Tribunal Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Page 29458

 1                           Friday, 15 April 2011

 2                           [Judgement]

 3                           [Open session]

 4                           [The accused entered court]

 5                           --- Upon commencing at 11.04 a.m.

 6             JUDGE ORIE:  Madam Registrar, would you please call the case.

 7             THE REGISTRAR:  This is case number IT-06-90-T, the Prosecutor

 8     versus Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac.

 9             JUDGE ORIE:  Thank you, Madam Registrar.

10             The Chamber is sitting today to deliver its Judgement in the case

11     of the Prosecutor versus Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, and Mladen Markac.

12             For the purposes of this hearing, the Chamber will briefly

13     summarise its findings.  I stress that it's a summary only.  The

14     authoritative account of the Chamber's findings can be found in the

15     written Judgement which will be made available at the end of this

16     session.

17             This case concerns crimes allegedly committed from at least

18     July 1995 to about the 30th of September, 1995, against the Krajina Serb

19     population and property owned or inhabited by Serbs in various

20     municipalities in the Krajina region.  The crimes alleged by the

21     Prosecution include deportation and forcible transfer, plunder of public

22     and -- or private property, wanton destruction, murder, inhumane acts and

23     cruel treatment.  The crimes alleged further include persecution,

24     including through unlawful attacks on civilians and civilian objects,

25     unlawful detentions and the imposition of restrictive and discriminatory


Page 29459

 1     measures.

 2             Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, and Mladen Markac stood trial as

 3     alleged participants in a joint criminal enterprise.  The objective of

 4     this alleged criminal enterprise was the permanent removal of the Serb

 5     population from the Krajina region.  According to the Prosecution, the

 6     enterprise amounted to or involved the commission of the crimes of

 7     persecution, deportation and forcible transfer, plunder, and destruction.

 8     Alternatively, these crimes were a natural and foreseeable consequence of

 9     the execution of the enterprise.  In addition, the crimes of murder,

10     inhumane acts, and cruel treatment were also a natural and foreseeable

11     consequence of the execution of the alleged joint criminal enterprise.

12             According to the Prosecution, the members of this joint criminal

13     enterprise included, in addition to the three accused, Croatian President

14     Franjo Tudjman, Minister of Defence Gojko Susak, and the successive

15     chiefs of the Main Staff of the Croatian army, Janko Bobetko and

16     Zvonimir Cervenko.  These members of the joint criminal enterprise

17     allegedly used or cooperated with others to facilitate or carry out the

18     crimes.  These others included government officials and members of the

19     Croatian army, the military police, the special police, and the civilian

20     police.  According to the Prosecution, the accused participated in and

21     acted in furtherance of the joint criminal enterprise in various ways.

22             According to the indictment, the accused were responsible for

23     having planned, instigated, ordered, or aided and abetted these crimes.

24     Finally, the Prosecution alleged that the accused were criminally liable

25     for having knowingly failed to prevent or punish criminal acts or


Page 29460

 1     omissions of their subordinates.

 2             This Trial Chamber heard and considered this case over a period

 3     of more than three years.  All of the parties, as well as the Chamber

 4     itself, called witnesses during different phases of the case.  In total,

 5     145 witnesses were called to give evidence, and the Chamber admitted

 6     written evidence of another 38 witnesses.  In addition, the parties

 7     introduced a vast amount of documentary evidence for the Chamber's

 8     consideration.  This included military documentation, reports from

 9     international organisations active in Croatia during the indictment

10     period, and reports from various experts.

