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1 Tuesday, 11 December 2001
2 [Open session]
3 [Initial Appearance]
4 [The accused entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 9.30 a.m.
6 JUDGE MAY: Yes, let the registrar call the case.
7 THE REGISTRAR: Yes, Mr. President. This is IT-99-37-PT,
8 IT-01-50-PT, IT-01-51-I, the Prosecutor of the Tribunal against Slobodan
9 Milosevic.
10 JUDGE MAY: The appearances, please.
11 MS. DEL PONTE: [No interpretation]
12 JUDGE MAY: Just a moment. We are not getting the French
13 translation. The English should be on channel 4 normally, and it's not
14 coming through.
15 THE INTERPRETER: Good morning, Mr. President.
16 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Madam Prosecutor.
17 MS. DEL PONTE: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. President, Your
18 Honours. The Office of the Prosecutor represented by Carla Del Ponte,
19 Prosecutor, with my colleagues Geoffrey Nice, Dirk Ryneveld, and Hildegard
20 Uertz-Retzlaff.
21 MR. KAY: For the amici curiae, Steven Kay, QC, Michail
22 Wladimiroff, and Branislav Tapuskovic.
23 JUDGE MAY: Thank you. The purpose of this hearing is to deal
24 with two matters. First of all, for the accused to make his initial
25 appearance on the Bosnia indictment and secondly, for argument on the
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1 Prosecution motion for joinder of the indictments. We will deal with the
2 matter in that order and begin with the Initial Appearance, and that will
3 start with the reading of the Bosnia indictment.
4 Yes, let that be read.
5 CLERK OF THE REGISTRY: [Interpretation] The Prosecutor of the
6 Tribunal against Slobodan Milosevic.
7 Indictment:
8 The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
9 former Yugoslavia, pursuant to her authority under Article 18 of the
10 Statute of the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia charges Slobodan
11 Milosevic with genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the
12 Geneva Conventions, and violations of the law or customs of war as set
13 forth below:
14 The accused:
15 Slobodan Milosevic, son of Svetozar Milosevic, was born on the
16 20th of August, 1941 in Pozarevac in the present-day Republic of Serbia,
17 one of the constituent republics of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
18 FRY. In 1964, he graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of
19 Belgrade and began a career in management and banking. Until 1978, he
20 held the posts of deputy director and later general director at Tehnogas,
21 a major oil company in the then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
22 that is, the SFRY. Thereafter, he became president of Beogradksa banka,
23 Beobanka, one of the largest banks in the SFRY, a post he held until
24 1983.
25 Slobodan Milosevic joined the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
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1 in 1959. In 1984, he became chairman of the city committee of the League
2 of Communists of Belgrade. In 1986, he was elected chairman of the
3 Presidium of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia
4 and was re-elected in 1988. On 16 July 1990, the League of Communists of
5 Serbia and the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Serbia united,
6 forming a new party named the Socialist Party of Serbia, or SPS. On the
7 17th of July, 1990, Slobodan Milosevic was elected president of the SPS
8 and remained in that post except during the period from the 24th of May,
9 1991 to the 24th of October, 1992.
10 Slobodan Milosevic was elected President of the Presidency of the
11 then Socialist Republic of Serbia on the 8th of May, 1989 and re-elected
12 on the 5th of December, 1989. After the adoption of a new constitution on
13 the 28th of September, 1990, the Socialist Republic of Serbia became the
14 Republic of Serbia, and Slobodan Milosevic was elected to the newly
15 established office of President of the Republic of Serbia in multi-party
16 elections held in December 1990. He was re-elected to this office in
17 elections held on the 20th of December, 1992.
18 After serving two terms as President of the Republic of Serbia,
19 Slobodan Milosevic was elected President of the Federal Republic of
20 Yugoslavia on the 15th of July, 1997, beginning his official duties on the
21 23rd of July, 1997. Following his defeat in the Federal Republic of
22 Yugoslavia's presidential election of September 2000, Slobodan Milosevic
23 relinquished his position on the 6th of October, 2000.
24 Individual criminal responsibility.
25 Article 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
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1 Slobodan Milosevic is individually criminally responsible for the
2 crimes referred to in Articles 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Statute of the
3 Tribunal as described in this indictment, which he planned, instigated,
4 ordered, committed, or in whose planning, preparation, or execution, he
5 otherwise aided and abetted. By using the word "committed" in this
6 indictment the Prosecutor does not intend to suggest that the accused
7 physically committed any of the crimes charged personally. "Committed" in
8 this indictment refers to participation in a joint criminal enterprise as
9 a co-perpetrator.
10 Slobodan Milosevic participated in the joint criminal enterprise
11 as set out below. The purpose of this joint criminal enterprise was the
12 forcible and permanent removal of the majority of non-Serbs, principally
13 Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, from large areas of the Republic of
14 Bosnia and Herzegovina through the commission of crimes which are in
15 violation of Articles 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
16 The joint criminal enterprise was in existence from the 1st of
17 August, 1991 and continued until at least 31 December 1995. The
18 individuals participating in the joint criminal enterprise included
19 Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic, Momcilo Krajisnik, Biljana Plavsic,
20 General Ratko Mladic, Borislav Jovic, Branko Kostic, Veljko Kadijevic,
21 Blagoje Adzic, Milan Martic, Jovica Stanisic, Franko Simatovic, also known
22 as "Frenki," Radovan Stojicic, also known as "Badza," Vojislav Seselj,
23 Zeljko Raznatovic, also known as "Arkan," and other known and unknown
24 participants.
