 Serbian war criminal |
The Hague Prosecution has proposed to the Court changes to the indictment against Ratko Mladic, former Commander of the Main Headquarters with the Republika Srpska Army, who is a fugitive.
As stated by the Hague Prosecution the indictment has been revised in order to “harmonize it with the Hague Tribunal’s practices and include new pieces
of evidence gathered from 2002 until now”.
The Hague Tribunal will render a decision concerning confirmation of the revised indictment at a later stage.
The first indictment against Mladic was filed in 1995. It charged Mladic and Radovan Karadzic with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the sniper campaign in Sarajevo.
Mladic, former Commander of the Main Headquarters with the Republika Srpska Army, is a fugitive. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, has issued a warrant for his arrest.
The proposed indictment charges Mladic, under 11 counts, with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war, related to “ethnic cleansing” committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, the campaign of terror against Sarajevo citizens, the taking of hostages, and genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995.
The former indictment against Mladic contained 15 counts. The Prosecution says “the number of municipalities has not been reduced”, but “the allegations contained in the indictment have been restructured”.
“All municipalities covered in the indictment are tackled by at least one case conducted before the Hague Tribunal. It will therefore be possible to accept most pieces of evidence pertaining to the base of crimes committed in the municipalities as previously determined facts, which will reduce the time needed for the examination of witnesses,” Hague Prosecution representatives said.
Ratko Mladic is mentioned in the indictment against Radovan Karadzic as “one of the key accomplices in the joint criminal enterprise”. The Prosecution has therefore proposed to the Court to “harmonize the allegations contained in the indictments against Karadzic and Mladic”.
“In this way, the proposed indictment would enable joindering of these two cases if Mladic is arrested within a reasonable timeframe. Considering the fact that Karadzic and Mladic are the main members of the joint criminal enterprise mentioned in both indictments, it would be very appropriate to joinder the cases,” the Prosecution says.
The trial of Karadzic, former President and Supreme Commander of the Republika Srpska armed forces, for genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war, began in October last year. Karadzic was a fugitive for more than ten years.