Before:
Judge Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba, Presiding
Judge David Hunt
Judge Fausto Pocar

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Judgement of: 22 February 2001

ZORAN VUKOVIC

_____________________________________________

JUDGEMENT

_____________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Dirk Ryneveld
Mrs. Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff
Ms. Peggy Kuo
Mr. Daryl Mundis

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Slavisa Prodanovic and Ms. Maja Pilipovic for the accused Dragoljub Kunarac
Mr. Momir Kolesar and Mr. Vladimir Rajic for the accused Radomir Kovac
Mr. Goran Jovanovic and Ms. Jelena Lopicic for the accused Zoran Vukovic

I. GLOSSARY OF TERMS, PLACES AND ABBREVIATIONS
A. Terms and places

Aladza mosque The Aladza mosque was the oldest mosque in Foca, located in the Aladza neighbourhood.

Buk Bijela Buk Bijela, a settlement south of Foca, served as an ad-hoc collection centre for women after their capture in the woods and before they were transferred to Foca High School.

Cerova Ravan Cerova Ravan is an area about 10 kilometres north-east of Foca.

Foca High School Foca High School, also situated in the Aladza neighbourhood, served as a detention centre for women. The captured women who had been collected at Buk Bijela were transferred to Foca High School.

Kalinovik High School Kalinovik is located 34 kilometres west of Foca. At Kalinovik High School, women and girls from Gacko, Kalinovik and neighbouring villages were detained.

Karaman’s house Karaman’s house was a house in Miljevina, named after its previous Muslim occupant, to which women and girls from Partizan Sports Hall and Kalinovik High School were taken.

Lepa Brena The Lepa Brena is an apartment block in Foca in the Gornje Polje neighbourhood .

Miljevina Miljevina is a village located about 13 kilometres west of Foca.

Partizan Partizan, a Sports Hall which served as another detention centre to which most women from Foca High School were transferred, was located near the SUP Police Station.

Rogoj Pass The Rogoj Pass is located between Foca and Sarajevo, in a mountain area , close to Dobro Polje.

SUP (Sekretarijat Unutrasnjih Poslova) The SUP was the Serb-controlled Ministry of the Interior or Police. The SUP Building or local Police station was located in Foca, close to Partizan Sports Hall.

Trnovace house The village of Trnovace is located 2.5 kilometres south of Foca. The Trnovace house was a private house where women were kept for several months.

Ulica Osmana Dikica no 16 (UOD) The house at Ulica Osmana Dikica no 16, which was located in the Aladza Settlement of Foca, served as the soldiers’ headquarters and meeting point where they lived more or less permanently. Women and girls were taken there on several occasions.

Velecevo The village of Velecevo is located approximately 1.5 kilometres south-east of Foca. The command of the Foca Tactical Group/Brigade was stationed there.

B. Briefs of parties and Indictments

Defence Pre-Trial Brief I Prosecutor v Kunarac, Kovac, Case IT-96-23-PT, Defence Pre-Trial Brief, 28 Feb 2000

Defence Pre-Trial Brief II Prosecutor v Vukovic, Case IT-96-23/1-PT, Defence Pre-Trial Brief, 28 Feb 2000

Indictment IT-96-23 Indictment against Dragoljub Kunarac and Radomir Kovac

Indictment IT-96-23/1 Indictment against Zoran Vukovic

Prosecutor’s Pre-Trial Brief I Prosecutor v Kunarac and Kovac, Case IT-96 -23-PT, Prosecutor’s Pre-Trial Brief, 9 Dec 1999

Prosecutor’s Pre-Trial Brief II Prosecutor v Vukovic, Case IT-96-23/1-PT, Prosecutor’s Pre-Trial Brief, 21 Feb 2000

Defence Final Trial Brief Prosecutor v Kunarac, Kovac and Vukovic, Case IT -96-23-T & IT-96-23/1-T, Defence Final Trial Brief, 10 Nov 2000

