MKSY/ICTY: Tupajic sentenced to two months imprisonment

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY pronounced a unique two-month imprisonment sentence against Tupajic, former President of Sokolac municipality and Crisis Committee of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, who refused to testify at the trial of Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska, RS.

“The Chamber has determined that the indictee wittingly and intentionally interfered with justice and that the indictee is guilty of contempt of the Court. (…) The Chamber has decided to sentence indictee Milan Tupajic to a unique two-month imprisonment sentence and that he has the right to have the time he has spent in custody calculated towards his sentence,” said Trial Chamber Chairman O-Gon Kwon.

Tupajic was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina on December 13, 2011, as per a warrant issued by The Hague Tribunal. The Hague Tribunal’s Chamber charges Tupajic with contempt of court, because he failed to respond to two subpoenas to testify at the trial of Karadzic, who is charged with genocide and other crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war.

Tupajic made his initial appearance before ICTY judges on December 16 last year and pleaded not guilty to the charges for contempt of court.

“The indictee failed to respond to the subpoenas. He said that the reasons for refusing to act on the subpoenas was the fact that he was not willing to testify and that he refused to testify because of his health condition. The Chamber has reviewed the documents about the indictee’s health condition and considers that the documents do not contain justified reasons,” judge Kwon said.

The Hague Tribunal’s Chamber took indictee Tupajic’s health condition and his financial situation as mitigating circumstances when making its decision about the sentence. S.U.