THE
PROSECUTOR OF THE TRIBUNAL AGAINST
DRAZEN
ERDEMOVIC
INDICTMENT
The Prosecutor
of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, pursuant to
his authority under Article 18 of the Statute of the Tribunal charges:
DRAZEN
ERDEMOVIC
with a CRIME
AGAINST HUMANITY or alternatively a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS
OF WAR, as set forth below:
1. On 16 April
1993, the Security Council of the United Nations, acting pursuant to Chapter
VII of the United Nations Charter, adopted resolution 819, in which it demanded
that all parties to the conflict in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina treat
Srebrenica and its surroundings as a safe area which should be free from any
armed attack or any other hostile act. Resolution 819 was reaffirmed by Resolution
824 on 6 May 1993 and by Resolution 836 on 4 June 1993.
2. On or about
6 July 1995, the Bosnian Serb army commenced an attack on the UN "safe
area" of Srebrenica. This attack continued through until 11 July 1995,
when the first units of the Bosnian Serb army entered Srebrenica.
3. Thousands of
Bosnian Muslim civilians who remained in Srebrenica during this attack fled
to the UN compound in Potocari and sought refuge in and around the compound.
4. Between 11 and
13 July 1995, Bosnian Serb military personnel summarily executed an unknown
number of Bosnian Muslims in Potocari and in Srebrenica.
5. Between 12 and
13 July 1995, the Bosnian Muslim men, women and children who had sought refuge
in and around the UN compound in Potocari were placed on buses and trucks under
the control of Bosnian Serb military personnel and police and transported out
of the Srebrenica enclave. Before boarding these buses and trucks, Bosnian Muslim
men were separated from Bosnian Muslim women and children and were transported
to various collection centres around Srebrenica.
6. A second group
of approximately 15,000 Bosnian Muslim men, with some women and children, fled
Srebrenica on 11 July 1995 through the woods in a large column in the direction
of Tuzla. A large number of the Bosnian Muslim men who fled in this column were
captured by or surrendered to Bosnian Serb army or police personnel.
7. Thousands of
Bosnian Muslim men who had been either separated from women and children in
Potocari or who had been captured by or surrendered to Bosnian Serb military
or police personnel were sent to various collection sites outside of Srebrenica
including, but not limited to a hangar in Bratunac, a soccer field in Nova Kasaba,
a warehouse in Kravica, the primary school and gymnasium of "Veljko Lukic-Kurjak"
in Grbavci, Zvornik municipality and divers fields and meadows along the Bratunac-Milici
road.
8. Between 13 July
1995 and approximately 22 July 1995, thousands of Bosnian Muslim men were summarily
executed by members of the Bosnian Serb army and Bosnian Serb police at divers
locations including, but not limited to a warehouse at Kravica, a meadow and
a dam near Lazete and divers other locations.
9. On or about
16 July 1995, DRAZEN ERDEMOVIC and other members of the
10th Sabotage Detachment of the Bosnian Serb army were ordered to a collective
farm near Pilica. This farm is located northwest of Zvornik in the Zvornik Municipality.
10. On or about
16 July 1995, DRAZEN ERDEMOVIC and other members of his
unit were informed that bus loads of Bosnian Muslim civilian men from Srebrenica,
who had surrendered to Bosnian Serb military or police personnel, would be arriving
throughout the day at this collective farm.
11. On or about
16 July 1995, buses containing Bosnian Muslim men arrived at the collective
farm in Pilica. Each bus was full of Bosnian Muslim men, ranging from approximately
17-60 years of age. After each bus arrived at the farm, the Bosnian Muslim men
were removed in groups of about 10, escorted by members of the 10th Sabotage
Detachment to a field adjacent to farm buildings and lined up in a row with
their backs facing DRAZEN ERDEMOVIC and members of his
unit.
12. On or about
16 July 1995, DRAZEN ERDEMOVIC, did shoot and kill and
did participate with other members of his unit and soldiers from another brigade
in the shooting and killing of unarmed Bosnian Muslim men at the Pilica collective
farm. These summary executions resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Bosnian
Muslim male civilians.
THE ACCUSED
13. DRAZEN
ERDEMOVIC was born on 25 November 1971 in the municipality of Tuzla.
He was a soldier in the 10th Sabotage Detachment of the Bosnian Serb army. He
is currently in custody in the UN detention facility in The Hague.
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
14. At all relevant
times to this indictment, a state of armed conflict and partial occupation existed
in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
15. DRAZEN
ERDEMOVIC is individually responsible for the crime alleged against
him in this indictment pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Individual criminal responsibility includes committing, planning, instigating,
ordering or otherwise aiding and abetting in the planning, preparation or execution
of any crimes referred to in Articles 3 and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
CHARGES
COUNTS 1-2
(CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY)
(VIOLATION
OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR)
16. By his acts
in relation to the events described in paragraph 12, DRAZEN ERDEMOVIC
committed:
Count 1: A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under
Article 5(a)(murder)
of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Alternatively
Count 2: A VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal and recognised by Article 3(1)(a) (murder) of the Geneva Conventions.
__________________
Richard J. Goldstone
Prosecutor
The Hague, The Netherlands
22 May 1996