11             The parties and the Chamber dealt with numerous procedural

12     matters during the trial.  One such procedural matter was the

13     Prosecution's request on the 13th of June, 2008, to order the

14     Republic of Croatia to produce certain documents or information; in

15     particular, a number of artillery documents.  The Prosecution's search

16     for documents was initiated by requests for assistance to Croatia and was

17     followed up with extensive litigation in which the parties and Croatia

18     were involved.  The Chamber also invited Croatia to a number of meetings

19     in an attempt to clarify whether certain artillery documents existed and,

20     if so, where they could be found.  During this process, some documents

21     were provided to the satisfaction of the Prosecution, while others

22     surfaced only gradually.  Others still were never provided.  On the

23     26th of July, 2010, the Chamber, although recognising that a number of

24     questions with regard to the missing artillery documents remained without

25     definitive answers, denied the Prosecution's request to order the


Page 29461

 1     Republic of Croatia to produce certain documents.  The Chamber stressed

 2     that Croatia was still under an obligation to cooperate with the

 3     Tribunal.

 4             The Chamber notes that the events in this case took place in the

 5     context of many years of tension between Serbs and Croats in the Krajina.

 6     In this regard, the parties agreed that a considerable number of crimes

 7     had been committed against Croats in the Krajina.  The events in this

 8     case also took place in the context of an armed conflict in the territory

 9     of the former Yugoslavia that had been ongoing for years.  However, this

10     case was not about crimes happening before the indictment period, nor was

11     it about the lawfulness of resorting to and conducting war, as such.

12     This case was about whether Serb civilians in the Krajina were the

13     targets of crimes, and whether the accused should be held criminally

14     liable for these crimes.

15             The Chamber will now give a summary of its findings.

16             On the basis of the evidence before it, and in accordance with an

17     agreement between two of the Defence parties and the Prosecution, the

18     Chamber found that an international armed conflict existed throughout the

19     indictment period and area.

20             The Chamber received and considered evidence on a large number of

21     specific incidents of alleged murders.  Much of this evidence came from

22     family members of victims and from international observers.  For

23     instance, one witness testified that on the 7th of August, 1995, he heard

24     the sound of shooting and saw Croatian soldiers just outside his house in

25     Mokro Polje in Ervenik municipality.  He overheard a conversation in


Page 29462

 1     which somebody said, and I quote, "I killed another one," whereupon the

 2     witness went downstairs and found his elderly mother and his mentally ill

 3     brother who had both been shot.  The Chamber found that they were

 4     murdered by Croatian soldiers.

 5             Another witness testified that on the 6th of August, 1995, she

 6     witnessed Croatian soldiers taking five men out of the basement of a

 7     house in or near Ocestovo, where she was also being held.  One of the men

 8     was her son.  Shortly thereafter, gun-shots could be heard, and later the

 9     five men were found dead by gun-shot wounds.  The Chamber found that

10     members of the Croatian army murdered the five men.

11             The Chamber found that members of the Croatian military forces

12     and the special police committed a number of murders charged as war

13     crimes and crimes against humanity.

14             The Chamber further received and considered evidence on a number

15     of specific incidents of alleged cruel treatment and inhumane acts.  One

16     witness stated that on a morning no later than the 12th of August, 1995,

17     in Palanka, Croatian soldiers searched his home, asked for money, and

18     then tied him to a tree.  They then put some textiles beneath his feet

19     and set them alight.  In pain from the fire, the witness kicked the

20     textiles away.  In this and other incidents, the Chamber found that

21     members of the Croatian military forces or the special police committed

22     acts of cruel treatment and inhumane acts charged as war crimes and

23     crimes against humanity.

24             The Chamber further received and considered evidence on a very

25     large number of incidents of alleged plunder and destruction.  As an


Page 29463

 1     example, the Chamber refers to incidents reported in Gracac and Knin

 2     municipalities.  Witness Steenbergen testified to seeing extensive

 3     destruction, such as burnt houses in Gracac on the 6th of August, 1995,

 4     including houses which were, at the time, still on fire.  Many witnesses,

 5     such as Widen and Boucher, also testified to seeing military trucks

 6     loaded with electronic equipment and furniture leaving Knin on the

 7     6th of August, 1995, without being stopped at Croatian check-points.  In

 8     these and a number of other incidents, the Chamber found that members of

 9     Croatian military forces or the special police committed acts of

10     destruction and plunder charged as war crimes and as underlying acts of

11     persecution.

