Search results

On 12 August 2001, a group of armed individuals under the leadership of Johan Tarčulovski entered the village of Ljuboten in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The men targeted ethnic Albanians through shootings, setting houses on fire and mistreating the captured people. During this time, Ljube Boškoski was the Minister of Interior of FYROM.

 Trial Chamber II examined the incidents at Ljuboten and other locations. It concluded with respect to Boškoski that he knew that crimes were being committed in and around Ljuboten, and since he reported the incidents to the authorities that should have investigated these allegations, fulfilled his obligations to take steps to punish those who were responsible. Accordingly, he cannot be held guilty on any of the charges.

 Tarculovski, on the other hand, was actively participating in the events of 12 August 2001. He was the leader of the operation and participant in the events. Therefore, Trial Chamber II found him guilty for the war crimes of murder, wanton destruction and cruel treatment. He was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment.

After the takeover of Srebrenica on 11 July 1995, several thousands of Bosniak men fled and attempted to reach Bosnian territory. Many of them were detained and over one thousand men were brought to a warehouse and executed. It is up to the Court to decide whether 10 men who allegedly were involved in the capturing, detaining and killing of these Bosniaks can be found guilty of genocide.

These men were certainly not the genocide masterminds, but members of a police force. The Court states that in a case of genocide, a distinction must be made between those who conceived and directed the acts of genocide (referred to as a joint criminal enterprise) and the common soldiers. Where the former group can be held accountable for all crimes that ensued, the latter group is only responsible for the acts they physically participated in. However, after the Court reviewed several witness statements, it considered Stevanovic’s presence during the transferring of prisoners and their execution unproven and his role in all this to be trivial. According to the Court, when Stevanovic became aware of what was expected of him, he was distinctly unhappy about and therefore he removed himself from the scene. As such, neither genocidal intent nor his participation in acts of genocide could be proven; the Court acquitted him from all charges.

On 9 November 2004, Jose Louis Nazario Jr. was serving in  Iraq as a member of the US Armed Forces. Nazario was leading a squad of 13 Marines on house-to-house searches. During these searches, Nazario allegedly killed two Iraqis, and encouraged two squad members to shoot two others. The alleged acts took place in Fallujah, Iraq.

In 2007, Jose Louis Nazario was brought before the US District Court in California. He was the first veteran to be tried in a civilian US court for alleged war crimes in Iraq.

The defence argued that there was no evidence of a deceased person, nor had the government provided a name or a sufficient description of any of the alleged victims. Deliberating in less than six hours, the jury found Nazario not guilty of manslaughter or assault. Jose Louis Nazario Jr. was acquitted on all charges on 28 August 2008.