The Prosecutor v. Niset Ramić
| Court |
Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber (Section I), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Case number |
X-KR-06/197 |
| Decision title |
Verdict |
| Decision date |
17 July 2007 |
| Parties |
- The Prosecutor
- Niset Ramić
|
| Other names |
|
| Categories |
War crimes |
| Links |
|
back to topSummary
In the morning of 20 June 1992, a group of armed soldiers entered the settlement of Hlapčevići and surrounded the homes of Serb inhabitants. Ramić ordered these armed soldiers to take persons out of their houses, tie their hands with a cord and search their houses. After that, Ramić ordered them to move to the Youth Center of the municipality. At a certain point, the men were stopped and lined up against the wall of a house. One of them was asked for information regarding hidden weapons and minefields. When the questions remained unanswered, the accused shot at him and at the other civilians. He also shot a second time when they were lying on the ground. Three men died instantly, and one succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital. Two were seriously injured.
On 17 July 2007 by first instance verdict, Niset Ramić was found guilty of war crimes against civilians and sentenced to 30 years compound long-term imprisonment sentence.
back to topProcedural history
28 March 1990: Convicted by the Military Court in Ljubljana (LK-17/90) to imprisonment of three months, suspended sentence of one year, for the criminal offense in violation of Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia.
24 July 1996: Convicted by the High Court in Zenica (K-5/96) to imprisonment for a term of 20 years for the criminal offense in violation of Articles 151(1), 151(2) and 36 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This sentence was replaced by a sentence of 19 years’ imprisonment (through the Decision of the Presidency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina No. 01-602/97 of 3 September 1997) and reduced by 4 months through Decision No. 01-011-765/98 of the same Presidency of 24 November 1998.
30 July 2001: Convicted by the Municipal Court in Vitez (K-267/98) to imprisonment for a term of four years for the criminal offense in violation of Article 36 (1), in conjunction with Article 19 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
19 October 2001: Convicted by the Cantonal Court in Zenica (KV-152/01) for the criminal offense of Aggravated Cases of Theft in the Nature of Robbery and Robbery, in violation of Article 151 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the criminal offense of Murder, in violation of Article 36 (2) 4) of the Criminal Code the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
16 January 2003: Convicted by the Cantonal Court in Zenica (K-70/97) to imprisonment for the term of one year for the criminal offense in violation of Article 151(1) of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
20 July 2005: Convicted by the Cantonal Court in Zenica number (Kv-52/05) to a compound prison sentence of 20 years.
On 13 October 2006, a preliminary hearing judge of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed an indictment against the accused, charging him with war crimes against civilians. The indictment is available at: http://www.asser.nl/upload/documents/20130226T023546-Ramic_Niset_indictment_10-10-2006.pdf (last accessed on 20 April 2013).
back to topRelated developments
On 21 November 2007, the Panel of the Appellate division of the War Crimes Section confirmed Ramić's sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment.
back to topLegally relevant facts
In the 1990s, the Territorial Defense (TO) of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was in an armed conflict with the Army of the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the early morning of 20 June 1992, the accused, a member of a sabotage unit within the 2nd Detachment of the Municipal Staff of the TO in Visoko, came to the settlement of Hlapčevići to look for weapons and ordered a group of around eight soldiers whom he led to surround and search Serb inhabitants’ houses. Several civilians were captured and tied up. The accused then ordered them to go towards the Youth Center of the municipality. At a certain point, he stopped them and lined them up against a wall of a house. One person was asked about the location of hidden weapons and minefields. When this person did not respond, Ramić shot him with an automatic firearm. He then turned to the others and shot them too. While lying on the ground, the civilians were shot a second time. The armed men then left. The indictment states that by doing so, Ramić, violating the provisions of Article 3 (1) a) and Article 31 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, committed murder by attacking the civilian population, the attack resulting in four deaths and grave bodily injuries of two civilians. He also committed the criminal offense of War Crimes against Civilians in violation of Article 173 (1) a) and c) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in conjunction with Article 180 (1) of the said Code.
back to topCore legal questions
- Are the criteria of Article 173(1) CC BiH fulfilled (namely, 1. the act must be committed in violation of international law; 2. the violation must take place in time of war or armed conflict; 3. the act of the perpetrator must be related to war or armed conflict and 4. the perpetrator must order or perpetrate the act) and can the Accused therefore be convicted for war crimes?
- Were the persons who were captured and injured or killed civilians (civilians enjoy special protection under the rules of international humanitarian law, pp. 7-9)?
- How to assess the Accused's mental state (since an expert witness explained that symptoms of post-traumatic stress and a personality disorder could be connected to the him, p. 22) and what effect would the outcome have on an eventual conviction and/or the sentencing?
back to topSpecific legal rules and provisions
- Articles 173(1) and 180(1) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Articles 3(1) and 31 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
- Article 2(b) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.
back to topCourt's holding and analysis
Regarding the first criterion of Article 173(1), the Panel noted that it was obvious that the criminal action was directed against civilians and contrary to the rules of international law. Namely to Article 3(1) a) of the Geneva Conventions (pp. 12-13).
Since Article 3(1) a) was violated, an international armed conflict is no requirement; also non-international armed conflicts fulfil the criterion (p. 14). At the time of the acts, Ramić was a member of the military machinery of the Territorial Defence. His actions took place in an armed conflict, and since he was involved in carrying out the assignment, the Panel determined that the acts were related to the armed conflict (pp. 16-17).
Several testimonies and an analysis of the material evidence showed that Ramić was in fact the person firing at the group of men.
Therefore, to sum up, the Panel had no doubt that the event took place almost exactly as described in the indictment. (p. 25.)
Regarding the accused’s mental state, the Panel determined that his mental capacity was diminished at the time of the criminal offense, but not considerably (p. 22).
On 17 July 2007, by first instance verdict, Niset Ramić was found guilty of war crimes against civilians and sentenced to 30 years compound long term imprisonment sentence.
back to topFurther analysis
back to topInstruments cited
back to topRelated cases
- ICTY, Appeals Chamber, The Prosecutor v. Duško Tadić, Case No. IT-94-1-A, Judgement, 15 July 1999;
- ICTY, Appeals Chamber, The Prosecutor v. Delalic and others, Case No.: IT-96-21-A, Judgement, 20 February 2001;
- ICTY, Appeals Chamber, The Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vukovic, Case No.: IT-96-23& IT-96-23/1-A, Judgement, 12 June 2002: #68.
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