The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, pursuant to her authority under article 18 of the Statute of the Tribunal charges:

with CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY and VIOLATIONS OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, as set forth below:

1.1 The city and municipality of Foca are located south-east of Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and borders Serbia and Montenegro. According to the 1991 census, the population of Foca consisted of 40,513 persons with 51.6 % Muslim, 45.3 % Serbian and 3.1% others. Serb forces launched an extensive attack targeting the non-Serb civilian population, with the first military actions in the town of Foca on 8 April 1992. The Serb forces, supported by artillery and heavy weapons, proceeded to take over Foca, section by section. The take-over of Foca town was complete by 16 or 17 April 1992. The surrounding villages continued to be under siege until mid-July 1992.

1.2 Once towns and villages were securely in their control, Serb military, police, paramilitaries and sometimes even Serb villagers started ransacking or burning Muslim houses and apartments, and rounding up and capturing Muslims. Some Muslims were beaten or killed in the process.

1.3 The Serb forces separated the non-Serb men from the women. The Foca Kazneno-Popravni Dom (hereinafter KP Dom), one of the largest prison facilities in the former Republic of Yugoslavia, was the primary detention facility for men in Foca. Some men spent as much as two and a half years in detention for no reason other than their being Muslim. Muslim women, children and the elderly were detained in houses, apartments and motels in the town of Foca or in surrounding villages, or at short and long-term detention centres such as Buk Bijela, Foca High School, and Partizan Sports Hall. These women and girls had to live in intolerably unhygienic conditions, where they were mistreated in many ways including, for many of them, being raped repeatedly.

1.4 Some of these women and girls were taken out of these larger detention centres to privately owned apartments and houses, such as ulica Osmana Dikica 16, Karaman’s house, or the house in Trnovace, where they were forced to cook, clean and serve the residents, who were Serb soldiers. These women and girls were also subjected to repeated sexual assaults. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other organisations, unaware of these detention facilities, did not intervene. Those detainees, therefore, had no possibility of release or exchange.

2.1 RADOVAN STANKOVIC a/k/a "Rasa", son of Todor, born on 10 March 1969 in the village of Trebica, municipality of Foca, was a permanent resident of Miljevina. RADOVAN STANKOVIC was a soldier in the Miljevina Battalion of the Foca Tactical Brigade. The Miljevina Battalion was commanded by Pero Elez during the times relevant to the indictment. RADOVAN STANKOVICwas in charge of Karaman’s house in Miljevina.

3.1 At all times relevant to this indictment, an armed conflict existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

3.2 At all times relevant to this indictment, the accused was required to abide by the laws or customs governing the conduct of war.

3.3 Unless otherwise set forth below, all acts and omissions set forth in this indictment took place between April 1992 and November 1992

3.4 In each count charging crimes against humanity, a crime recognised by Article 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal, the acts or omissions were part of a widespread or large-scale or systematic attack against a civilian population, specifically the Muslim population of the municipality of Foca.

3.5 Witnesses and victims are identified in this indictment using code names or pseudonyms such as FWS-87 or initials, for example, D.B.

3.6 The accused is individually responsible for the crimes charged 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 aiding and abetting in the planning, preparation or execution of any acts or omissions set forth below.

4.1 Pero Elez, a Serb paramilitary leader in a position of regional authority commanded the Miljevina Battalion, which was subordinated to the Foca Tactical Brigade. The Miljevina Battalion was headquartered in the Miljevina Motel. Some of the soldiers under Elez’s command, including the accused RADOVAN STANKOVIC, used the abandoned house of a Muslim, Nusret Karaman, as a residence. On or about 3 August 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac, in concert with Pero Elez, took FWS-75, FWS-87, FWS 50 and D.B., as set forth in paragraph 5.1 infra, from ulica Osmana Dikica no 16 to Miljevina, where they were handed over to Pero Elez and his men, who in turn transferred them to Karaman’s house. Karaman’s house is close to the headquarters of the battalion. Later on, other women and girls were detained at Karaman’s house. Some were as young as twelve and fourteen years of age. The number of women and girls detained at Karaman’s house between on or about 3 August 1992 and until around 30 October 1992 totalled at least nine, including FWS-75, FWS-87, FWS-132, FWS-190, A.S., A.B., J.B., J.G. and, as set forth infra in paragraphs 5.1-5.4, D.B. from on or about 3 August 1992 through the end of September 1992. RADOVAN STANKOVIC, together with at least one other Serb soldier, Nikola Brcic, was in charge of Karaman’s house, where Muslim women were detained and sexually assaulted, from at least on or about 3 August 1992 until on or about 30 October 1992.

