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REGISTRY
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The Hague, 9 August 2005
CT/MOW/996e
Milan Lukic arrested in Argentina
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia welcomes the arrest of Milan Lukic yesterday, 8 August 2005, in Argentina.
The indictment against Milan Lukic alleges that in the spring of 1992, he formed a group of paramilitaries which worked with local police and military units in exacting a reign of terror upon the local Muslim population. This group of paramilitaries was often referred to as the "White Eagles" and the "Avengers". Milan Lukic is charged with extermination, persecutions, murder and inhumane acts, committed in Visegrad, south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, between May 1992 and October 1994. The accusations include five separate incidents of murder, two of which are particularly gruesome.
The indictment alleges that on or about 14 June 1992, Milan Lukic and others forced approximately 65 Bosnian Muslim women, children and elderly men into a house on Pionirska Street in Višegrad. The house was barricaded and set on fire. Those who tried to save themselves by climbing out the windows were shot at. Almost everyone locked in the house was killed, including 17 children between the ages of two days and 14 years.
On 27 June, Milan Lukic is alleged to have committed a crime of a similar nature at another location in Višegrad, again barricading a group of people into a house which was then set on fire, causing the death of approximately 70 people.
It is alleged that the acts described in the indictment were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Bosnian Muslim and other non-Serb civilians of the Višegrad area. The Prosecutor of the ICTY has qualified the charges against Milan Lukic as crimes against humanity and violations of laws or customs of war.
The Tribunal has indicted three persons for immediate responsibility for the crimes committed in Višegrad. The initial indictment against Milan Lukic, Sredoje Lukic and Mitar Vasiljevic was confirmed on 28 August 1998. Vasiljevic is to date the only one to come into the custody of the Tribunal. He was tried and convicted in The Hague of the killing of five men, which is one of the murder incidents Milan Lukic is also charged with. Vasiljevic was sentenced to 15 years and is currently serving his sentence.
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The full text of the indictment is available on the Tribunal's website
http://www.un.org/icty. Hard copies can be obtained from the Media Office.
Courtroom proceedings can be followed on the Tribunal's website.
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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