12             With regard to the unlawful attacks on civilians and civilian

13     objects as an act of persecution, the Chamber found that on the

14     4th and the 5th of August, 1995, artillery units fired artillery

15     projectiles at the towns of Knin, Benkovac, Gracac, and Obrovac.  The

16     Chamber received evidence regarding the targets that the Croatian army

17     had identified in these towns from the chief of artillery of the

18     Split Military District, Marko Rajcic, and in the form of a number of

19     target lists and artillery reports.  The Chamber notes that it may not

20     have received in evidence all artillery documents which were compiled at

21     the time.  A number of international observers and Krajina Serb residents

22     who were present in these towns at the time of the shelling testified

23     about the location of impacts.

24             The Chamber carefully compared the evidence on the locations of

25     impacts in these towns with the locations of possible military targets.


Page 29464

 1     Based on this comparison, and the relevant artillery orders and reports,

 2     the Chamber concluded that the Croatian forces deliberately targeted in

 3     these towns not only previously identified military targets, but also

 4     areas devoid of such military targets.  As such, the Chamber found that

 5     the Croatian forces treated the towns themselves as targets for artillery

 6     fire.  The Chamber thus found that the shelling of Benkovac, Gracac,

 7     Knin, and Obrovac on the 4th and the 5th August, 1995, constituted an

 8     indiscriminate attack on these towns and an unlawful attack on civilians

 9     and civilian objects.

10             With regard to the alleged forcible transfer and deportation, the

11     Chamber considered that on the 4th and 5th of August, 1995, large numbers

12     of persons left the towns of Benkovac, Gracac, Knin, and Obrovac and went

13     to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.  The Trial Chamber considered that

14     although there were Krajina Serb evacuation plans for certain

15     municipalities, the extent to which they were implemented varied.

16     Moreover, the population was already on the move by the time the Serb

17     municipal authorities took action and when Serb Krajina President Martic

18     ordered an evacuation late in the afternoon of the 4th of August.  The

19     Trial Chamber concluded that the evacuation plans and orders of the

20     Krajina Serb authorities had little or no influence on the departure of

21     Krajina Serbs.  With respect to Benkovac, Gracac, Knin, and Obrovac, the

22     Chamber concluded that the fear of violence and duress caused by the

23     shelling created an environment in which those present there had no

24     choice but to leave.  For instance, one witness testified that the

25     shells, which fell everywhere in Knin, appeared to have been aimed at


Page 29465

 1     scaring people and made everyone feel like they had to flee.  Many

 2     persons sought refuge at the UN compound, a number of whom were

 3     eventually transferred to Serbia.

 4             The Chamber further found that crimes, including murder,

 5     destruction, plunder, and inhumane acts, committed by members of the

 6     Croatian military forces and special police caused duress and fear of

 7     violence in their victims and those who witnessed them.  These crimes

 8     added to the creation of an environment in which these persons had no

 9     choice but to leave.  The Chamber found that the forcible displacement

10     committed by members of the Croatian military forces and special police

11     by the unlawful attacks on towns in the Krajina on 4th and

12     5th of August, 1995, and by the commission of other crimes later in

13     August 1995, constituted deportation.  Among the many Serbs who left the

14     Krajina during and after Operation Storm, the Chamber concluded that at

15     least 20.000 were deported in this manner in August 1995.

16             With regard to the alleged imposition of discriminatory measures

17     as an act of persecution, the Chamber considered a number of Croatian

18     legal instruments related to property which came into force after

19     Operation Storm.  The Chamber found that the motive underlying these

20     legal instruments, as well as their overall effect, was to provide the

21     property left behind by Krajina Serbs in the liberated areas to Croats,

22     and thereby deprive these Serbs of the use of their housing and property.

23     The Chamber found that this imposition of restrictive and discriminatory

24     measures with regard to housing and property, considered in conjunction

25     with deportation and other crimes against Krajina Serbs, constituted


Page 29466

 1     persecution.