25 The crimes enumerated in counts 1 to 29 of this indictment were
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1 within the object of the joint criminal enterprise. Alternatively, the
2 crimes enumerated in counts 1 to 15 and 19 to 29 were natural and
3 foreseeable consequences of the execution of the object of the joint
4 criminal enterprise, and the accused was aware that such crimes were the
5 possible outcome of the execution of the joint criminal enterprise.
6 In order for the joint criminal enterprise to succeed in its
7 objective, Slobodan Milosevic worked in concert with or through other
8 individuals in the joint criminal enterprise. Each participant or
9 co-perpetrator within the joint criminal enterprise, sharing the intent to
10 contribute to the enterprise, played his or her own role or roles that
11 significantly contributed to achieving the objective of the enterprise.
12 Paragraphs 10 to 22 refer to other persons; therefore, the reading
13 of the indictment will be continued from paragraph 23.
14 From 1987 until late 2000, Slobodan Milosevic was the dominant
15 political figure in Serbia and the SFRY/FRY. He acquired control of all
16 facets of the Serbian government, including the police and the state
17 security services. In addition, he gained control over the political
18 leaderships of Kosovo, Vojvodina, and Montenegro.
19 In his capacity as the President of Serbia and through his leading
20 position in the SPS party, Slobodan Milosevic exercised effective control
21 or substantial influence over the above listed participants in the joint
22 criminal enterprise and either alone or acting in concert with them and
23 additional known and unknown persons effectively controlled or
24 substantially influenced the actions of the Federal Presidency of the
25 SFRY, and later the FRY, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP,
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1 the JNA, the Yugoslav Army, VJ, and the VRS, as well as Serb paramilitary
2 groups.
3 Slobodan Milosevic, acting alone and in concert with other members
4 of the joint criminal enterprise, participated in the joint criminal
5 enterprise in the following ways:
6 a) He exerted effective control over elements of the JNA and VJ
7 which participated in the planning, preparation, facilitation, and
8 execution of the forcible removal of the majority of non-Serbs,
9 principally Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, from large areas of Bosnia
10 and Herzegovina.
11 b) He provided financial, logistical, and political support to
12 the VRS. These forces subsequently participated in the execution of the
13 joint criminal enterprise through the commission of crimes which are in
14 violation of Articles 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
15 c) He exercised substantial influence over and assisted the
16 political leadership of Republika Srpska in the planning, preparation,
17 facilitation, and execution of the takeover of municipalities in Bosnia
18 and Herzegovina and the subsequent forcible removal of the majority of
19 non-Serbs, principally Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from those
20 municipalities.
21 d) He participated in the planning and preparation of the
22 takeover of municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the subsequent
23 forcible removal of the majority of non-Serbs, principally Bosnian Muslims
24 and Bosnian Croats, from those municipalities. He provided the financial,
25 material, and logistical support necessary for such takeover.
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1 e) He participated in the formation, financing, supply, support,
2 and direction of special forces of the Republic of Serbia Ministry of
3 Internal Affairs. These special forces participated in the execution of
4 the joint criminal enterprise through the commission of crimes which are
5 in violation of Articles 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
6 f) He participated in providing financial, logistical, and
7 political support and direction to Serbian irregular forces or
8 paramilitaries. These forces participated in the execution of the joint
9 criminal enterprise through the commission of crimes which are in
10 violation of Articles 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
11 g) He controlled, manipulated, or otherwise utilised Serbian
12 state-run media to spread exaggerated and false messages of ethnically
13 based attacks by Bosnian Muslims and Croats against Serb people, intended
14 to create an atmosphere of fear and hatred among Serbs living in Serbia,
15 Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which contributed to the forcible
16 removal of the majority of non-Serbs, principally Bosnian Muslims and
17 Bosnian Croats, from large areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
18 Slobodan Milosevic knowingly and willfully participated in the
19 joint criminal enterprise while being aware of the foreseeable
20 consequences of this enterprise. On this basis, he bears individual
21 criminal responsibility for these crimes under Article 7(1) of the Statute
22 of the Tribunal, in addition to his responsibility under the same Article
23 for having planned, instigated, ordered or otherwise aided and abetted in
24 the planning, preparation, and execution of these crimes.
25 Article 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
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1 Slobodan Milosevic, while holding positions of superior authority, is also
2 individually criminally responsible for the acts or omissions of his
3 subordinates pursuant to Article 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal. A
4 superior is responsible for the criminal acts of his subordinates if he
5 knew or had reason to know that his subordinates were about to commit such
6 acts or had done so and the superior failed to take the necessary and
7 reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators.
8 From at least March 1991 until the 15th of June, 1992, Slobodan
9 Milosevic exercised effective control over the four members of the Serbian
10 Bloc within the Presidency of the SFRY. These four individuals were
11 Borisav Jovic, the representative of the Republic of Serbia; Branko
12 Kostic, the representative of the Republic of Montenegro; Jugoslav Kostic,
13 the representatives of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina; and Sejdo
14 Bajramovic, the representative of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo.
15 Slobodan Milosevic used Borisav Jovic and Branko Kostic as him primary
16 agents in the Presidency, and through them he directed the actions of the
17 Serbian Bloc. From the 1st of October, 1991 in the absence of the
18 representatives of the Presidency from Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and
19 Bosnia and Herzegovina, the four members of the Serbian Bloc exercised the
20 powers of the Presidency including that of collective "Commander-in-Chief"
21 of the JNA. This "Rump Presidency" acted without dissention to execute
22 Slobodan Milosevic's policies. The Federal Presidency had effective
23 control of the JNA as its "Commander-in-Chief" and other units under the
24 supervision of the JNA. Generals Veljko Kadijevic and Blagoje Adzic, who
25 directed and supervised the JNA forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were in
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1 constant communication and consultation with the accused.
