| Press Release |
REGISTRY
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| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
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The Hague, 04 March 2008
VE/MOW/1222e
Radoslav Brdjanin transferred to Denmark to serve sentence
Radoslav Brđanin, a former leading Serb political figure in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, was today transferred to Denmark to serve his sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment for crimes committed against non-Serb inhabitants of the region during the 1992-1995 conflict.
Brđanin held various senior positions in the so-called Autonomous Region of Krajina (ARK) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including serving as President of the ARK Crisis Staff. This body was established to co-ordinate the implementation of the strategic plan to link Serb-populated areas in the country, from which most non-Serbs would be permanently removed. An integral part of the strategic plan was the setting up of camps and detention facilities, which included the notorious Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm camps.
On 1 September 2004, Brđanin was sentenced to 32 years’ imprisonment by the Trial Chamber, which found him guilty of aiding and abetting the persecution, torture and killing of non-Serbs. Brđanin was also found guilty of instigating the forcible transfers and deportations of the non-Serb population from the Krajina region. Brđanin was further convicted of wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages as well as places of worship across numerous municipalities in the Krajina region.
On 3 April 2007, the Appeals Chamber reversed Brđanin’s convictions for torture in camps and detention facilities. The Chamber also ruled that his conviction should not stand for wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages with respect to the municipality of Bosanska Krupa. All other counts including Brđanin’s responsibility in the deliberate destruction of cities, towns or villages in Banja Luka, Bosanski Petrovac, Kljuc, Prijedor, Sanski Most and other municipalities were upheld and his sentencing therefore reduced by only two years.
A case information sheet providing an overview of the case can be found on the Tribunal’s website at: http://www.icty.org/x/cases/brdanin/cis/en/cis_brdjanin_en.pdf
The Tribunal indicted 161 persons for serious violations of humanitarian law committed on the territory of former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 2001. Proceedings against 111 have been concluded.
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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