Start of Trial in Dragomir Milošević Case

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The trial of Dragomir Milošević, former commander of the Sarajevo Romanija Corps (SRK) of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), will begin on Thursday, 11 January 2007 at 14.15 p.m. in Courtroom I.

Milošević, who succeeded Stanislav Galić as the commander of the SRK, is charged with murder, terror and attacks on civilians in relation to a campaign of sniping and shelling attacks on the city of Sarajevo.

The indictment alleges that Milošević assumed command of the SRK on or about 10 August 1994 and remained in that position until about 21 November 1995. During his command the SRK implemented a military strategy which used shelling and sniping to kill, injure and spread terror among the civilian population of Sarajevo.

The shelling and sniping was directed at civilians who were tending vegetable plots, queuing for bread, collecting water, attending funerals, shopping in markets, riding on trams, gathering wood, or simply walking with their children or friends. People were even injured and killed inside their own homes, being hit by bullets that came through the windows. The attacks on Sarajevo civilians were often unrelated to military actions and were designed to keep the inhabitants in a constant state of terror. As a result thousands of Sarajevo civilians of both sexes and all ages were killed and wounded.

Stanislav Galić and Dragomir Milošević were indicted on 24 April 1998. After his arrest in 1999, Galić was tried separately. On 30 November 2006, the Appeals Chamber sentenced him to life imprisonment.

On 3 December 2004, Milošević voluntary surrendered from Belgrade. In July 2005, the Referral Bench denied a Prosecution's motion for the referral of the case to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Referral Bench considered that "the campaign alleged in the Indictment and the crimes with which Dragomir Milošević has been charged stand out when compared with other cases before the Tribunal, especially in terms of alleged duration, number of civilians affected, extent of property damage, and number of military personnel involved”, and ruled that the accused will be tried before the Tribunal.

A pre-trial conference will be held on Wednesday, 10 January 2007 at 14.15 p.m. in Courtroom I.

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The full texts of all the indictments and other case-related information can be found at:
http://www.tpiy.org/cases/party/739/4

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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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