2 On the 27th of April, 1992, the Supreme Defence Council was
3 formed. Throughout the time relevant to this indictment, Slobodan
4 Milosevic was a member of the Supreme Defence Council and exercised
5 substantial influence and control over other members of the council. The
6 Supreme Defence Council and the President of the FRY had de jure control
7 over the JNA and later the VJ. In addition to his de jure powers, at all
8 times relevant to this indictment, Slobodan Milosevic exercised de facto
9 control over the JNA and the VJ through his control over the high ranking
10 officers of these armies.
11 Slobodan Milosevic is therefore individually criminally
12 responsible, under Article 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal, for the
13 participation of the members of the JNA and the VJ and other units under
14 the supervision of the JNA and the VJ in the crimes described in this
15 indictment.
16 From the time Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Serbia, he
17 exercised control over key officials in the Serbian MUP, among them
18 Radmilo Bogdanovic and Zoran Sokolovic who were both, at different times,
19 the Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia. He also exercised control
20 over Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, both high-ranking officials in
21 the DB. Through these officials, Slobodan Milosevic exercised effective
22 control over agents of the MUP, including the DB, who directed and
23 supported the actions of the special forces and Serb paramilitary groups
24 operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The accused Slobodan Milosevic is
25 therefore individually criminally responsible under Article 7(3) of the
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1 Statute of the Tribunal, for the participation of the members of the
2 Serbian MUP, including the DB, in the crimes described in this
3 indictment.
4 The charges:
5 Counts 1 and 2: Genocide or complicity in genocide.
6 From on or about the 1st of March, 1992 until the 31st of
7 December, 1995, Slobodan Milosevic acting alone or in concert with other
8 members of the joint criminal enterprise planned, instigated, ordered,
9 committed, or otherwise aided and abetted the planning, preparation, and
10 execution of the destruction in whole or in part, of the Bosnian Muslim
11 and Bosnian Croat national, ethnical, racial, or religious groups as such
12 in territories within Bosnia and Herzegovina including: Bijeljina,
13 Bosanski Novi, Bosanski Samac, Bratunac, Brcko, Doboj, Foca, Sarajevo
14 (Ilijas), Kljuc, Kotor Varos, Sarajevo (Novi Grad), Prijedor, Rogatica,
15 Sanski Most, Srebrenica, Visegrad, Vlasnica, and Zvornik.
16 The destruction of these groups was effected by:
17 a) The widespread killing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and
18 Bosnian Croats, during and after the takeover of territories within Bosnia
19 and Herzegovina, including those listed above, as specified in Schedule A
20 to this indictment. In many of the territories, educated and leading
21 members of these groups were specifically targeted for execution, often in
22 accordance with pre-prepared lists. After the fall of Srebrenica in July
23 1995, almost all captured Bosnian Muslim men and boys, altogether several
24 thousands, were executed at the places where they had been captured or at
25 sites to which they had been transported for execution.
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1 b) The killing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats
2 in detention facilities within Bosnia and Herzegovina including those
3 situated within the territories listed above, as specified in Schedule B
4 to this indictment.
5 c) The causing of serious bodily and mental harm to thousands of
6 Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during their confinement in detention
7 facilities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, including those situated within
8 the territories listed above, as specified in Schedule C to this
9 indictment. Members of these groups, during their confinement in
10 detention facilities and during their interrogation at these locations,
11 police stations and military barracks, were continuously subjected to or
12 forced to witness inhumane acts, including murder, sexual violence,
13 torture, and beatings.
14 d) The detention of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian
15 Croats in detention facilities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, including
16 those situated within the territories listed above, under conditions of
17 life calculated to bring about the partial physical destruction of those
18 groups, namely through starvation, contaminated water, forced labour,
19 inadequate medical care, and constant physical and psychological assault.
20 By these acts and omissions, Slobodan Milosevic committed:
21 Count 1: Genocide, punishable under Articles 4(3)(a) and 7(1),
22 and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal; or
23 Count 2: Complicity in genocide, punishable under Articles
24 4(3)(e) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
25 Count 3: Persecutions
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1 From on or about the 1st of March, 1992 until the 31st of
2 December, 1995, Slobodan Milosevic, acting alone or in concert with
3 members of the joint criminal enterprise, planned, instigated, ordered,
4 committed, or otherwise aided and abetted the planning, preparation, or
5 execution of persecutions of non-Serbs, principally Bosnian Muslims and
6 Bosnian Croats, within the territories of Banja Luka, Bihac, Bijeljina,
7 Bileca, Bosanska Dubica, Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Novi,
8 Bosanski Petrovac, Bosanski Samac, Bratunac, Brcko, Cajnice, Celinac,
9 Doboj, Donji Vakuf, Foca, Gacko, Gorazde, Sarajevo (Hadzici), Sarajevo
10 (Ilidza), Sarajevo (Ilijas), Kljuc, Kalinovic, Kotor Varos, Nevesinje,
11 Sarajevo (Novi Grad), Sarajevo (Novo Sarajevo), Sarajevo (Pale), Prijedor,
12 Prnjavor, Rogatica, Rudo, Sanski Most, Sekovici, Sipovo, Sokolac,
13 Srebrenica, Teslic, Trebinje, Sarajevo (Trnovo), Visegrad, Vlasnica,
14 Sarajevo (Vogosca), and Zvornik.
15 Throughout that period, Serb forces comprised of JNA, VJ, VRS
16 units, local TO units, local and Serbian MUP police units, and
17 paramilitary units from Serbia and Montenegro attacked and took control of
18 towns and villages in these territories. After the takeover, the Serb
19 forces in cooperation with the local Serb authorities established a regime
20 of persecutions designed to drive the non-Serb civilian population from
21 these territories.
