Briefly Noted
Compiled by Alison Freebairn in The Hague (TU No 366, 09-Jul-04)
Briefly Noted
Compiled by Alison Freebairn in The Hague (TU No 366, 09-Jul-04)
The prisoner, who was moved to Austria on July 6, was a member of the Serb paramilitary groups allegedly set up by war crimes suspect Milan Lukic in 1992, and which conducted a reign of terror against Visegrad's majority Muslim population in the early stages of the war in Bosnia.
Among other charges, he was found guilty of involvement in the June 1992 murders of five men near the Drina river, and the wounding of two others who were left for dead but survived.
Sentencing him in November 2002, the trial chamber - led by presiding judge David Anthony Hunt - noted that Vasiljevic had "incurred individual criminal responsibility for the crime of persecution as a crime against humanity in relation to the murder of five men and... inhumane acts against two survivors".
He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, but in February of this year the Appeal Chamber reduced to 15 years on appeal.
Milan Lukic and Sredoje Lukic, both of whom were indicted alongside Vasiljevic, remain at large.
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Serbia is still looking for a volunteer to serve as chairman of its National Council for Cooperation with the Hague tribunal.
The Beta news agency reports that while the council of ministers of Serbia and Montenegro has approved the mandates of the body's members, the appointment of the chair will be left until the next session, which could be as early as next week.
The Serbian media claims that former foreign affairs minister Vuk Draskovic has refused the post, which was previously held by Goran Svilanovic.
Once a president is elected, the council make have to make a decision on how to handle the issue of four Serbian generals who have been indicted by The Hague.
