THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

CASE NO. IT-01-44

THE PROSECUTOR OF THE TRIBUNAL

AGAINST

DRAGAN JOKIC

 

INDICTMENT

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, pursuant to her authority under Article 18 of the Statute of the Tribunal, charges:

DRAGAN JOKIC

with CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, and VIOLATIONS OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, as set forth below:

THE ACCUSED:

1. DRAGAN LJUBOMIR JOKIC was born on 20 August 1957 in the Bosnian Serb village of Grbavci in the Zvornik municipality. He attended the military school for non-commissioned officers and the Military Academy. He completed a battalion commander’s course in engineering. He joined the Zvornik Brigade at the beginning of the war in 1992, when the brigade was formed, and remained until after the war. During the time period relevant to the Indictment, he was the Chief of Engineering of the 1st Zvornik Infantry Brigade and held the rank of Major. He is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Operations Department of the VRS 5th Corps located in Sokolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

POSITION AND/OR SUPERIOR AUTHORITY OF THE ACCUSED

2. In July 1995, DRAGAN JOKIC held the rank of Major with the position Chief of Engineering of the Zvornik Brigade. As Chief of Engineering he was a member of the Brigade staff, and was the advisor to the Brigade Commander and to the Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander for matters relating to Engineering Services such as defence works, mining activities, road construction and excavation projects. He was also responsible for planning, directing, organising and monitoring the activities of the Zvornik Brigade Engineering Company, and was empowered to issue orders to the Engineering Company which implemented the directives of the Brigade Commander and/or the Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander.

3. In addition, DRAGAN JOKIC was the Duty Officer of the Zvornik Brigade for a 24 hour period from the morning of 14 July 1995 through the morning of 15 July 1995. In that capacity, he was the designated representative of the Brigade Commander or Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander, and remained present at the Brigade Headquarters during this period of duty. In that regard, operational orders from the Superior Command (Drina Corps and Main Staff) passed through him, and reports from the Zvornik Brigade to the Superior Command were either written by him, or relayed through him. In the event that the Commander or Chief of Staff was temporarily absent from the Headquarters during the duty period, the Duty Officer would ensure that their orders to subordinates were sent, and reports from these subordinates were received in a timely manner. These reports would be relayed by the Duty Officer to the Commander or Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander as required. The Duty Officer is the central point of co-ordination and communications for the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility.

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS

4. At all times relevant to this Indictment, a state of armed conflict existed in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

5. At all relevant times, DRAGAN JOKIC was required to abide by the laws and customs governing the conduct of war.

6. All acts and omissions charged as crimes against humanity were part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the Bosnian Muslim civilian population of Srebrenica and its surroundings.

7. DRAGAN JOKIC is individually responsible for the crimes alleged against him in this Indictment, pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Tribunal Statute. Individual criminal responsibility includes planning, instigating, ordering, committing or otherwise aiding and abetting in the planning, preparation or execution of any crimes referred to in Articles 3 and 5 of the Tribunal Statute.

8. DRAGAN JOKIC participated in a criminal plan and enterprise, the common purpose of which was to detain, capture, summarily execute by firing squad and bury over five thousand Muslim men and boys from the Srebrenica enclave, including the exhumation of the victims’ bodies and re-burial in hidden locations, as set forth in this Indictment. This enterprise began on 11 July 1995 with the planning of the enterprise and ended on approximately 1 November 1995, as set forth herein. The members of this enterprise were Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic, Dragan Obrenovic, as described in this Indictment, and others within the armed forces and government of the Republika Srpska.

CHARGES

COUNT 1
(EXTERMINATION)

9. Between about 11 July 1995 and 1 November 1995, DRAGAN JOKIC planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the organised mass execution and burial of thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys who had been transported by the VRS to the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility from the area in and around Bratunac and Potocari.

10. The mass execution and burial of over five thousand Bosnian Muslim men and boys from the Srebrenica "safe area" occurred in several different locations in and around the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility, from 14 July 1995 until 19 July 1995, including:

