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Indonesia’s invasion of Timor-Leste in 1975 marked the beginning of almost 25 years of immense atrocities and human rights abuses, resulting in the deaths of nearly one third of the population of Timor-Leste from starvation, disease, and the use of napalm. Indonesia eventually withdrew in 1999 following international pressure; Timor-Leste achieved full independence in 2002. The Special Panels for Serious Crimes was established to prosecute persons responsible for the serious crimes committed in 1999, including genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, sexual offenses and torture.

The accused was a former farmer and a leader of the Sakunar militia group in the village of Naetuna. He was indicted for the murder of an independence supporter who was beaten and stabbed repeatedly on his orders as part of a raid carried out against a village housing such supporters. The accused pled guilty to the charge. The Special Panel, after establishing the facts of the case and the validity of the guilty plea, entered a sentence of 7 years’ imprisonment after considering that admitting to guilt merits a substantial reduction in the usual sentence handed out by Timorese courts for murder, which ranges from 12 to 16 years. 

Indonesia illegally occupied East Timor from 1975 until 2002. During that time, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and some 24 local militia groups in favour of Indonesian autonomy targeted the civilian population, particularly those suspected of being independence supporters. In September 1999, a referendum was held in which the Timorese people voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. As a result of this vote, members of the Besih Merah Putih (BMP) militia group launched a renewed campaign against independence supporters. In the course of this campaign, a number of villages were attacked, houses burnt down and individuals murdered or deported to West Timor.

Anastacio Martins and Domingos Goncalves were BMP members who were convicted by the Special Panels for Serious Crimes for their role in these attacks. Martins was convicted for two counts of murder as a crime against humanity and sentenced to 11 years 6 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty; Goncalves was convicted for one count of murder and one count of deportation as crimes against humanity and received a 15-year sentence. The judgment is particularly noteworthy because the Special Panels disagreed with an earlier Court of Appeal decision and held that the applicable law in 1999 and therefore the law to be applied by the Panels was Indonesian, and not Portuguese. 

Ranko Češić was brought before the ICTY for his role in the commission of crimes in collection centers in the municipality of Brčko (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in May 1992. On 8 October 2003, Češić pleaded guilty to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and subsequently, the Trial Chamber entered a finding of guilt.

In order to assess the appropriate sentence for Češić, Trial Chamber I balanced the gravity of the offences, the aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

With respect to the gravity of the crimes, Trial Chamber I considered that the high number of murders and the violation of the moral and physical integrity of the rape victims were factors that underlined the seriousness of the committed crimes.

Trial Chamber I also found that the vulnerability of the victims, the cruelty and depravity shown during the commission of the crimes and the exacerbated humiliation of the victims were all aggravating factors. Conversely, three mitigating circumstances were accorded relevance, namely, Češić's guilty plea, cooperation with the Prosecution, and his remorse.

Češić was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment.

Miroslav Deronjić was indicted for his role in the commission of crimes in the village of Glogova (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in May 1992. The attack resulted in the deaths of Bosnian Muslims and the destruction of their properties, homes, and religious institutions. Deronjić pleaded guilty to the charge of persecution as a crime against humanity and, subsequently, Trial Chamber II found him guilty.

In order to determine the appropriate sentence, Trial Chamber II balanced the gravity of the offence, the aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

It held that the large number of casualties, the extensively planned attack, Deronjić's abuse of his political position, and the acceptance of a false statement suggesting safety for the Muslims of Glogova were relevant aggravating factors. Trial Chamber II concluded that the relevant mitigating circumstances were Deronjić's guilty plea, his co-operation with the Prosecution and the Tribunal, his remorse, and contribution to the prevention of massacres, such as the Srebrenica massacre of July 1995, from happening again.

Based on these factors, Trial Chamber II handed down a sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

Tihomir Blaškić was brought before the ICTY for his role as Commander of the armed forces of the Croatian Defence Council during the events that took place in the area of Lašva Valley (Bosnia and Herzegovina) between May 1992 and January 1994. The Trial Chamber found him responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 45 years of imprisonment. 

The Appeals Chamber found numerous errors in the trial judgment. 

Firstly, it held that the mental requirement for the mode of responsibility of ordering a crime under the Statute of the Tribunal was erroneously determined. Convicting Blaškić on the basis of the same facts under two separate modes of responsibility was also found to be an error. Secondly, the Appeals Chamber found that the Trial Chamber made errors in its assessment of the contextual requirements of crimes against humanity. And thirdly, the Appeals Chamber acquitted Blaškić of several charges committed in various locations in central Bosnia since it found that the prerequisite elements of these crimes have not been fulfilled.

The Appeals Chamber concluded by reducing Blaškić' sentence to 9 years prison.