| Press Advisory |
CHAMBERS
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| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
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The Hague, 6 October 2008
MH/MOW/PA351e
Appeals Judgement for Milan Martić to be rendered 8 October 2008
The Appeals Chamber will render its judgement in the case against Milan Martić, one of the most senior persons tried by the Tribunal, on Wednesday, 8 October at 2:00 pm in courtroom I.
Martić, a former war-time political leader of Croatian Serbs, was sentenced by a first-instance judgement of 12 June 2007 to 35 years’ imprisonment for persecutions, murder, torture, deportation and other crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war committed during the early nineties against Croats and other non-Serbs in Croatia.
Between 1991 and 1995, Martić held positions of Minister of Interior, Minister of Defence and President in the self-proclaimed Croatian Serb entity which was known by the names “Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina” and “Republic of Serbian Krajina”. According to the first-instance judgement, he participated during this period in a joint criminal enterprise whose aim was to create a unified Serbian state through the commission of a widespread and systematic campaign of crimes against non-Serbs. The Trial Chamber found that virtually the entire Croat and other non-Serb population was expelled from the area under Martić’s control.
Milan Martić was also convicted of ordering rocket attacks on the downtown area of the Croatian capital, Zagreb, on 2 and 3 May 1995 in which seven people died and more than 200 were wounded, many of them receiving horrific injuries.
Both parties appealed the first-instance judgement. The Defence requested a finding of not guilty or a re-trial on the basis of several alleged errors of law and fact. The Prosecution presented one ground of appeal, asking for a revision of the sentence due to an alleged error of law. An appeals hearing was held on 25 and 26 June 2008.
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Full text of the Trial Chamber judgement can be found at:
http://www.un.org/icty/martic/trialc/judgement/mar-tcjud070612e.pdf
A case information sheet can be found at:
http://www.un.org/icty/cases-e/cis/martic/cis-martic.pdf
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
For more information, please contact our Media Office in The Hague
Tel.: +31-70-512-5343; 512-5356 Fax: +31-70-512-5355 - Email: press [at] icty.org ()