prosecution and said that Bosnian Serb forces “took 33 British peace-keeping officers” hostage in that town in May 1995.

Riley said that Bosnian Serbs attacked the UNPROFOR forces with “heavy weapons”, adding that, after having been captured, the UN members were transferred to “locations all over the Podrinje area” with the aim of preventing NATO strikes on Serb positions.

“By analysing the statements given by the hostages, it is clear that the action was ordered and coordinated by high level officials, because we can see that the hostages were distributed to locations controlled by three or four different corps.

“Considering the fact that corps commanders did not give orders to each other, it becomes clear that the whole thing was ordered by the Main Headquarters of the Bosnian Serbs,” Riley said.

Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and supreme commander of its armed forces, is on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY for genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed from 1992 to 1995.

The Hague Prosecution charges Karadzic with having participated, in May and June 1995, in the capture of more than two hundred UN members at various locations which had strategic or military importance, including Gorazde, with the aim of preventing NATO air strikes on those locations.

During the course of cross-examination, Karadzic asked Riley if members of the British UNPROFOR forces were captured as “prisoners of war or hostages”. The witness responded by saying they were “classic hostages”.

“A prisoner of war is a person captured by the opposite party, an enemy. Considering the fact that we were members of international forces, I do not believe that members of my Battalion could have been captured as prisoners of war,” Riley explained.

Second Prosecution witness Marcus Helgers, former member of the Dutch forces with UNPROFOR, said that Bosnian Serbs captured him in the vicinity of Kasindol hospital on May 26, 1995 and took him to a sentry point in Grbavica, Sarajevo.

Helgers said that during the course of his 20-day detention he “received death threats” and was used as a human shield against strikes by NATO air forces.

“Serb soldiers took us, two by two, to the sentry box roof, telling us we would be used as human shields. They said that, if NATO continued its air strikes anywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they would kill one of us and if a projectile hit the location, all of us would be killed even if we survived the projectile explosion,” Helgers recalled.

Helgers said that, because he was held in detention, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and occasionally had “sleeping problems and episodes”.

The next hearing is due to take place on Friday, January 28 this year.

D.Dz.