 2             In conclusion, the Chamber found that Croatian military forces

 3     and the special police committed acts of murder, cruel treatment,

 4     inhumane acts, destruction, plunder, persecution, and deportation, as

 5     charged in the indictment.  Considering the large number of crimes

 6     committed against the Serb population of the Krajina region in a

 7     relatively short period of time, the Chamber further found that there was

 8     a widespread and systematic attack directed against the Serb civilian

 9     population.

10             As mentioned, the Prosecution alleged that the three accused were

11     participants in a joint criminal enterprise.  The objective of this

12     alleged joint criminal enterprise was the permanent removal of the

13     Serb population from the Krajina region.

14             In assessing whether there was a joint criminal enterprise, the

15     Chamber carefully considered the discussions at the Brioni meeting of the

16     31st of July, 1995, a few days before the launching of Operation Storm.

17     At this meeting, President Tudjman met with high-ranking military

18     officials to discuss the military operation.  The Chamber found that the

19     participants at this meeting also discussed the importance of the

20     Krajina Serbs leaving as a result and part of the imminent attack.

21     Responding to a statement by President Tudjman to this effect,

22     Mr. Gotovina stated, and I quote:

23             "A large number of civilians are already evacuating Knin and

24     heading towards Banja Luka and Belgrade.  That means that if we continue

25     this pressure, probably for some time to come, there won't be so many


Page 29467

 1     civilians, just those who have to stay, who have no possibility of

 2     leaving."

 3             The Chamber carefully reviewed the statements of high-ranking

 4     Croatian officials at this and other meetings, and in public.  The

 5     Chamber considered these statements in the context of its findings on the

 6     deportation, unlawful attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and the

 7     imposition of discriminatory measures, all of which were directed against

 8     Krajina Serbs.

 9             The Chamber found that certain members of the Croatian political

10     and military leadership shared the common objective of the permanent

11     removal of the Serb civilian population from the Krajina by force or

12     threat of force, which amounted to and involved deportation, forcible

13     transfer, and persecution through the imposition of restrictive and

14     discriminatory measures, unlawful attacks against civilians and civilian

15     objects, deportation, and forcible transfer.

16             The joint criminal enterprise came into existence no later than

17     the end of July 1995 and continued throughout the indictment period.  The

18     Chamber further found that the common objective did not amount to, or

19     involve, the commission of the crimes of persecution through

20     disappearances, wanton destruction, plunder, murder, inhumane acts,

21     cruel treatment, and unlawful detentions, or destruction, plunder,

22     murder, inhumane acts, and cruel treatment.

23             The Chamber found that Franjo Tudjman, who was the main political

24     and military leader in Croatia before, during, and after the indictment

25     period, was a key member of the joint criminal enterprise.  Tudjman


Page 29468

 1     intended to repopulate the Krajina with Croats and ensured that his ideas

 2     in this respect were transformed into policy and action through his

 3     powerful position as president and Supreme Commander of the armed forces.

 4     The Chamber further found that other members of the joint criminal

 5     enterprise included Gojko Susak, who was the minister of defence, and a

 6     close associate of Tudjman's, and Zvonimir Cervenko, the chief of the

 7     Croatian army Main Staff.  The members of the joint criminal enterprise

 8     also included others in the Croatian political and military leadership

 9     who participated in presidential meetings and were close associates of

10     Tudjman's.

11             At the Brioni meeting, Tudjman and high-ranking military

12     officials discussed how the military forces should be used to ensure that

13     not only the Serb Krajina army, but also the Serb civilian population,

14     would leave the Krajina.  The Chamber found that high-ranking Croatian

15     military officials, including Tudjman, Susak, and Cervenko, used the

16     Croatian military forces and the special police to commit the crimes

17     within the objective of the joint criminal enterprise.  The Croatian

18     military forces included the Croatian army and military police, as well

19     as Bosnian Croatian army units which had been subordinated to Croatian

20     army commanders.  The Chamber did not find that the police forces, with

21     the exception of the special police, were used by members of the joint

22     criminal enterprise to commit crimes.

