The Prosecutor v. Radisav Ljubinac

Court	Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber (Section I), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Case number	X-KR-05/154
Decision title	Verdict
Decision date	25 April 2007
Parties	The Prosecutor Radisav Ljubinac
Categories	Crimes against humanity
Keywords	crimes against humanity, deprivation of liberty, extermination, other inhumane acts, persecution
Links	Verdict
Other countries involved	Croatia (Hrvatska) Serbia-Montenegro

Summary

During the armed conflict that took place on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, Bosnian Serb forces including the Army of the Republika Srpska (RS), the Police and paramilitary forces perpetrated attacks against the civilian population in the Rogatica municipality by detaining, murdering, raping and abusing persons of Muslim and Croat ethnicity. The Accused, Radisav Ljubinac, was a member of the RS living in Rogatica in 1995.

By a judgment of 25 April 2007, Section I of the War Crimes Chamber in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted the Accused of crimes against humanity. The Court found that the Accused acted as the driver transferring women, children and a small number of remaining adult men from the villages and settlements in Seljani to the camp in Rogatica and from then on, transferring the women and children to Hreša. He also drove a group of civilians, including children, to the village of Duljevac whereupon they were used as human shields in front of the Serb soldiers. The Court also found that on a number of occassions, the Accused kicked and punched the detained civilians at the Rasadnik camp. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Procedural history

On 20 December 2005, the Accused, Radisav Ljubinac, entered the custody of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On 8 May 2006, the Prosecutor’s Office indicted the Accused on four countrs of crimes against humanity: murder, forcible transfer of population, imprisonment and other inhumane acts. On 15 May 2006, the indictment against the Accused was confirmed.

On 5 June 2006, the Accused pleaded not guilty at a hearing before the Court.

A status conference was held on 30 August 2006 and the main trial commenced on 7 September 2006.

Related developments

On 4 October 2007, the Appellate Panel of the Court issued the final verdict rejecting the appeals filed by the Prosecutor’s office and the Accused.

Legally relevant facts

On 3 and 4 August 1992, the Accused took part in the forcible transfer of women, children and a small number of remaning adult men from the villages and settlements of the Local Community Seljani in the municipality of Rogatica to the camp which was based at the Secondary School Center Veljko Vlahović in Rogatica.

On 5 August 1992, after the men had been separated from the women and children at thHree Secondary School, the Accused took part in the forcible transfer of the women and children to Hreša in the municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo.

Between end of June and October 1992, the Accused, on a number of occassions, kicked and punched the detained civilians at the Rasadnik camp near Rogatica.

On 15 August 1992, the Accused drove 27 civilians from Rogatica, including four children, to the village of Duljevac whereupon they were used as a human shield in front of Serb soldiers during the attack on Jačen (p. 2).

At the time of the relevant facts, the Accused was a member of the Serbian Army (RS) (p. 25).

Core legal questions

What are the contextual elements of crimes against humanity under the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Specific legal rules and provisions

Articles 172(1)(a), (d), (e), (h), (k) and 180(1) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Court's holding and analysis

There are three contextual elements of crimes against humanity: (1) the existence of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population; (2) the Accused knew of the existence of such an attack; and (3) the acts of the Accused were part of the attack and he knew that his acts were part of the attack (p. 25).

The Court inferred the Accused’s knowledge of the existence of a widespread and systematic attack from the fact that the Accused was staying in the area of the Rogatica municipality, was a member of the Serbian Army and travelled around Rogatica freely including spending time at the prison camp at the Secondary School Veljko Vlahovic (pp. 25-26).

The Accused was convicted of the crimes against humanity of forcible transfer and other inhumane acts (p. 26, 29, 32). He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment (p. 40).