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(Photo provided courtesy of the ICTY)

(Photo provided courtesy of the ICTY)

The Prosecutor v. Zlatko Aleksovski

Court International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Trial Chamber I, The Netherlands
Case number IT-95-14/1-T
Decision title Judgment
Decision date 25 June 1999
Parties
  • The Prosecutor
  • Zlatko Aleksovski
Categories War crimes
Keywords aiding and abetting, grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, human rights, Lašva Valley, outrages upon personal dignity, violations of the laws or customs of war
Links
Other countries involved
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Summary

Zlatko Aleksovski was brought before the ICTY for his role in the commission of crimes against the detainees of the Kaonik prison in the Lašva Valley area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the hostilities between the Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim forces, the facility was used as a detention place for Bosnian Muslims. The detainees were subjected to physical and mental mistreatments. Furthermore, they were used as human shields and for trench digging. Aleksovski was the commander of the Kaonik prison from January 1993 till May 1993.

Trial Chamber I found that the Prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to support that Aleksovski was responsible for the conditions at the Kaonik prison in the Lašva Valley area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Accordingly, Aleksovski was found not guilty of the grave breaches of inhuman treatment and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health. 

However, Trial Chamber I found Aleksovski guilty of outrages upon personal dignity (as a violation of the laws or customs of war) for his role in the infliction of violence on the Muslim detainees and for using them as human shields and for trench digging. Aleksovski was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment. 

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Procedural history

The indictment was filed on 10 November 1995. The trial commenced on 6 January 1998 and closing arguments were heard between 22 and 23 March 1999. 

On 7 May 1999, Trial Chamber I rendered its oral judgment, convicting Aleksovski of outrages upon personal dignity (as a violation of the laws or customs of war). See ICTY Press Release, 'Aleksovski Case: The Judgement Of The Trial Chamber', 7 May 1999.

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Related developments

On 17 and 19 May 1999, the Defence and the Prosecution filed notices of appeal against both the judgment and the sentence imposed by Trial Chamber I. 

The Appeals Chamber rendered its oral judgment on 9 February 2000, followed by its written judgment on 24 March 2000, sentencing Aleksovski to 7 years of imprisonment.  

On 22 September 2000, Aleksovski was transferred to Finland to serve his sentence (see ICTY Press Release, 'Zlatko Aleksovski and Anto Furundzija transferred to Finland to Serve Sentences', 25 September 2000. And on 14 November 2001, Aleksovski was granted early release.

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Legally relevant facts

The events giving rise to the case have occurred in 1993 in the Kaonik prison in the Lašva Valley area of central Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the autumn of 1992, clashes began between the forces of the Bosnian Croats (HVO) and the Bosnian Muslims in the area of the Lašva Valley, resulting in an outbreak of hostilities by the beginning of 1993. During these hostilities, the HVO forces captured and detained Bosnian Muslim men at the Kaonik prison. Those detained were subjected to physical and mental mistreatments. Furthermore, they were used as human shields and for trench digging. Aleksovski was the commander of the Kaonik prison from January 1993 till May 1993 (para. 20 et seq.).

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Core legal questions

  • Have the elements of the charged crimes been fulfilled?
  • If so, can Zlatko Aleksovski be held liable for those crimes?

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Specific legal rules and provisions

  • Articles 2, 3, 7(1) and 7(3) ICTY Statute.

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Court's holding and analysis

Trial Chamber I found that “[t]he Prosecution has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did not take the measures incumbent upon and available to him, or, conversely, that he deliberately ordered or allowed these poor detention conditions to arise.  The abuses of these human rights do not in the circumstances constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law which the Tribunal was set up to safeguard” (para. 221). 

Trial Chamber I found that “the violence inflicted on the Muslim detainees of Kaonik prison [Bosnia and Herzegovina] appears to be a reprehensible infringement of international human rights which would be absolutely unacceptable in times of peace … [and] the violence in question constitutes an outrage upon personal dignity … a violation of the laws or customs of war within the meaning of Article 3 of the Statute for which the accused must be held responsible under Articles 7(1) and 7(3) of the Tribunal’s Statute.” (para. 228). Furthermore, “the use of detainees as human shields or trench-diggers constitutes an outrage upon personal dignity protected by Article 3 of the Statute for which the accused must be held guilty under Article 7(1), that is, for aiding and abetting” (para. 229). 

Aleksovski was sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment.

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Instruments cited

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Related cases

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Additional materials