Briefly Noted

By IWPR staff in The Hague (TU No 433, 9-Dec-05)

Briefly Noted

By IWPR staff in The Hague (TU No 433, 9-Dec-05)

Monday, 19 December, 2005
IWPR

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Gojko Jankovic is charged with seven counts of crimes against humanity and seven of violations of the laws and customs of war for persecuting non-Serb civilians in Foca.



The indictment alleges that Jankovic was in charge of a group of soldiers who imprisoned, interrogated and raped women in three different detention facilities from July 3 and August 13, 1992. Jankovic is also charged with personally raping four young girls and women.



Jankovic surrendered to the tribunal in March this year after nine years on the run.



The transfer of his case to a local court is part of the tribunal’s plan to complete all court proceedings by 2010. So far, three cases concerning four accused have been returned for trial in local courts.



***



The trial of Milan Martic, former president of the Republika Srpska Krajina, is set to begin on December 13.



Martic is charged with ten counts of crimes against humanity and nine counts of violations of the laws or customs of war for crimes committed in Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina.



The indictment alleges that from January 1991 until August 1995, Martic held various leadership positions in the rebel Serb territory in Croatia.



Martic is charged with responsibility for the shelling of Zagreb in May 1995, and crimes against non-Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia carried out by his militia known as the “Martic Police”.



He was first transferred to the tribunal more than three years ago. He complained in September at a status conference that he was going to “set a record” for having spent the longest time in pre-trial detention.



His case was slated for joinder with Jovica Stanisic, Frenki Simatovic, and Vojislav Seselj, but last month judges ruled that a joint trial would not serve the purposes of judicial economy.
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