22 These persecutions were committed on the discriminatory grounds of
23 political affiliation, race or religion and included:
24 a) The extermination or murder of thousands of Bosnian Muslim,
25 Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb civilians, including women and the
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1 elderly, in those territories listed above, the details of which are set
2 out in Schedules A and B to this indictment.
3 b) The prolonged and routine imprisonment and confinement of
4 thousands of Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb civilians
5 in detention facilities within and outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
6 details of which are set out in Schedule C to this indictment.
7 c) The establishment and perpetuation of inhumane living
8 conditions against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb
9 civilians within the above-mentioned detention facilities. These living
10 conditions were brutal and characterised by inhumane treatment,
11 overcrowding, starvation, forced labour, and systematic physical and
12 psychological abuse, including torture, beatings, and sexual assault.
13 d) The prolonged and frequent forced labour of Bosnian Muslim,
14 Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb civilians from these detention
15 facilities. The forced labour included digging graves and trenches and
16 other forms of manual labour at the front lines.
17 e) The cruel and inhumane treatment of Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian
18 Croat, and other non-Serb civilians during and after the takeover of the
19 municipalities specified above. Such inhumane treatment included, but was
20 not limited to, sexual violence, torture, physical and psychological abuse
21 and forced existence under inhumane living conditions.
22 f) The imposition of restrictive and discriminatory measures
23 against Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other non-Serbs, such as the
24 restriction of freedom of movement, removal from positions of authority in
25 local government institutions and the police, dismissal from jobs,
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1 arbitrary searches of their homes, denial of the right to judicial
2 process, and the denial of the right to equal access to public services,
3 including proper medical care.
4 g) The beating and robbing of Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and
5 other non-Serb civilians.
6 h) The forcible transfer and deportation of thousands of Bosnian
7 Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb civilians from the territories
8 listed above to locations outside of Serb held territories, as described
9 in paragraphs 40 and 41 and Schedule D to this indictment.
10 i) The appropriation and plunder of the property belonging to
11 Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb civilians.
12 j) The intentional and wanton destruction of homes, other public
13 and private property belonging to Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats,
14 their cultural and religious institutions, historical monuments, and other
15 sacred sites as described in paragraph 42.
16 k) The obstruction of humanitarian aid, in particular medical and
17 food supplies into the besieged enclaves, Bihac, Gorazde, Srebrenica, and
18 Zepa, and the deprivation of water from the civilians trapped in the
19 enclaves designed to create unbearable living conditions.
20 By these acts and omissions, Slobodan Milosevic committed:
21 Count 3: Persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds,
22 a crime against humanity, punishable under Articles 5(h) and 7(1) and 7(3)
23 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
24 Counts 4 to 7: Extermination, murder, and wilful killing.
25 From on or about 1 March 1992 until 31 December 1955, Slobodan
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1 Milosevic, acting alone or in concert with other members of the joint
2 criminal enterprise, planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise
3 aided and abetted the planning, preparation, or execution of the
4 extermination, murder and wilful killings of non-Serbs, principally
5 Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats living in the territories of Banja
6 Luka; Bihac; Bijeljina; Bileca; Bosanska Gradiska; Bosanska Krupa;
7 Bosanski Novi; Bosanski Petrovac; Bosanski Samac; Bratunac; Brcko;
8 Cajnice; Celinac; Doboj; Foca; Gacko, Sarajevo (Ilijas); Kljuc; Kalinovik;
9 Kotor Varos; Nevesinje; Sarajevo (Novi Grad); Prijedor; Prnjavor;
10 Rogatica; Rudo; Sanski Most; Sokolac; Srebrenica; Teslic; Visegrad;
11 Vlasenica; and Zvornik. The extermination, murder and wilful killings of
12 these groups were effected by:
13 a) The killing of Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other
14 non-Serbs in their towns and villages, during and after the takeover of
15 the territories listed above including those specified in Schedule A to
16 this indictment.
17 b) The killing of Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other
18 non-Serbs in detention facilities and during their deportation or forcible
19 transfers, including those specified in Schedule B to this indictment.
20 By these acts and omissions, Slobodan Milosevic committed:
21 Count 4: Extermination, a crime against humanity, punishable
22 under Articles 5(b) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
23 Count 5: Murder, a crime against humanity, punishable under
24 Articles 5(a) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
25 Count 6: Wilful killing, a Grave Breach of the Geneva Conventions
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1 of 1949, punishable under Articles 2(a) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute
2 of the Tribunal.
3 Count 7: Murder, a violation of the laws or customs of war, as
4 recognised by Common Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949,
5 punishable under Articles 3 and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the
6 Tribunal.
7 Counts 8 to 15: Unlawful confinement, imprisonment, torture,
8 wilfully causing great suffering, other inhumane acts.