4.2 In contrast to larger detention facilities such as Partizan Sports Hall, the detainees at Karaman’s house had sufficient food. They were not guarded or locked inside the house. The detainees even had a key they could use to lock the door and prevent any soldiers not belonging to Pero Elez’s group from entering. The detainees were also given the telephone number of the Miljevina motel, and were told that they should call this number if any soldier without authorisation tried to enter the house. When the women did call this number, either RADOVAN STANKOVIC or Pero Elez would come to prevent other persons from entering the house. Although the detainees were not guarded, they could not escape. They had nowhere to go as they were surrounded by Serb soldiers and civilians.

4.3 FWS-75, FWS-87 and other girls and women were detained in Karaman’s house between on or about 3 August 1992 until on or about 30 October 1992. RADOVAN STANKOVIC and the Serb soldiers living in the house treated the women and girls as their personal property.

4.4 During the entire period of their detention at Karaman’s house, FWS-75, FWS-87, and the other female detainees were subjected to repeated rapes and sexual assaults at night. All the perpetrators were Serb soldiers who belonged to Pero Elez’s group. Among the soldiers who frequently raped FWS-87 (vaginal and anal penetration) was RADOVAN STANKOVIC.

4.5 The first time FWS-75 and FWS-87 were raped in Karaman’s house was on or about 3 August 1992, shortly after their arrival. An unidentified soldier raped FWS-75 (vaginal penetration) while RADOVAN STANKOVIC raped FWS-87 that day.

4.6 In addition to the rapes and other sexual assaults, the accused regularly ordered all the female detainees to work for him and the other Serb soldiers, washing uniforms, cooking and cleaning the house. FWS-87 was taken three times from Karaman’s house to other buildings in Miljevina. On these occasions, she was forced to clean rooms in the buildings, cook for the soldiers and paint the window-frames. On one of the three occasions, when she was taken out with another woman, two Montenegrin soldiers sexually assaulted both women.

4.7 At Karaman’s house, the detainees constantly feared for their lives. If any of the women or girls refused to obey orders, they would be beaten. Soldiers often told the women that they would be killed after the soldiers were finished with them because they knew too much. FWS-87 felt suicidal during the entire time of her detention in Karaman’s house.

4.8 By the foregoing acts and omissions, RADOVAN STANKOVIC committed:

COUNT 1
(Enslavement)

Count 1: Enslavement, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (c) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

COUNT 2
(Rape)

Count 2: Rape, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (g) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

COUNT 3
(Rape)

Count 3: Rape, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.

COUNT 4
(Outrages Upon Personal Dignity)

Count 4: Outrages upon personal dignity, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.

5.1 On or about 3 August 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac, in concert with Pero Elez, took D. B., along with FWS-75, FWS-87, FWS 50, as set forth in paragraph 4.1 supra from ulica Osmana Dikica no 16 to Miljevina, where they were handed over to Pero Elez and his men, who in turn transferred them to Karaman’s house. Karaman’s house is close to the headquarters of the battalion. D.B. and the other women and girls were detained at Karaman’s house as described in paragraphs 4.1-4.7 supra.

5.2 During the entire period of her detention at Karaman’s house, D.B., along with the other female detainees were subjected to repeated rapes and sexual assaults at night. All the perpetrators were Serb soldiers who belonged to Pero Elez’s group. Among the soldiers who frequently raped D.B. (vaginal and anal penetration) was RADOVAN STANKOVIC.

5.3 The first time D.B. was raped in Karaman’s house was on or about 3 August 1992, shortly after her arrival, when she was raped by RADOVAN STANKOVIC that day.

5.4 RADOVAN STANKOVIC took D.B. away from Karaman’s house towards the end of September 1992. During the period that she remained in Karaman’s house, that is, from on or about 3 August 1992 through the end of September 1992, D.B. was subjected to the treatment described in paragraphs 4.1-4.7 and the Prosecution, by reference, incorporates and reiterates the allegations concerning D.B.’s treatment by RADOVAN STANKOVIC in Karaman’s house during this time period.

5.5 After removing D.B. from Karaman’s house in late September 1992, RADOVAN STANKOVIC first took D.B. to an apartment in Miljevina for about ten days, and he then moved her to an apartment in the Lepa Brena apartment block in Foca. During this entire time, RADOVAN STANKOVIC treated D.B. as his personal property, forcing her to work and subjecting her to repeated sexual assaults. RADOVAN STANKOVIC released D.B. to Montenegro on 3 November 1992.

5.6 By the foregoing acts and omissions, RADOVAN STANKOVIC committed:

COUNT 5
(Enslavement)

Count 5: Enslavement, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (c) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

COUNT 6
(Rape)

Count 6: Rape, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (g) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

COUNT 7
(Rape)

Count 7: Rape, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.

COUNT 8
(Outrages Upon Personal Dignity)

Count 8: Outrages upon personal dignity, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.

__________________
Carla Del Ponte
Prosecutor

Dated this 3^rd day of March 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands