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CHAMBERS
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The Hague, 16 July 2004
CT/P.I.S./869-e
Goran Hadzic Indicted by the ICTY for Crimes Against Humanity and Violations of the Laws or Customs of War
Today, 16 July 2004, Judge El Mahdi signed a Decision making public an Indictment against Goran Hadzic. The Indictment was filed by the Prosecutor on 21 May 2004 and confirmed by a Judge on 4 June 2004.
At the time the crimes in the Indictment were alleged to have been committed, Goran Hadzic was President of the Government of the self-declared "Serbian Autonomous District of Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Srem ("SAO SBWS"). On 26 February 1992, Hadzic was elected President of the so-called "Republic of Serbian Krajina" or "RSK". He remained in this position until December 1993.
Background to the Charges
The Indictment alleges that Hadzic participated in a joint criminal enterprise as a co-perpetrator. The Indictment states that:
"The purpose of this joint criminal enterprise was the permanent forcible removal of a majority of the Croat and other non-Serb population from approximately one-third of the territory of the Republic of Croatia ("Croatia") in order to make them part of a new Serb-dominated state through the commission of crimes in violation of Articles 3 and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal. These areas included those regions that were referred to by Serb authorities as the "SAO Krajina," the "SAO Western Slavonia," the "SAO SBWS" (after 19 December 1991, the "SAO Krajina" became known as the RSK; on 26 February 1992, the "SAO Western Slavonia" and the "SAO SBWS" joined the RSK)."
The Indictment further states that:
This joint criminal enterprise came into existence no later than 25 June 1991 and continued until at least December 1993. In order for the joint criminal enterprise to succeed in its objective, Goran HADZIC worked in concert with or through several individuals in the joint criminal enterprise. Each participant or co-perpetrator within the joint criminal enterprise played his role or roles that significantly contributed to the overall objective of the enterprise. Individuals participating in this joint criminal enterprise included Slobodan MILOSEVIC; Milan MARTIC; Jovica STANISIC; Franko SIMATOVIC, also known as "Frenki"; Vojislav SESELJ; Radovan STOJICIC, also known as "Badza"; Zeljko RAZNATOVIC, also known as "Arkan"; and other known and unknown members of the Yugoslav People’s Army ("JNA"); the self-declared local Serb Territorial Defence ("TO") in the SAO SBWS; the TO’s of Serbia and Montenegro; local police forces including Serb police forces of the SAO SBWS commonly referred to as "SAO SBWS Milicija" and the "Serb National Security" ("SNB") of the SAO SBWS; police forces of the Republic of Serbia ("Serbian MUP"), including the State Security /Drzavna bezbednost/ ("DB") of the Republic of Serbia; and members of Serbian, Montenegrin and Bosnian Serb paramilitary groups (also known as volunteer units), including the Serbian Volunteer Guard, a paramilitary/volunteer unit led by Zeljko RAZNATOVIC commonly known as "Arkanovci" or "Arkan’s Tigers", and volunteers related to the Serbian Chetnik Movement and/or the Serbian Radical Party ("SRS") of Vojislav SESELJ, commonly known as "Cetniks" or "Seseljevci", who during military operations were integrated in or related otherwise to the TO of the SAO SBWS, all operating under the command of the JNA (collectively, "Serb forces"); and other political figures from the (Socialist) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ("(S)FRY"), the Republic of Serbia ("Serbia"), the Republic of Montenegro ("Montenegro"), and Serb politicians from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina."
The Charges
The Indictment charges Goran Hadzic on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility (Article 7(1) of the Statute) with:
Eight counts of crimes against humanity (Article 5 of the Statute – persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; extermination; murder; imprisonment; torture; inhumane acts; deportation; inhumane acts (forcible transfers)), and
Six count of violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 of the Statute – murder; torture; cruel treatment; wanton destruction of villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity; destruction or willful damage done to institutions dedicated to education or religion; plunder of public or private property).
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The full text of the Indictment can be found in English on the Tribunal’s website at www.un.org/icty
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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