Prosecutor’s Final Trial Brief Prosecutor v Kunarac, Kovac and Vukovic, Case IT-96-23-T & IT-96-23/1-T, Prosecutor’s Final Trial Brief, 8 Nov 2000

C. Abbreviations

FWS-… (Foca Witness Statements) Prosecution witness pseudonyms

par Paragraph

pars Paragraphs

T Transcript page

Ex P… Prosecution Exhibit

Ex D… Defence Exhibit

The trial of Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac, Zoran Vukovic (“accused”), before this Trial Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (“International Tribunal” or “ Tribunal”), commenced on 20 March 2000 and came to a close on 22 November 2000.

Having considered all of the evidence presented to it during the course of the trial , along with the written and oral submissions of the Prosecutor (also “Prosecution ”) and the Defence for the accused, the Trial Chamber

HEREBY RENDERS ITS JUDGEMENT.



II. THE CHARGES AGAINST THE ACCUSED

1. Based upon the third amended Indictment,¹ the withdrawal of Counts 14-17 from that Indictment,² and the Trial Chamber’s judgement of acquittal in favour of the accused Dragoljub Kunarac on Count 13 and the decision that the accused Zoran Vukovic has no case to answer regarding alleged offences against FWS-48,³ the accused are charged as follows.

2. The Prosecution alleges that during the armed conflict between Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Muslims in the spring of 1992, the city and municipality of Foca were taken over by Serb forces by 16 or 17 April 1992. The surrounding villages continued to be under attack until mid-July 1992.⁴ Serbian forces arrested Muslim inhabitants of the town and the villages. Muslim women, children, and elderly people were detained in houses, apartments, and detention centres such as Buk Bijela, Foca High School, and Partizan Sports Hall (“Partizan ”).⁵

3. With regard to the accused Dragoljub Kunarac, the Prosecution asserts that from at least June 1992 until February 1993 he was the commander of a special reconnaissance unit, which was incorporated into the Foca Tactical Group of the Bosnian Serb Army with its headquarters at Velecevo.
   A. The accused Dragoljub Kunarac

4. Dragoljub Kunarac is charged under COUNTS 1 TO 4 with torture, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(f) of the Statute of the Tribunal, and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and recognised by common Article 3(1)(a) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. He is also charged with rape, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(g) of the Statute and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute. These charges are brought pursuant to both Article 7(1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility ) and Article 7(3) of the Statute (command responsibility).

   The Prosecutor alleges that Dragoljub Kunarac, accompanied by his soldiers, removed women from Partizan and took them to Ulica Osmana Ðikica no 16, where he either personally raped them or was present in the house while other soldiers raped the women.⁶

5. Under COUNTS 5 TO 8, the accused Dragoljub Kunarac is charged with torture, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(f) of the Statute, and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and recognised by common Article 3(1)(a) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. He is also charged with rape, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(g) of the Statute and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute. These charges are brought pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility ).

   The Prosecutor alleges that on or around 13 July 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac took FWS -48 and two other women to the Hotel Zelengora where FWS-48 was raped by Dragoljub Kunarac.⁷ On or around 18 July 1992 , Dragoljub Kunarac took FWS-48 and FWS-95 to a house in the Donje Polje neighbourhood where he raped FWS-48.⁸

6. Under COUNTS 9 AND 10, the accused Dragoljub Kunarac is charged with rape, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(g) of the Statute, and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute. These charges are brought pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility ).

