Ljubinac: Second Instance Verdict

The Appellate Chamber of the Court of BiH has confirmed the verdict against Radosav Ljubinac, which sentenced him to ten years imprisonment for crimes committed in the course of 1992.

On October 23, 2007 the Appellate Chamber passed down a second instance verdict rejecting, “as ungrounded”, the appeals filed by the Prosecution of BiH and the defence attorney of indictee Radisav Ljubinac.

It has also determined that the first instance Trial Chamber failed to include in the verdict that one allegation contained in the indictment should have been dismissed as the prosecution gave up on it in the course of the main trial.

The Appellate Chamber has now corrected the omission, which means that the first instance verdict has now been revised and it now rejects that particular allegation, while the remaining charges have not been changed.

Ljubinac was pronounced guilty of crimes against humanity which he committed, as a member of the former Serbian Republic of BiH Army, in Rogatica municipality on August 3 and 4, 1992.

It has been established that Ljubinac participated in the forcible deportation of the population from the village of Seljani to a detention camp formed in “Veljko Vlahovic” secondary school in Rogatica. It has also been determined that, on August 5, 1992 after separating the men from the rest of the population, he took part in the forcible deportation of women and children from the detention camp.

The verdict has also determined that, on several occasions from June to October 1992, Ljubinac beat four civilians detained in “Rasadnik”
detention camp near Rogatica and that, on August 15, 1992 Ljubinac drove 27 civilians, including four minors, from Rogatica to Duljevac village where they were used as a human shield.

The prosecution and defence complained about “the wrongly determined factual status” in the part of the first instance verdict. However, the Appellate Chamber has rejected these allegations.

The time Ljubinac has spent in detention, i.e. from December 16, 2005 until today, will be counted towards his sentence.