The latest in a series of documentaries produced by the ICTY Outreach Programme premiered today in Belgrade, Serbia. The screening of ‘Crimes before the ICTY: Central Bosnia’ attracted over 50 guests including government officials, diplomats, NGO representatives and journalists who gathered at the Belgrade Ethnographic Museum.
The documentary tells the story of some of the gravest crimes committed against civilians during the Croat – Muslim conflict in Central Bosnia between early 1993 and early 1994. Investigations into alleged crimes committed by both sides began while the conflict was still ongoing, and led to some of the Tribunal’s first indictments.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion involving Steve Coulson, one of the producers of the movie and Nenad Golčevski, the ICTY's Outreach Officer in The Hague. The panellists discussed the importance of establishing the facts about crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and emphasised the importance of making the Tribunal’s work accessible to ensure a better future for generations to come. Producer Steve Coulson explained why the decision had been taken to produce this documentary series "We feel that people in the region should be able to hear facts, arguments and judgments directly from the ICTY so that they can make their own minds up about the events that took place."
Asked about the choice of documentary topics, Nenad Golčevski explained that to date, Outreach has selected ICTY cases of particular significance, or major achievements, such as the successful prosecution of sexual violence committed during wartime.