| Press Advisory |
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| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
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The Hague, 31 March 2011
VE/MOW/PA421e
Gotovina et al. Judgement To Be Rendered On 15 April 2011
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| Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač |
The judgement in the case of the three Croatian Generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač, charged with crimes committed during the 1995 ‘Operation Storm’ military offensive in Croatia, will be rendered on Friday, 15 April 2011, in Courtroom I at 11:00 am.
Gotovina, Čermak and Markač are accused of having participated in a Joint Criminal Enterprise throughout Operation Storm, the intention of which was to forcibly and permanently remove the ethnic Serb population from the Krajina region of Croatia. Operation Storm and follow-up actions lasted from 4 August to 15 November 1995.
According to the indictment, other members of the Joint Criminal Enterprise included Franjo Tudjman, the President of Croatia, Gojko Šušak, the Minister of Defence, Janko Bobetko, the chief of main staff of Croatian Army until July 1995 and his successor in that position from July 1995, Zvonimir Červenko.
The three Generals are alleged to have been in command of Croatian forces that committed numerous violations of international humanitarian law during the campaign, including murder and inhumane treatment of Krajina Serbs as well as their forcible transfer and deportation to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The indictment also cites crimes of large scale destruction and systematic plunder of Krajina Serbs’ villages, homes and other buildings.
The trial commenced on 11 March 2008. Closing arguments were held from 30 August until 1 September 2010, during which Prosecution recommended that the Chamber sentence Gotovina to 27 years’, Markač to 23 years’ and Čermak to 17 years’ imprisonment. The Defence asked for all three to be acquitted.
The trial lasted a total of 303 days during which 4,819 exhibits were admitted. The Trial Chamber heard the testimony of a total of 145 witnesses of which 81 witnesses were called by the Prosecution, 57 by the Defence and seven by the Trial Chamber itself.
Since its establishment, the Tribunal has indicted 161 persons for serious violations of humanitarian law committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 2001. Proceedings against 125 have been concluded. Proceedings are currently ongoing for 34 accused.
Media representatives wishing to attend the judgement are advised to accredit with the Press Office at press [at] icty.org () and provide the full name of the journalist and the media outlet. Please see the related Press Advisory for further information on the accreditation procedure.
Media representatives not able to attend the judgement can follow proceedings live on the Tribunal's website. The judgement will be broadcast live on the Tribunal’s website at www.icty.org and on the satellite.
An information sheet on the case can be found at:
http://www.icty.org/x/cases/gotovina/cis/en/cis_gotovina_al_en.pdf
The indictment is available at:
All Final Trial Briefs can be found at:
http://www.icty.org/case/gotovina/4#custom5
The full video of the Judgement will be made available on the ICTY’s YouTube channel shortly after the Judgement has been rendered.
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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