9 From on or about 1 March 1992 until 31 December 1995, Slobodan
10 Milosevic, acting alone or in concert with members of the joint criminal
11 enterprise, planned, instigated, ordered, committed, or otherwise aided
12 and abetted the planning, preparation, or execution of the unlawful
13 confinement or imprisonment under inhumane conditions of Bosnian Muslims,
14 Bosnian Croats, and other non-Serbs within the territories of Banja Luka,
15 Bihac, Bijeljina, Bileca, Bosanska Dubica, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Novi,
16 Bosanski Petrovac, Bosanski Samac, Bratunac, Brcko, Cajnice; Celinac;
17 Doboj; Donji Vakuf; Foca; Gacko; Kljuc; Kalinovik; Kotor Varos; Nevesinje;
18 Prijedor; Prnjavor; Rogatica; Rudo; Sanski Most; Sokolac; Teslic;
19 Visegrad; Vlasenica; and Zvornik.
20 Serb military forces, comprised of JNA, VJ, VRS, TO, and
21 paramilitary units, acting in cooperation with local police staff and
22 local Serb authorities, arrested and detained thousands of Bosnian Muslim,
23 Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb civilians from the territories listed
24 above. These civilians were held in short and long-term detention, of
25 which the major facilities are specified in Schedule C to this
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1 indictment.
2 The living conditions in these detention facilities were brutal
3 and characterised by inhumane treatment, overcrowding, starvation, forced
4 labour, inadequate medical care, and systematic physical and psychological
5 assault, including torture, beatings, and sexual assault.
6 By these acts and omissions, Slobodan Milosevic committed:
7 Count 8: Imprisonment, a crime against humanity, punishable under
8 Articles 5(e) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
9 Counts 9: Torture, a crime against humanity, punishable under
10 Articles 5(f) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
11 Count 10: Inhumane acts, a crime against humanity, punishable
12 under Articles 5(i) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
13 Count 11: Unlawful confinement, a Grave Breach of the Geneva
14 Conventions of 1949, punishable under Articles 2(g) and 7(1) and 7(3) of
15 the Statute of the Tribunal.
16 Count 12: Torture, a Grave Breach of the Geneva Conventions of
17 1949, punishable under Articles 2(g) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of
18 the Tribunal.
19 Count 13: Wilfully causing great suffering, a Grave Breach of the
20 Geneva Conventions of 1949, punishable under Articles 2(c) and 7(1) and
21 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
22 Count 14: Torture, a violation of the laws or customs of war as
23 recognised by Common Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949,
24 punishable under Articles 3 and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the
25 Tribunal.
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1 Count 15: Cruel treatment, a violation of the laws or customs of
2 war as recognised by Common Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of
3 1949, punishable under Articles 3 and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the
4 Tribunal.
5 Counts 16 to 18: Deportation and inhumane acts (forcible
6 transfers).
7 From on or about 1 March 1992 until 31 December 1995, Slobodan
8 Milosevic, acting alone or in concert with members of the joint criminal
9 enterprise, planned, instigated, ordered, committed, or otherwise aided
10 and abetted the planning, preparation or execution of the unlawful
11 forcible transfer, also qualifying as deportation where indicated
12 hereinafter, of tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and
13 other non-Serb civilians from their legal domiciles in the territories of
14 Banja Luka (deportation); Bihac; Bijeljina; Bileca (deportation); Bosanska
15 Dubica; Bosanska Gradiska; Bosanska Krupa; Bosanski Novi; Bosanski
16 Petrovac; Bosanski Samac (deportation); Bratunac; Brcko; Cajnice; Celinac;
17 Doboj; Donji Vakuf; Foca; Gacko (deportation); Sarajevo (Hadzici);
18 Sarajevo (Ilidza); Sarajevo (Ilijas); Kljuc; Kalinovik; Kotor Varos;
19 Nevesinje; Sarajevo (Novi Grad); Sarajevo (Novo Sarajevo); Sarajevo
20 (Pale); Prijedor; Prnjavor; Rogatica; Rudo (deportation); Sanski Most;
21 Sekovici; Sipovo; Sokolac; Srebrenica; Teslic; Trebinje; Sarajevo
22 (Trnovo); Visegrad; Vlasenica; Sarajevo (Vogosca); and Zvornik
23 (deportation), to other areas both inside and outside Bosnia and
24 Herzegovina. The details of such acts and omissions are described in
25 Schedule D.
Page 20
1 In order to achieve this objective, Serb forces comprised of JNA,
2 VJ, VRS and TO, paramilitary units acting in cooperation with local police
3 staff, local Serb authorities, and special forces of the Serbian Ministry
4 of Internal Affairs under the effective control of Slobodan Milosevic or
5 other members of the joint criminal enterprise, subjugated villages and
6 towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina and participated with members of the SDS
7 in the disarming of the non-Serb population. The towns and villages,
8 including areas in which the inhabitants complied and offered no
9 resistance, were then attacked. These attacks were intended to compel the
10 non-Serb population to flee. After taking control of the towns and
11 villages, the Serb forces often rounded up the remaining non-Serb civilian
12 population and forcibly removed them from the area. On other occasions,
13 the Serb forces in cooperation with the local Serb authorities imposed
14 restrictive and discriminatory measures on the non-Serb population and
15 engaged in a campaign of terror designed to drive them out of the
16 territory. The majority of non-Serbs that remained were eventually
17 deported or forcibly transferred from their homes.
18 By these acts and omissions Slobodan Milosevic committed:
19 Count 16: Deportation, a crime against humanity, punishable under
20 Articles 5(i) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
21 Count 18: Unlawful deportation or transfer, a Grave Breach of the
22 Geneva Conventions of 1949, punishable under Articles 2(g) and 7(1) and
23 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
24 Counts 19 to 22: Wanton destruction, plunder of public or private
25 property.