10.1 Orahovac (near Lazete): On or about 14 July 1995, VRS military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, transported hundreds of Bosnian Muslim men and boys from in and around Bratunac, in the Bratunac Brigade zone of responsibility, to the Grbavci School in the village of Orahovac, in the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility. On 14 July 1995, VRS military personnel from the Military Police Company of the Zvornik Brigade under the command and control of Dragan Obrenovic, guarded and blindfolded the Bosnian Muslim males detained at the Grbavci School. On 14 July, VRS military personnel transported the Bosnian Muslim males from the school at Grbavci to a nearby field. Once there, VRS military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic, and Dragan Obrenovic, ordered the Bosnian Muslim males off the trucks and summarily executed them with automatic weapons. Approximately 800 to 1000 Bosnian Muslim males were killed. On or about 14 and early morning hours of 15 July 1995, VRS military personnel from the Zvornik Brigade Engineering Company, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic, and Dragan Obrenovic, used heavy equipment to bury the victims in mass graves at the execution site, while the executions continued. In the evening, lights from the engineering machinery illuminated the execution and burial sites during the executions. DRAGAN JOKIC, as Chief of Engineering of the Zvornik Brigade, assisted in the planning, monitoring, organising and carrying out of the burials involved in the murder operation. DRAGAN JOKIC, as Brigade Duty Officer on 14 and 15 July 1995, assisted in coordinating communication between VRS officers and commands involving the transportation, detention, execution and burial of Srebrenica Muslims and issued or transmitted reports and updates to superiors on the progress of the overall murder operation.

10.2 The Petkovci School and the "Dam" near Petkovci: On or about 14 July 1995, VRS military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, transported approximately 800 to 1000 Bosnian Muslim males from detention sites in and around Bratunac to the school at Petkovci which was located inside the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility. On or about 14 July 1995, VRS military personnel under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, struck, beat, assaulted and shot with automatic weapons, Muslim males being detained at the school. Also on or about the evening of 14 July 1995 and the early morning hours of 15 July 1995, VRS military personnel from the Zvornik Brigade under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and Dragan Obrenovic, transported approximately 800 to 1000 Bosnian Muslim males from the school at Petkovci to an area below the Dam near Petkovci, also in the zone of responsibility of the Zvornik Brigade. The Bosnian Muslim men were assembled below the Dam and summarily executed by VRS soldiers with automatic weapons, under the command of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others. On or about the morning of 15 July 1995, VRS military personnel from the Engineering Company of the Zvornik Brigade, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and Dragan Obrenovic, used excavators and other heavy equipment to dispose of the victims while the executions continued. DRAGAN JOKIC, as Chief of Engineering of the Zvornik Brigade, assisted in the planning, monitoring, organising and carrying out of the burials involved in the murder operation. DRAGAN JOKIC, as the Zvornik Brigade Duty Officer on 14 and 15 July 1995, assisted in coordinating communications between VRS officers and commands involving the tranportation, detention, execution, and burial of Srebrenica Muslims and issued or transmitted reports and updates to superiors on the progress of the overall murder operation.

10.3 Pilica School: On or about 14 and 15 July 1995, VRS military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, transported approximately 1200 Bosnian Muslim males from detention sites in Bratunac to the school at Pilica, which was located inside the zone of responsibility of the Zvornik Brigade. On or about 14 and 15 July 1995, VRS military personnel with automatic weapons, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, summarily executed many of the Bosnian Muslim males who had arrived, or were being detained, at the school. On 17 July 1995, the Engineering Company of the Zvornik Brigade, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, using Zvornik Brigade heavy equipment, buried the victims of the Pilica School executions in a mass grave at the Branjevo Military Farm. DRAGAN JOKIC, as Chief of Engineering of the Zvornik Brigade assisted in the planning, monitoring, organising and carrying out of the burials involved in the murder operation.

10.4 Branjevo Military Farm: On or about the morning of 16 July 1995, VRS military personnel transported approximately 1200 Bosnian Muslim males from the Pilica school by bus to the Branjevo Military Farm. After the Bosnian Muslim males arrived at the Branjevo Military Farm, they were summarily executed by automatic weapon fire from members of the 10th Sabotage Detachment and the Bratunac Brigade, all under the command of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others. On or about 17 July 1995, the Engineering Company of the Zvornik Brigade, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, using Zvornik Brigade heavy equipment, buried hundreds of victims in a mass grave located at the Branjevo Military Farm. DRAGAN JOKIC, as Chief of Engineering of the Zvornik Brigade assisted in the planning, monitoring, organising and carrying out of the burials involved in the murder operation.

10.5 Pilica Cultural Centre: On or about 16 July 1995, VRS

military personnel from the Bratunac Brigade, under the command of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic, and others, after participating in the Branjevo Military Farm executions, travelled a short distance to the village of Pilica and with automatic weapons, summarily executed approximately 500 men inside the Pilica Cultural Centre. On 17 July 1995, the Engineering Company of the Zvornik Brigade, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, using Zvornik Brigade heavy equipment, buried the victims of the Pilica Cultural Centre executions in a mass grave at the Branjevo Military Farm. DRAGAN JOKIC, as Chief of Engineering of the Zvornik Brigade assisted in the planning, monitoring, organising and carrying out of the burials involved in the murder operation.