23             The Chamber will now address whether criminal responsibility for

24     the crimes of persecution, deportation, destruction, plunder, murder,

25     inhumane acts, and cruel treatment is to be attributed to the accused.


Page 29469

 1             The Chamber found that Ante Gotovina held the rank of

 2     colonel-general in the Croatian army and was the commander of the

 3     Split Military District during the indictment period.  By virtue of this

 4     position, Mr. Gotovina commanded all units of the Split Military

 5     District, as well as those attached to it.  Units of the military police

 6     in the Split Military District were subordinated to Mr. Gotovina in

 7     relation to regular military police tasks.  The Chamber further found

 8     that crime prevention and crime processing were not excluded from

 9     Mr. Gotovina's authority over the military police.

10             The Chamber found that the shelling of Benkovac, Knin, and

11     Obrovac on the 4th and 5th of August, 1995, which were ordered by

12     Mr. Gotovina, constituted unlawful attacks on civilians and civilian

13     objects.  The unlawful attacks formed an important element in the

14     execution of the joint criminal enterprise.  The Chamber further found

15     that Mr. Gotovina participated in the Brioni meeting and contributed to

16     the planning and preparation of Operation Storm.  Moreover, Mr. Gotovina

17     failed to make a serious effort to prevent and follow up on crimes

18     reported to have been committed by his subordinates against

19     Krajina Serbs.  Mr. Gotovina's failures had an impact on the general

20     attitude towards crimes in the Split Military District.  Based on these

21     considerations, the Chamber found that Mr. Gotovina's conduct amounted to

22     a significant contribution to the joint criminal enterprise.  The Chamber

23     further found that Mr. Gotovina's orders to unlawfully attack civilians

24     and civilian objects amounted, in and of itself, to a significant

25     contribution to the joint criminal enterprise.


Page 29470

 1             Based on Mr. Gotovina's acts and conduct, including his

 2     participation in, and statements at, the Brioni meeting, the Chamber

 3     found that he had the state of mind that the crimes forming part of the

 4     objective should be carried out.  The Chamber therefore established that

 5     Mr. Gotovina was a member of the joint criminal enterprise, and thus

 6     intended that his actions contribute to this enterprise.  The Chamber

 7     further found that other charged crimes, although not part of the common

 8     purpose, were natural and foreseeable consequences of the execution of

 9     the joint criminal enterprise, and foreseeable also to Mr. Gotovina.

10             The Chamber now turns to Ivan Cermak.

11             The Chamber found that the formal appointment and title of

12     Mr. Cermak was commander of the Knin garrison, but that his

13     responsibility went beyond those of a garrison commander.  The evidence

14     established that Mr. Cermak had some influence over the civilian and

15     military police, but not that he was in charge of, and had legal

16     authority for, maintaining law and order.  Mr. Cermak did not have

17     effective control over Croatian army units outside of his own

18     subordinates at the garrison, and the Chamber found no reliable evidence

19     that those subordinates committed any crimes.

20             The Chamber found that the activities of Mr. Cermak included

21     dealing with members of the international community, cleaning up Knin,

22     improving hygenic conditions, providing a public soup kitchen, making the

23     hospital operational, reconnecting water and electricity to the town,

24     reactivating public services, improving transportation conditions,

25     restoring factories and other businesses, and de-mining Knin and its


Page 29471

 1     surroundings.

 2             The evidence did not establish that Mr. Cermak knew or intended

 3     that his activities contribute to any goal of populating the Krajina with

 4     Croats rather than Serbs.

 5             As for Mr. Cermak's conduct with regard to crimes committed on

 6     the ground, the Chamber found that he denied and concealed the crimes

 7     committed in Grubori on the 25th of August, 1995.  It further found that

 8     Mr. Cermak, in general, provided misleading assurances to the

 9     international community that action to stop the crimes against Serbs were

10     being or would be taken.  However, apart from this, the Chamber found

11     that the Prosecution did not prove its allegations that Mr. Cermak

12     permitted, minimised, denied, or concealed crimes against Serbs, nor that

13     he provided false, incomplete or misleading information or false

14     assurances to the international community.