Page 21
1 From on or about 1 March 1992 until 31 December 1995, Slobodan
2 Milosevic, acting alone or in concert with members of the joint criminal
3 enterprise, planned, instigated, ordered, committed, or otherwise aided
4 and abetted the planning, preparation or execution of the wanton
5 destruction and plunder of the public and private property of the Bosnian
6 Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb populations within the
7 territories of Banja Luka; Bihac; Bijeljina; Bileca; Bosanska Dubica;
8 Bosanska Gradiska; Bosanska Krupa; Bosanski Novi; Bosanski Petrovac;
9 Bosanski Samac; Bratunac; Brcko; Cajnice; Celinac; Doboj; Donji Vakuf;
10 Foca; Gacko; Sarajevo (Hadzici); Sarajevo (Ilidza); Sarajevo (Ilijas);
11 Kljuc; Kalinovik; Kotor Varos; Nevesinje; Sarajevo (Novi Grad); Sarajevo
12 (Novo Sarajevo); Sarajevo (Pale); Prijedor; Prnjavor; Rogatica; Rudo;
13 Sanski Most; Sekovici; Sipovo; Sokolac; Srebrenica; Teslic; Sarajevo
14 (Trnovo); Trebinje; Visegrad; Vlasenica; Sarajevo (Vogosca); and Zvornik.
15 This intentional and wanton destruction and plunder was not justified by
16 military necessity and included:
17 a) The appropriation and plunder of property belonging to Bosnian
18 Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb civilians, including the coerced
19 signing of documents relinquishing property rights.
20 b) The intentional and wanton destruction of homes and other
21 property owned by Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat, and other non-Serb
22 civilians. Such destruction was employed as a means to compel non-Serbs
23 to flee their legal domiciles and to prevent their subsequent return.
24 c) The intentional and wanton destruction of religious and
25 cultural buildings of the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat communities
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1 including, but not limited to, mosques, churches, libraries, educational
2 buildings, and cultural centres.
3 By these acts and omissions, Slobodan Milosevic committed:
4 Count 19: Extensive destruction and appropriation of property,
5 not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and
6 wantonly, a Grave Breach of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 punishable
7 under Articles 2(d) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
8 Count 20: Wanton destruction of villages, or devastation not
9 justified by military necessity, a violation of the laws or customs of
10 war, punishable under Articles 3 (b) and 7(1), and 7(3) of the Statute of
11 the Tribunal.
12 Count 21: Willful destruction or willful damage done to historic
13 monuments and institutions dedicated to education or religion, a violation
14 of the laws or customs of war, punishable under Articles 3(d) and 7(1) and
15 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
16 Count 22: Plunder of public or private property, a violation of
17 the laws or customs of war, punishable under Articles 3(e) and 7(1) and
18 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
19 Counts 22 to 29: Murder, willful killing, willfully causing a
20 great suffering, cruel treatment, attacks on civilians.
21 Between April 1992 and November 1995, Slobodan Milosevic, acting
22 alone or in concert with members of the joint criminal enterprise,
23 planned, instigated, ordered, committed, or otherwise aided and abetted
24 the planning, preparation, or execution of a military campaign of
25 artillery and mortar shelling and sniping onto civilian areas of Sarajevo
Page 24
1 and upon its civilian population, killing and wounding thousands of
2 civilians of all ages and both sexes.
3 In this time period, the Sarajevo Romanija Corps of the VRS, under
4 the effective control of Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic,
5 launched and extensive forty-four month shelling and sniping attack on
6 Sarajevo, mostly from positions in the hills surrounding the city with an
7 you been obstructed view of Sarajevo.
8 The Sarajevo Romanija Corps conducted a protracted campaign of
9 shelling and sniping upon Sarajevo, during which civilians were either
10 specifically targeted or the subject of reckless fire into areas where
11 civilians were known to have been. Among the victims of this campaign
12 were civilians who were, amongst other things, tending vegetable plots,
13 queuing for bread or water, attending funerals, shopping in markets,
14 riding on trams, gathering wood. Specific instances of sniping are
15 described in Schedule E attached to this indictment. Specific instances
16 of shelling are set forth in Schedule F.
17 By these acts and omissions, Slobodan Milosevic committed:
18 Count 23: Murder, a crime against humanity, punishable under
19 Articles 5(a) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
20 Count 24: Inhumane acts, a crime against humanity, punishable
21 under Articles 5 9(i) and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
22 Count 25: Willful killing, a Grave Breach of the Geneva
23 Conventions of 1949, punishable under Articles 2(a) and 7(1) and 7(3) of
24 the Statute of the Tribunal.
25 Count 26: Willfully causing great suffering, a Grave Breach of
Page 25
1 the Geneva Conventions of 1949, punishable under Articles 2(c) and 7(1)
2 and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
3 Count 27: Murder, a violation of the laws or customs of war, as
4 recognised by Common Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949,
5 punishable under Articles 3 and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the
6 Tribunal.
7 Count 28: Cruel treatment, a violation of the laws or customs of
8 war, as recognised by Common Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of
9 1949, punishable under Articles 3 and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the
10 Tribunal.
11 Count 29: Attacks on civilians, a violation of the laws or
12 customs of war, as recognised by Articles 51 (2) of Additional Protocol I
13 and Article 13(2) of Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of
14 1949, punishable under Articles 3 and 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the
15 Tribunal.
16 General legal allegations:
17 All acts and omissions alleged in this indictment occurred on the
18 territory of the former Yugoslavia.