10.6 Kozluk: On or about 15 or 16 July 1995, VRS military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, transported approximately 500 Bosnian Muslim males to an isolated place near Kozluk, a city inside the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility. They were then summarily executed by VRS military personnel with automatic weapons. On or about 16 July 1995, VRS military personnel from the Engineering Company of the Zvornik Brigade, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, buried the victims of the execution in a mass grave at the site. DRAGAN JOKIC, as Chief of Engineering for the Zvornik Brigade, assisted in the planning, monitoring, organising and carrying out of the burials involved in the murder operation.

By his respective acts and omissions described in paragraphs 9 through 10 above, DRAGAN JOKIC committed:

COUNT 1: Extermination, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, punishable under Articles 5(b) and 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

COUNTS 2 - 3
(MURDER)

11. The Prosecutor re-alleges and reincorporates by reference paragraphs 9 through 10 above.

By his respective acts and omissions described in paragraphs 9 through 10, DRAGAN JOKIC committed:

COUNT 2: Murder, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, punishable under Articles 5(a) and 7(1)of the Statute of the Tribunal;

and,

COUNT 3: Murder, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 and 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal, as recognised by Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions.

COUNT 4
(PERSECUTION)

12. The Prosecutor re-alleges and reincorporates by reference paragraphs 9 through 10 above.

13. Beginning on 11 July 1995 and continuing through 1 November 1995, DRAGAN JOKIC planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted the planning, preparation, or execution of a crime against humanity, that is, the persecution of Bosnian Muslim civilians on political, racial, or religious grounds, in Srebrenica and its environs.

14. The crime of persecution was perpetrated, executed, and carried out by or through the following means:

a) the cruel and inhumane treatment of Bosnian Muslim civilians and prisoners of war, including severe beatings and terrorisation, during the process of transportation to and imprisonment in the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility; and,

b) the murder of thousands of Bosnian Muslim civilians and prisoners of war in the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility.

By these acts or omissions, and by his respective acts and omissions described in paragraphs 9 through 10, DRAGAN JOKIC committed:

COUNT 4: Persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, punishable under Article 5(h) and 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

15. After armed conflict erupted in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the spring of 1992, Bosnian Serb military and paramilitary forces occupied cities, towns and villages in the eastern part of the country and participated in an ethnic cleansing campaign which resulted in an exodus of Bosnian Muslim civilians to enclaves in Srebrenica, Gorazde and Zepa.

16. On 16 April 1993, the Security Council of the United Nations, acting pursuant to Chapter VII of its Charter, adopted Resolution 819, in which it demanded that all parties to the conflict in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina treat Srebrenica and its surroundings as a "safe area" which was to be free from any armed attack or any other hostile act.

17. On or about 6 July 1995, units of the Drina Corps of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) shelled Srebrenica and attacked Dutch-manned United Nations observation posts that were located in the "safe area". The Drina Corps attack on the Srebrenica "safe area" continued through 11 July 1995, when forces from the Drina Wolves, the Bratunac Brigade and other units of the VRS entered Srebrenica.

18. The Bosnian Muslim men, women and children who were in Srebrenica after the beginning of the VRS attack took two courses of action. Several thousand women, children and some mostly elderly men fled to the UN compound in Potocari, located within the "safe area" of Srebrenica, where they sought the protection of the Dutch Battalion. The Bosnian Muslim civilians remained in and around Potocari from 11 July until 13 July 1995, when they were forcibly transported by buses and trucks under the control of the VRS.

19. A second group of approximately 15,000 Bosnian Muslim men, with some women and children, gathered at Susnjari village near Srebrenica during the evening of 11 July 1995 and fled, in a huge column, through the woods towards Tuzla. Approximately one-third of this group consisted of armed Bosnian Muslim military personnel. The rest were unarmed military personnel and civilians.

20. On 12 July 1995, Ratko Mladic and Radislav Krstic, as well as other VRS and Bosnian Serb civilian representatives, met in the Hotel Fontana in Bratunac with Dutch military officers and representatives of the Bosnian Muslim refugees from Potocari. At this meeting, Ratko Mladic explained to the group that he would supervise the transportation of refugees from Potocari and wanted to see all the Bosnian Muslim males between approximately the ages of 16 and 60 to screen for possible war criminals.

