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| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
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The Hague, 27 October 2000
JL/ P.I.S./ 537-e
The Trial of Milorad Krnojelac will begin on Monday 30 October 2000
The trial of Milorad Krnojelac will begin on Monday 30 October 2000 at 9.30 a.m. in Courtroom III, and will be held before Trial Chamber II, composed of Judge Hunt (Presiding), Judge Mumba and Judge Liu.
BACKGROUND ON THE ACCUSED
Milorad Krnojelac, also known as Mico, was born on 25 July 1940 in the village of Birotici near Foca, Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the indictment, before the war, he was a teacher and held the rank of a Captain First Class in the JNA (Yugoslav National Army). From April 1992 until August 1993, Krnojelac was the commander of the KP Dom (prison camp in Foca).
Date of detention by SFOR: 15 June 1998
Transfer to The Hague: 15 June 1998
Initial appearance: 18 June 1998, pleaded "not guilty" to all counts
BACKGROUND ON THE INDICTMENT
The Indictment ("KP Dom camp")
The second amended indictment, dated 3 March 2000, generally alleges that, from the beginning of April 1992 until mid-July 1992, Serb military forces took control and occupied Foca and the surrounding villages. The Serb authorities arrested Muslim and other non-Serb villagers throughout the municipality, separating the men from the women. Thousands of Muslims and other non-Serbs were unlawfully confined.
The Foca Kazneno-Popravni Dom (KP Dom) prison became the primary detention facility for men in the area, functioning as a detention facility from April 1992 to October 1994. Most of the detainees, the number of which reached a peak at 760, were civilian Muslim men from 16 to 80 years of age, including mentally handicapped, physically disabled and seriously ill persons, who had not been charged with any crime.
According to the indictment, while acting as camp commander, Krnojelac subjected Muslim and other non-Serb males to prolonged and routine imprisonment and confinement, repeated torture and beatings, countless killings, prolonged and frequent forced labour and inhumane conditions within the KP Dom detention facility. In addition, Krnojelac is alleged to have assisted in the deportation or expulsion of the majority of Muslim and non-Serb males from the Foca municipality.
CHARGES
The indictment charges the accused on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility (Article 7(1) of the Statute) and, or alternatively, superior criminal responsibility (Article 7(3)) with:
six counts of Grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions (Article 2 - torture; willfully causing serious injury to body or health; willful killing; unlawful confinement of a civilian; willfully causing great suffering; inhuman treatment),
five counts of Violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 - torture; cruel treatment; murder; slavery), and
seven counts of Crimes against humanity (Article 5 - persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; torture; inhumane acts; murder; imprisonment; enslavement).
LEGAL COUNSEL
Office of the Prosecutor:
Ms. Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff
Ms. Peggy Kuo
Mr. Morris Anyah
Counsel for the accused:
Mr. Mihajlo Bakrac
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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