19 At all times relevant to this indictment, a state of international
20 armed conflict and partial occupation existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
21 All acts and omissions charged as Grave Breaches of the Geneva
22 Conventions of 1949 occurred during the international armed conflict and
23 partial occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All such acts and omissions
24 were committed against persons protected under the Geneva Conventions.
25 All acts and omissions charged relative to the destruction of
Page 26
1 property as Grave Breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 involved
2 "protected property" under the relevant provisions of the Geneva
3 Conventions.
4 At all times relevant to this indictment, Slobodan Milosevic was
5 required to abide by the laws and customs governing the conduct of armed
6 conflicts, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional
7 Protocols thereto.
8 All conduct charged as crimes against humanity was part of a
9 widespread and systematic attack against the Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian
10 Croat, and other non-Serb civilian populations within large areas of
11 Bosnia and Herzegovina.
12 Additional facts:
13 In November 1990, multi-party elections were held in Bosnia and
14 Herzegovina. At the Republic level, the SDA, or Stranka Demokratske
15 Akcije -- rather, the Party of Bosnian Muslims won 86 seats; the SDS, the
16 party of the Bosnian Serbs, won 72 seats; and the HDZ, Hrvatska
17 Demokratska Zajednica, the Croatian Democratic Community, won 44 seats in
18 the Assembly.
19 The central idea within the SDS political platform as articulated
20 by its leaders, including Radovan Karadzic, Momcilo Krajisnik, and Biljana
21 Plavsic, was the unification of all Serbs within one state. The SDS
22 regarded the separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the SFRY as a
23 threat to the interests of the Serbs.
24 On the 5th of February, 1991, the Assembly of the Republic of
25 Serbia passed a "Law on Ministries" submitted by Slobodan Milosevic. This
Page 27
1 law established twenty ministries of the Serbian government, including the
2 Ministry for Links with Serbs outside Serbia. This Ministry assisted the
3 SDS to establish the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
4 The results of the November 1990 elections meant that, as time
5 went on, the SDS would be unable, through peaceful means, to keep the
6 Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in what was becoming a Serb-dominated
7 Yugoslavia. As a result, Serb people within certain areas of Bosnia and
8 Herzegovina, with Serb majorities, began to organise themselves into
9 formal regional structures that they referred to as "Associations of
10 Municipalities." In April 1991, the Association of Municipalities of
11 Bosnian Krajina, centred in Banja Luka, was formed.
12 In March 1991, the collective Presidency of the SFRY reached a
13 deadlock on several issues including the issue of instituting a state of
14 emergency in Yugoslavia. The representatives on the Presidency from the
15 Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Montenegro, the Autonomous Province of
16 Vojvodina, and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Motohija all resigned
17 from their posts. In a televised address on the 16th of March, 1991,
18 broadcast over television, Slobodan Milosevic, in his capacity as
19 President of the Republic, declared that Yugoslavia was finished and that
20 Serbia would no longer be bound by decisions of the Federal Presidency.
21 On the 25th of March, 1991, Slobodan Milosevic and Franjo Tudjman
22 met in Karadjordjevo and discussed the partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina
23 between Serbia and Croatia.
24 On the 25th of June, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their
25 independence. On the 26th of June, 1991, the JNA intervened in Slovenia.
Page 28
1 In the summer of 1991, fighting broke out in Croatia.
2 In August 1991, Radovan Karadzic instituted a system of secret
3 communication between the local boards of the SDS and the Main Staff and
4 with the Republic of Serbia. This secret communication protocol was
5 declared mandatory for the transmission of reports and orders.
6 From April 1991, the JNA began to withdraw its forces out of
7 Croatia. Forces under the control of the JNA began to redeploy in Bosnia
8 and Herzegovina. Many of these troops were deployed to areas in which
9 there was no garrison or other JNA facilities.
10 As the war continued in Croatia, it appeared increasingly likely
11 that Bosnia and Herzegovina would also declare its independence from the
12 SFRY. The SDS, realising it could not prevent the cessation of Bosnia and
13 Herzegovina from the SFRY, began the creation of a separate Serbian entity
14 within Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the period from September to
15 November 1991, several Serbian Autonomous Regions, SAO, were formed, some
16 of them on the basis of the associations and municipalities referred to
17 above.
18 On the 12th of September, 1991, the Serbian Autonomous Region of
19 Herzegovina was proclaimed. On the 16th of September, 1991, the
20 Autonomous Region of Krajina was proclaimed by the Assembly of the
21 Association of Municipalities of Bosnian Krajina. By the 21st of
22 November, 1991, the Serbian Autonomous Regions and Autonomous Regions
23 consisted of the Autonomous Region of Krajina, the SAO Herzegovina, the
24 SAO Romanija Birac, the SAO Semberija, and SAO Northern Bosnia.
25 On the 3rd of October, 1991, the four members of the SFRY
Page 29
1 Presidency from Serbia and Montenegro, Borisav Jovic, Jugoslav Kostic,
2 Sejdo Bajramovic, and Branko Kostic assumed the function of the SFRY
3 Presidency, circumventing the roles and responsibilities of the Presidency
4 members from Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia, and Herzegovina and
5 Macedonia.
6 On 15 October 1991, at the meeting of the SDS Party Council, the
7 decision was reached to form a separate assembly, entitled the "Assembly
8 of the Serbian People of Bosnia and Herzegovina" to secure Serb
9 interests.
