Search results

Mirko Pekez (son of Mile), Mirko Pekez (son of Špiro), and Milorad Savić were all born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which began in April 1992 and ended in November 1995, the three of them were members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (VRS). 

On 10 September 1992, members of the VRS took Bosnian civilians out of their homes in Ljoljići-Čerkazovići located in the municipality of Jajce (central Bosnia and Herzegovina), and subsequently brought them to the nearby village of Draganovac where they were lined up against the edge of an abyss before being shot. Mirko Pekez (son of Mile), Mirko Pekez (son of Špiro), and Milorad Savić were charged for their participation in the killing of 23 and the wounding of four of the Bosnian civilians. On 29 September 2008, the Appellate Panel of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Pekez (son of Mile) guilty for the crimes, and ordered a retrial.  

T, a Rwandan national who had lived in exile in Denmark under a false name since 2001, was brought before a Danish court in 2011 for committing genocide, namely heading a death squad and participating in the slaughter of 25,000 Tutsis in a Rwandan town in 1994.

While the Rwandan authorities requested T's extradition in February 2012, the Danish Supreme Court decided on 26 April 2012 that T. could be prosecuted in Denmark for genocide. Nevertheless, on 29 June 2012 the Minister of Justice decided that T. was to be extradited to Rwanda. T. challenged this decision, but both the first instance and appeals courts dismissed his arguments.

In last instance, the Supreme Court found, referring inter alia to the Sweden v. Ahorugeze-decision on extradition in a rather similar situation, that there was no reason to not extradite T. It confirmed the earlier decisions.

On 26 August 2016, the Larmond brothers and Suliman Mohamed pleaded guilty to terrorist offences related to the Islamic State and Syria. They had planned to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State and had attempted this travel on several occasions. One of the twin brothers, Ashton Larmond, was the group’s leader and had previously had his passport revoked prior to heading to Syria via Turkey. His twin brother, Carlos Larmond, was arrested at the airport on his way to Syria, via India. Suliman Mohamed had planned to travel to Syria but had not been able to obtain a passport. In their sentencing remarks, Judge McKinnon compared home grown terrorists, such as the defendants, to “a particularly virulent form of cancer that must be aggressively eradicated”. Ashton was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment, and Carlos and Suliman were both sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment. 

Radmilo Vuković was born on 28 July 1952 in the village of Rataje located in the municipality of Foča, southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his capacity as member of the military forces of the so-called Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as “Republika Srpska”, Vuković allegedly had sexual intercourse with a woman from the Foča municipality without her consent. On 13 August 2008, the Appeals Panel of the War Crimes section of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not find Vuković guilty, because the main piece of evidence provided by the victim and presented before the Appellate Panel contained inconsistencies. Therefore, it could not be established beyond reasonable doubt that Vuković raped the woman.

On 20 June 1992 in the village of Hlapčevići, Ramić ordered a group of around eight soldiers to surround three Serb inhabitants’ houses. Following this, together with other soldiers, he took six individuals of Serb ethnicity out of the houses and ordered them to move toward the Youth Centre in the village of Hlapčevići. On their way to the Centre, Ramić stopped the group and called one person to step out and to inform him about the location of hidden weapons and minefields. After this person did not answer, Ramić shot him with an automatic firearm, and then turned to the other captured civilians and fired at them as well. As a consequence, four civilians were killed and two wounded. These acts constitute a violation of the rules of the laws of war, as set out in the Geneva Conventions.

Ramić pleaded not guilty. However on 17 July 2007 the Court sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment for War Crimes against Civilians. On 21 November 2007 the Appellate Panel issued the final verdict in the Ramić case, finding that the appeal was unfounded and that the Trial Panel’s verdict sentencing Ramić to 30 years of long-term imprisonment had to be upheld.