The Hague, 3 August 2001
GB/P.I.S./610e

On Thursday 2 August 2001, the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina arrested three accused indicted by the Tribunal in respect of crimes committed in central Bosnia between January 1993 and January 1994.

Three former commanders of the Army of Bosnia-Herzegovina, General Enver Hadzihasanovic, General Mehmed Alagic and Colonel Amir Kubura, were indicted by the Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, in an indictment which was confirmed on 13 July 2001. The three accused are charged with violations of the laws and customs of war and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, including murders, wilful killings, violence to life and person, wilfully causing great suffering, inhumane treatment, unlawful confinement, wanton destruction and other serious crimes. The accused are charged on the basis of their command responsibility within the terms of Article 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

General Enver Hadzihasanovic was the Commander of the Bosnian Army’s 3^rd Corps at the time of the alleged offences. General Mehmed Alagic was initially the Commander of a 3^rd Corps Operational Group and later took over as the Commander of the 3^rd Corps. Colonel Amir Kubura was initially the acting commander and then the commander of the 7^th Muslim Mountain Brigade of the 3^rd Corps.

The victims of these crimes were predominately Bosnian Croat prisoners of war and civilians. The alleged crimes fall into three categories: First, executions and massacres following attacks on towns and villages. Secondly, crimes allegedly committed in detention facilities involving killings, beatings, physical and psychological abuse, the use of detainees to dig trenches in combat conditions, and the use of detainees as both hostages and human shields. The third category relates to the systematic plunder and destruction of areas that were occupied by 3^rd Corps forces.

One of the main features of this indictment is that most of the crimes, and in particular the most heinous ones, were said to have been committed by foreign Muslim fighters who referred to themselves as "Mujahedin" or "Holy Warriors".

Following the confirmation of the indictment, which was kept confidential pending the arrest of the accused, warrants for the arrest of the accused were forwarded to the relevant authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. These warrants were executed on 2 August and it is expected that arrangements will now be made to transfer the accused to The Hague.

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