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The Hague, 14 March 2000
JL/ P.I.S./ 576-e
The trial of Sikirica, Dosen and Kolundzija will begin on Monday 19 March 2001
The trial of Dusko Sikirica, Damir Dosen and Dragan Kolundzija will begin on Monday 19 March 2001 at 9.30 a.m. in Courtroom I, in front of Trial Chamber III composed of Judge May (Presiding), Judge Robinson and Judge El Habib Fassi Fihri.
BACKGROUND ON THE ACCUSED
Dusko Sikirica was born on 23 March 1964 in Cirkin Polje, Prijedor municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Damir Dosen was born on 7 April 1967 in Cirkin Polje, Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Dragan Kolundzija was born on 19 December 1959 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dusko Sikirica is alleged to have been the Commander of the Keraterm camp and, as such, was in a position of superior authority to everyone else present in the camp. The indictment alleges that Damir Dosen, and Dragan Kolundzija were shift commanders at the Keraterm camp, supervising one of the shifts of guards that operated the camp. As shift commanders and when present in the camp, they were in a position of superior authority to all camp personnel (other than the commander or deputy commander) and most "visitors".
Dusko SIKIRICA
Detention by SFOR: 25 June 2000 Transferred to ICTY: 25 June 2000 Initial appearance: 7 July 2000, pleaded "not guilty" to all counts
Damir DOSEN,
Detention by SFOR: 25 October 1999 Transferred to ICTY: 25 October 1999 Initial appearance: 1 November 1999, pleaded "not guilty" to all counts
Dragan KOLUNDZIJA
Detention by SFOR: 7 June 1999 Transferred to ICTY: 7 June 1999 Initial appearance: 14 June 1999, pleaded "not guilty" to all counts
BACKGROUND ON THE INDICTMENT
The Indictment ("Keraterm Camp")
The original indictment, confirmed on 21 July 1995, included nine other accused. The charges against five accused were withdrawn and a revised indictment was filed on 21 July 1998 against Dusko Sikirica, Damir Dosen, Dragan Fustar, Nenad Banovic, Predrag Banovic, Dusan Knezevic, Zoran Zigic and Dragan Kolundzija.
Having voluntarily surrendered on 16 April 1998, Zoran Zigic was joined to the Kvocka & others case in an indictment dated 9 November 1998 and is currently standing trial in that case (IT-98-30/1). An amended indictment was filed against Dusko Sikirica, Damir Dosen, Dragan Fustar, Dragan Kolundzija, Nenad Banovic, Predrag Banovic and Dusan Knezevic on 24 August 1999. amended indictment, alleges that between 24 May 1992 and 30 August 1992 Bosnian Serb authorities in the Prijedor municipality unlawfully segregated, detained and confined more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats and other non-Serbs from the Prijedor area in the Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm camps. At the Keraterm camp, the majority of the detainees were military-aged males.
According to the indictment, detainees at the Keraterm camp were crowded together so badly in the various rooms of the camp that often they could not sit or lie down. There were little or no toilets or facilities for personal hygiene and the water supply was inadequate. They had no change of clothing, bedding or medical care and were fed starvation rations once a day. Interrogations were allegedly conducted on a daily basis and regularly accompanied by beatings and torture. The indictment states that killings, sexual assault and other forms of physical and psychological abuse were also commonplace at the Keraterm camp. The camp guards and others who came to the camps used all types of weapons and instruments to beat and otherwise physically abuse the detainees. Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat political and civic leaders, intellectuals, the wealthy, and non-Serbs who were considered as extremists or to have resisted the Bosnian Serbs were especially subjected to beatings, torture and/or killed. At a minimum, hundreds of detainees, whose identities are known and unknown, did not survive.
CHARGES
The indictment charges the accused as follows:
Dusko Sikirica:
Individual criminal responsibility (Article 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal) and superior criminal responsibility (Article 7(3)) with:
Genocide (Article 4 – genocide; complicity to commit genocide), Crimes against humanity (Article 5 – persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds; inhumane acts; murder), and Violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 – outrages upon personal dignity; murder, or alternatively, cruel treatment).
Damir Dosen:
Individual criminal responsibility and superior criminal responsibility with:
Crimes against humanity (Article 5 – persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; inhumane acts; torture), and Violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 – outrages upon personal dignity; torture; cruel treatment).
Dragan Kolundzija:
Individual criminal responsibility and superior criminal responsibility with:
Crimes against humanity (Article 5 – persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; inhumane acts; murder), and Violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 – outrages upon personal dignity; murder).
THE PARTIES
Office of the Prosecutor:
Mr. Dirk Ryneveld
Ms. Julia Baly
Mr. Daryl Mundis
Counsel for the accused:
For Dusko Sikirica:
Mr. Veselin Londrovic
For Damir Dosen:
Mr. Vladimir Petrovic
For Dragan Kolundzija:
Mr. Dusan Vucicevic
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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