Momir Nikolić

“I decided to come before this Tribunal and admit that a crime happened in Srebrenica in which I myself participated and for which I expect adequate punishment. I sincerely wish before this Chamber and before the public, especially the Bosniak public, to express my deep and sincere remorse and regret because of the crime that occurred and to apologise to the victims, their families, and the Bosniak people for my participation in this crime.”

Momir Nikolić was an Assistant Commander for Security and Intelligence in the Bosnian Serb Army. Nikolić was at the centre of the crimes that took place following the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995. He did not raise any objections when informed of the plan to deport Muslim women and children and to separate, detain and ultimately kill Muslim men. He did nothing to stop the beatings, humiliation and thousands of killing and personally co-ordinated the exhumation and re-burial of Muslim bodies. He testified in other proceedings before the Tribunal, including the trial related to his two co-accused Blagojević and Jokić. He was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.

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Momir Nikolić Guilty Plea Statement
29 October 2003 (extract from transcript of hearing)

[Interpretation] Thank you. Your Honours, by this statement, I wish to explain to you in the simplest and shortest way possible the reasons for my guilty plea to count 5 of the indictment. I arrived at this decision on my own, without any kind of pressure, threat, or persuasion by my counsel or by the prosecutors, and I decided to come before this Tribunal and admit that a crime happened in Srebrenica in which I myself participated and for which I expect adequate punishment.

I sincerely wish before this Chamber and before the public, especially the Bosniak public, to express my deep and sincere remorse and regret because of the crime that occurred and to apologise to the victims, their families, and the Bosniak people for my participation in this crime. I am aware that I cannot bring back the dead, that I cannot mitigate the pain of the families by my confession, but I wish to contribute to the full truth being established about Srebrenica and the victims there and for the government organs of Republika Srpska, and all the individuals who took part in these crimes should follow in my footsteps and admit to their participation and their guilt, that they should give themselves in and be held responsible for what they have done.

By my guilty plea, I wanted to help the Tribunal and the Prosecutors to arrive at the complete and full truth and the victims, their brothers, mothers, and sisters should – I wanted to avoid their being subjected to additional suffering and not to remind them of this terrible tragedy.

Your Honours, I feel that my confession is an important step toward the rebuilding of confidence and co-existence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and after my guilty plea and sentencing, after I have served my sentence, it is my wish to go back to my native town of Bratunac and to live there with all other peoples in peace and harmony, such as prevailed before the outbreak of the war.