15             The Chamber concluded that the evidence did not establish that

16     Mr. Cermak was a member of the joint criminal enterprise, or made any

17     intentional and significant contribution to it.  The Chamber also found

18     that Mr. Cermak was not liable under any other mode of liability charged

19     against him.

20             Finally, the Chamber turns to Mladen Markac.

21             The Chamber found that, during the indictment period, Mr. Markac

22     held the position of Assistant Minister of Interior in charge of special

23     police matters.  While the special police was normally part of the

24     Croatian Ministry of Interior, during Operation Storm and the following

25     search operations, approximately 2.200 special policemen, including


Page 29472

 1     members of the Lucko Anti-Terrorist Unit, were subordinated to the

 2     Croatian army Main Staff and took part in the military operations.  By

 3     virtue of his position, Mr. Markac had overall control over the

 4     special police forces, and throughout Operation Storm and the following

 5     search operations, he commanded them in accordance with the orders of the

 6     chief of the Main Staff.  Mr. Markac also commanded part of the artillery

 7     assets of the Croatian army artillery group, TS-5, which were attached to

 8     the special police on the 3rd of August, 1995, for operational purposes.

 9             The Chamber found that Mr. Markac participated in the

10     Brioni meeting, contributing to the planning and preparation of

11     Operation Storm.  It also found that he ordered the special police's

12     shelling of Gracac on the 4th and 5th of August, 1995, which constituted

13     an unlawful attack on civilians and civilian objects, and brought about

14     the forcible displacement of persons.  The order to shell Gracac

15     amounted, in and of itself, to a significant contribution to the joint

16     criminal enterprise.

17             The Chamber also found, Judge Kinis dissenting, that

18     special police members took part in the destruction of a substantial part

19     of Gracac on the 5th and 6th of August.  The Chamber found that they also

20     participated in the destruction and looting of Krajina Serb property in

21     Donji Lapac on the 7th and 8th of August, 1995.  The Chamber found that

22     Mr. Markac knew about the involvement of his subordinates in the

23     commission of these crimes but that he did not take any steps to identify

24     the perpetrators in order to take appropriate action against them, nor

25     did he take any step to prevent the commission of further crimes.


Page 29473

 1             On the 25th of August, 1995, members of the special police

 2     murdered several elderly villagers in the hamlet of Grubori.  On that and

 3     the following day, the same unit also burned property in Grubori and

 4     Ramljane village.  Mr. Markac advanced false stories and participated in

 5     the cover-up of crimes committed by his subordinates against Krajina Serb

 6     persons and property.

 7             With regard to the commission of crimes by special police

 8     members, the Chamber found that, if Mr. Markac received information

 9     concerning crimes allegedly committed by his subordinates, he was

10     duty-bound to inform the criminal police for further investigation.

11     Mr. Markac could also request the suspension of special police members

12     from duty.

13             The Chamber has concluded that, through his acts and omissions,

14     Mr. Markac created a climate of impunity amongst his subordinates, which

15     encouraged the commission of crimes against Krajina Serb persons and

16     property.

17             Based on these considerations, the Chamber found that

18     Mr. Markac's conduct amounted to a significant contribution to the

19     joint criminal enterprise.

20             Based on his acts in relation to the preparation of

21     Operation Storm, as well as his acts and omissions with regard to crimes

22     committed by members of the special police, the Chamber concluded that

23     Mr. Markac had the state of mind that the crimes forming part of the

24     joint criminal enterprise's objective should be carried out.  The Chamber

25     therefore found that Mr. Markac was a member of the joint criminal


Page 29474

 1     enterprise, and that through his acts and omissions he intended to

 2     contribute to it.  The Chamber further found that other crimes charged,

 3     although not part of the common purpose, were natural and foreseeable

 4     consequences of the execution of the joint criminal enterprise, and

 5     foreseeable also to Mr. Markac.

