Bosnian Croat Ex-Defence Chief Appeals Against Conviction

Bruno Stojic appealed on Tuesday to overturn his war crimes conviction at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY in The Hague.

He became the second of six wartime Herzeg-Bosna political and military leaders to launch an appeal this week against their convictions for crimes against the Bosniak population in 1993 and 1994.

They were convicted of participation in a joint criminal enterprise that involved expulsions, murders, unlawful detentions, inhumane treatment and destruction of property.

In the first-instance verdict in March 2013, former Herzeg-Bosna defence minister Stojic was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

But his defence lawyer Karim Khan told the court that no joint criminal enterprise had existed, and even if had done, Stojic had not participated in it.

Khan insisted that there “are no direct pieces of evidence concerning a criminal enterprise”.

Under the first-instance verdict, it was determined that the joint criminal enterprise was led by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, whose aim was to establish “a Croat entity whose borders would partially follow the border of the Banate of Croatia from 1939”, by forcibly and permanently expelling the Bosniak population from eight municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The verdict said that the aim of the establishment of Herzeg-Bosna was to “reunite the Croat people”.

The joint criminal enterprise intended for it to “either be united with Croatia in case of the disintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, or remain within Bosnia and Herzegovina, “retaining close ties with Croatia”.

But Stojic’s lawyer denied the verdict’s assertion that Tudjman publicly advocated Bosnia and Herzegovina’s survival while secretly giving orders for its forcible division.

“Tudjman did not play a double role at all,” Khan said.

He also said that the Bosnian Croat force, the Croatian Defence Council, was created as a result of the “legitimate need of all people to defend themselves from Serbian aggression”.

Stojic’s was the second of six appeals this week by former senior Herzeg-Bosna officials.

They were all of convicted in May 2013 of crimes against humanity, violations of the laws or customs of war, and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions committed between 1992 and 1994.

Stojic, Jadranko Prlic, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoje Petkovic, Valentin Coric and Berislav Pusic all held senior political or military roles from 1992 to 1994.

Prlic was the Herzeg-Bosna prime minister, Praljak was the chief of the Main Headquarters of the Croatian Defence Council, Petkovic was the deputy commander of the Croatian Defence Council, Coric was former commander of the Croatian Defence Council military police, while Pusic was the president of Herzeg-Bosna’s prisoner exchange commission.

Under the first-instance verdict, Prlic was jailed for 25 years, Stojic, Praljak and Petkovic for 20 years each, Coric for 16 years and Pusic for ten years.

Prlic on Monday also denied involvement in a joint criminal enterprise with Croatian officials.

The defence appeals hearings will continue until March 27.

The prosecution will then lay out its appeal on March 28, hoping to persuade judges to almost double the men’s sentences.