21. On 12 July 1995, in the presence of Ratko Mladic and Radislav Krstic, approximately 50 to 60 buses and trucks arrived near the UN military compound in Potocari. Shortly after the arrival of these vehicles, the forcible transportation process of Bosnian Muslim refugees started. As Bosnian Muslim women, children and men started to board the buses and trucks, Bosnian Serb military personnel separated the men from the women and children, confiscated and destroyed their personal property and detained the men in and around Potocari with no provisions for food or adequate amounts of water.

22. Between the evening of 11 July 1995 and the morning of 12 July 1995, the Bosnian Muslims who had gathered in Susnjari formed a huge column and began their trek through the woods towards Tuzla.

23. Bosnian Serb forces supported by armoured personnel carriers, tanks, anti-aircraft guns and artillery, positioned themselves along the Bratunac-Milici road and other locations in the areas of responsibility of the Milici, Bratunac and Zvornik Brigades of the VRS, in an attempt to intercept the column. Some of the armed members of the retreating column of Bosnian Muslims engaged in combat with the Bosnian Serb forces. On 12 and 13 July 1995 and thereafter, thousands of Bosnian Muslims from the retreating column were captured by, or surrendered to, Bosnian Serb military forces.

24. Between 11 July and 1 November 1995, VRS forces participated in numerous incidents of opportunistic killings of Bosnian Muslim males shortly after they had been captured, as well as systematic summary executions of Bosnian Muslim males who were initially detained and then forcibly transported to various execution sites throughout the territory under the control of the VRS Drina Corps. The VRS forces executed thousands of Bosnian Muslim males.

25. Between 10 July 1995 and 1 November 1995, the VRS forces, either expelled or killed most of the members of the Bosnian Muslim population of the Srebrenica enclave. As a result of these actions, the VRS forces virtually eliminated the presence of any Bosnian Muslims in the Srebrenica enclave area, thus continuing an ethnic cleansing campaign that had begun in the spring of 1992.

26. The wide-scale and organised killing of Bosnian Muslim males, which occurred in several different locations in and around the Srebrenica enclave from 11 July 1995 until about 1 November 1995, included:

26.1 Potocari: On 12 July 1995 and 13 July 1995, VRS military units including personnel from the Bratunac Brigade under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, summarily executed Bosnian Muslim males at various locations around the UN compound in Potocari, where the Bosnian Muslim males had taken refuge.

26.2 Kravica: On 13 July 1995, VRS soldiers under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, forcibly transported and summarily executed hundreds of Bosnian Muslim males who had been imprisoned in a large warehouse in the village of Kravica.

26.3 Bratunac: Between 12 July 1995 and 14 July 1995, VRS military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, forcibly transported many of the Bosnian Muslims males who had been detained in Potocari or captured along the Bratunac-Milici road to locations in and around Bratunac. Between 12 July 1995 and 15 July 1995, VRS military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, participated in numerous opportunistic killings of the detained Bosnian Muslim males at various locations throughout Bratunac.

26.4 Tisca: On 12 July and 13 July 1995, VRS military personnel under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, forcibly transported the Bosnian Muslim women and children, who had been separated from male members of their families in Potocari, to an area near Tisca village where they were permitted to cross into Bosnian Muslim territory. However, VRS military personnel identified and separated Bosnian Muslim males from this group and took them to an isolated pasture and summarily executed them.

26.5 Cerska Valley: On or about 13 July 1995, Bosnian Serb military personnel, under the command and control of Ratko Mladic, Radislav Krstic and others, forcibly transported 150 Bosnian Muslim males to an area along a dirt road in the Cerska Valley, and there summarily executed them.

26.6 Executions in Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility: Between 14 and 19 July 1995 thousands of Bosnian Muslims were captured and transported to the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility where they were executed. These executions occurred at Orahovac (near Lazete), the Petkovci School, the "Dam" near Petkovci, the Pilica School, the Branjevo Military Farm, Kozluk and Nezuk.

27. Between about 1 August 1995 and 1 November 1995, VRS units participated in an organised and comprehensive effort to conceal and cover up the killings and executions in the Zvornik and Bratunac Brigade zones of responsibility by digging up the bodies from the initial mass graves at: Branjevo Military Farm; Kozluk; the "Dam" near Petkovci; Orahovac; and Glogova; and transferring them to secondary graves at: twelve sites along the Cancari Road (containing bodies from Branjevo Military Farm and Kozluk); four sites near Liplje (containing bodies from the "Dam" near Petkovci); seven sites near Hodzici (containing bodies from Orahovac); and six sites near Zeleni Jadar (containing bodies from Glogova).

Done this _____ day of May 2001
Graham Blewitt
Deputy Prosecutor

The Hague, The Netherlands