 6             Having summarised its findings, the Chamber will now give its

 7     verdict.

 8             Mr. Gotovina, will you please stand.

 9             For the reasons summarised above, this Chamber, having considered

10     all of the evidence and the arguments of the parties, the Statute, and

11     the Rules, and based upon the factual and legal findings as determined in

12     the Judgement, finds you guilty, as a member of a joint criminal

13     enterprise, of the following charges:

14             Count 1, persecution as a crime against humanity;

15             Count 2, deportation as a crime against humanity;

16             Count 4, plunder of public and private property, as a violation

17     of the laws or customs of war;

18             Count 5, wanton destruction as a violation of the laws or customs

19     of war;

20             Count 6, murder as a crime against humanity;

21             Count 7, murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war;

22             Count 8, inhumane acts as a crime against humanity; and

23             Count 9, cruel treatment as violation of the laws or customs of

24     war.

25             The Chamber finds you not guilty on Count 3, inhumane acts


Page 29475

 1     (forcible transfer) as a crime against humanity.

 2             With respect to sentencing, the Chamber considered the gravity of

 3     the offences, particularly the large number of crimes in a wide

 4     geographical area, the vulnerability of the victims, and the abuse of

 5     your position of authority.  In mitigation, the Chamber considered your

 6     behaviour in detention and in the courtroom.  The Chamber further took

 7     into consideration factors relating to sentencing practices in the former

 8     Yugoslavia.

 9             For having committed these crimes, the Chamber sentences you,

10     Mr. Gotovina, to a single sentence of 24 years of imprisonment.  You are

11     entitled to credit for the period of time you have been in custody, which

12     amounts to 1956 days.

13             You may be seated.

14             Mr. Cermak, will you please stand.

15             This Chamber, having considered all of the evidence and the

16     arguments of the parties, the Statute, and the Rules, and based upon the

17     factual and legal findings as determined in the Judgement, finds you

18     not guilty on all Counts of the indictment.  The Chamber orders that you

19     be released from the United Nations Detention Unit after the necessary

20     practical arrangements are made by the Registrar.

21             You may be seated.

22             Mr. Markac, will you please stand.

23             For the reasons summarised above, this Chamber, having considered

24     all of the evidence and the arguments of the parties, the Statute, and

25     the Rules, and based upon the factual and legal findings as determined in


Page 29476

 1     the Judgement, finds you guilty, as a member of a joint criminal

 2     enterprise, of the following charges:

 3             Count 1, persecution as a crime against humanity;

 4             Count 2, deportation as a crime against humanity;

 5             Count 4, plunder of public and private property as a violation of

 6     the laws or customs of war;

 7             Count 5, wanton destruction as a violation of the laws or customs

 8     of war;

 9             Count 6, murder as a crime against humanity;

10             Count 7, murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war;

11             Count 8, inhumane acts as a crime against humanity; and

12             Count 9, cruel treatment as a violation of the laws or customs of

13     war.

14             The Chamber finds you not guilty on Count 3, inhumane acts

15     (forcible transfer) as a crime against humanity.

16             With respect to sentencing, the Chamber considered the large

17     number of crimes that occurred in a wide geographical area and over an

18     extended period of time and the vulnerability of the victims.  The

19     Chamber further considered the abuse of your position of power in

20     aggravation.  In mitigation, the Chamber considered your medical

21     condition.  The Chamber further took into consideration factors relating

22     to sentencing practices in the former Yugoslavia.

23             For having committed these crimes, the Chamber sentences you,

24     Mr. Markac, to a single sentence of 18 years' of imprisonment.

25             You are entitled to credit for the period of time you have been


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 1     in custody, which amounts to 1477 days.

 2             You may be seated.

 3             This concludes the delivery of the Judgement, which will now be

 4     made publicly available.

 5             The Chamber stands adjourned.

 6                            --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 11.56 a.m.

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