10 On or around 22 October 1991, Slobodan Milosevic, together with
11 other members of the joint criminal enterprise, continued to advocate for
12 an unitary Serb state governed from Belgrade, Serbia. On the same date
13 the "Rump Presidency" called for the mobilisation of reservists in Serbia
14 and "other regions that want to stay in Yugoslavia."
15 On or about 26 October 1991, Radovan Karadzic declared a full
16 mobilisation of the TO and the formation of field units in the Serb
17 Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
18 On 24 October 1991, the Assembly of the Serbian People in Bosnia
19 and Herzegovina, dominated by the SDS, decided to conduct a "Plebiscite of
20 the Serbian People in Bosnia and Herzegovina" in order to decide whether
21 to stay in the common state of Yugoslavia with Serbia, Montenegro, the
22 Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina, SAO Western Slavonia and SAO Eastern
23 Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Srem.
24 On 9 and 10 November 1991, the Bosnian Serbs held the plebiscite
25 on the issue of whether Bosnia and Herzegovina should stay in Yugoslavia
Page 30
1 or become an independent state. The results overwhelmingly showed that
2 the Bosnian Serbs wanted to stay in Yugoslavia.
3 On 21 November 1991, the Assembly of the Serbian People of Bosnia
4 and Herzegovina, proclaimed as part of the territory of the federal
5 Yugoslav state all those municipalities, local communities, and populated
6 places, in which over 50 per cent of the people of Serbian nationality had
7 voted, during the plebiscite, to remain in that state, as well as those
8 places where citizens of other nationalities had expressed themselves in
9 favour of remaining in Yugoslavia.
10 On 11 December 1991, the Assembly of the Serbian People delivered
11 a detailed request to the JNA to protect with all available means as
12 "integral parts of the State of Yugoslavia" the territories of Bosnia and
13 Herzegovina in which the plebiscite of the Serbian people and other
14 citizens on remaining in joint Yugoslav state had been conducted.
15 On 19 December 1991, the SDS issued instructions for the
16 "Organisation and Activity of the Organs of the Serb People in Bosnia and
17 Herzegovina in Extraordinary Circumstances" which provided a plan for the
18 SDS takeover of municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
19 On 9 January 1992, the Assembly of the Serbian People in Bosnia
20 and Herzegovina adopted a declaration on the Proclamation of the Serbian
21 People of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The territory of that republic was
22 declared to include "the territories of the Serbian Autonomous Regions and
23 Districts and of other Serbian ethnic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
24 including the regions in which the Serbian people remained in the minority
25 due to the genocide conducted against it in World War Two," and it was
Page 31
1 declared to be a part of the federal Yugoslav state. On 12 August 1992,
2 the name of the Bosnian Serb Republic was changed to Republika Srpska.
3 From 29 February to 2 March 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina held a
4 referendum on independence. At the urging of the SDS, the majority of
5 Bosnian Serbs boycotted the vote. The referendum resulted in a
6 pro-independence majority.
7 On 18 March 1992, during the 11th session of the Assembly of the
8 Serbian People, a conclusion was reached to "prepare for the next session
9 proposals for the takeover of power in the Republic of Serbian People of
10 Bosnia and Herzegovina."
11 From March 1992 onwards, Serb regular and irregular forces seized
12 control of territories within Bosnia and Herzegovina, including those
13 specified in this indictment.
14 On 6 April 1992, the United States and the European Community
15 formally recognised the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
16 On 27 April 1992, Serbia and Montenegro proclaimed a new Federal
17 Republic of Yugoslavia and declared it the successor state of the
18 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
19 On 12 May 1992, at the 16th Assembly of the Serbian People in
20 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Radovan Karadzic announced the six strategic
21 objectives of the Serbian People in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These
22 objectives included the eradication of the Drina River as a border between
23 the Serbian states. During the same session, General Ratko Mladic told
24 the Assembly that it would not be possible to separate Serbs from
25 non-Serbs and have the non-Serbs simply leave the territory. He warned
Page 32
1 that attempting this process would amount to genocide.
2 On 15 May 1992, the United Nations Security Council in its
3 Resolution number 752 demanded that all interference from outside Bosnia
4 and Herzegovina by units of the JNA cease immediately and that those units
5 either be withdrawn, be subjected to the authority of the Government of
6 the Republic, or be disbanded and disarmed.
7 JUDGE MAY: Thank you.
8 Slobodan Milosevic, the time has now come for you to enter a plea
9 to that indictment. I will put the indictment to you. You should confine
10 your answer, as you know, to "guilty" or "not guilty."
11 On count 1 of this indictment, you are charged with genocide,
12 punishable under Article 4(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you
13 plead to that count, guilty or not guilty?
14 THE ACCUSED: [Microphone not activated]
15 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
16 JUDGE MAY: If you want to plead, put your microphone on.
17 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I would like to say to you that what
18 we have just heard, this tragic text, is a supreme absurdity. I should be
19 given credit for peace in Bosnia, not for war. The responsibility for the
20 war in Bosnia is with the forces who broke up Yugoslavia and their agents
21 in Yugoslavia and not the Serbs or Serbian policies.
22 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Milosevic, as you know, at this time you are
23 simply required to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. You have failed
24 to do so. Accordingly, the Trial Chamber will enter pleas of not guilty
25 on all counts of this indictment.
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1 We will now adjourn and continue the hearing in half an hour.
2 --- Whereupon the Initial Appearance adjourned at
3 10.41 a.m. to be followed by a Motion Hearing
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