   The Prosecutor alleges that on or about 2 August 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac, together with DP 3, transferred FWS-75, FWS-87, and two other women from Partizan to Miljevina . The women were detained in an abandoned Muslim house. In September or October of 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac raped FWS-87 there.⁹ The witnesses and seven other women were detained at that house until about 30 October 1992. They performed household chores and were frequently sexually assaulted.¹⁰

7. Under COUNTS 11 AND 12, the accused Dragoljub Kunarac is charged with torture , as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and recognised by common Article 3(1)(a) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and rape, as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute. These charges are brought pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility).¹¹

   The Prosecutor alleges that in mid-July 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac, with two of his soldiers, appeared in the apartment of FWS-183 and accused her of sending messages out over the radio. They then took her to the banks of the Cehotina river in Foca near Velecevo, where the accused questioned the witness regarding money and gold kept in her apartment, threatening her with death and the slaughtering of her son . All three soldiers then raped the witness.¹²

8. Under COUNTS 18 TO 21, the accused Dragoljub Kunarac is charged with enslavement , as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(c) of the Statute. The accused is also charged with rape, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(g) of the Statute , and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute , as well as outrages upon personal dignity as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and recognised by common Article 3(1)(c) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. These charges are brought pursuant to Article 7 (1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility).

   The Prosecutor alleges that on 2 August 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac, with his deputy “Gaga” and DP 6, took FWS-186, FWS-191 and J.G. from Ulica Osmana Ðikica no 16 to an abandoned house in Trnovace, where the women were raped. Dragoljub Kunarac raped FWS-191.¹³ Witnesses FWS-186 and FWS-191 were kept in this house for approximately six months, while victim J.G. was transferred to the abandoned Muslim house in Miljevina. During the detention , DP 6 constantly raped FWS-186, while for at least two months, the accused Dragoljub Kunarac constantly raped FWS-191. FWS-186 and FWS-191 also had to perform household chores, and obey all commands. After 6 months, a soldier took both witnesses away from the house.¹⁴

   B. The accused Radomir Kovac

9. Radomir Kovac is charged under COUNTS 22 TO 25 with enslavement, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(c) of the Statute. He is also charged with rape , as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(g) of the Statute and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and outrages upon personal dignity, as violations of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and recognised by common Article 3(1)(c) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions . These charges are brought pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility).

   The Prosecutor alleges that on or about 30 October 1992, FWS-75, FWS-87, A.S., and the twelve-year old A.B., were handed over to the accused Radomir Kovac.¹⁵ From about 31 October until 20 November 1992, FWS-75 and A.B. were detained by him in an apartment in the Brena block in Foca. They had to perform household chores and were sexually assaulted. Radomir Kovac and another soldier, Jagos Kostic, frequently raped them. Radomir Kovac also brought a man to the apartment and ordered FWS-75 to have sexual intercourse with him. When she refused, Radomir Kovac beat her. On or around 20 November 1992, Radomir Kovac took FWS-75 and A.B. from the apartment to a house near the Hotel Zelengora. They were kept there for about twenty days during which time they were frequently sexually assaulted by a group of unknown Serb soldiers from the group to which Radomir Kovac belonged.¹⁶ Around 10 December 1992, FWS-75 and A.B. were moved to an apartment in the Pod Masala neighbourhood of Foca. They stayed there for about fifteen days during which time FWS-75 and A.B. were frequently raped by the same soldiers as at the house near Hotel Zelengora. On or about 25 December 1992, FWS-75 and the other women were brought back to the Brena apartment; Radomir Kovac sold A.B. to an unidentified soldier.¹⁷ FWS-87 and A.S. were detained in the Brena apartment from about 31 October 1992 until about 25 February 1993. During this time, both women were raped by Radomir Kovac and Jagos Kostic.¹⁸ On or about 25 February 1993, Radomir Kovac sold FWS-87 and A.S. to two unidentified Montenegrin soldiers.¹⁹ On an unknown date between about 31 October 1992 and about 7 November 1992, FWS-75, FWS-87, A. S., and A.B. were forced to take all of their clothes off and dance naked on a table while Radomir Kovac watched.²⁰

   C. The accused Zoran Vukovic

10. The accused Zoran Vukovic is charged under COUNTS 21 TO 24 with torture, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(f) of the Statute, and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and recognised by common Article 3(1)(a) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. He is also charged with rape, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(g) of the Statute, and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute. These charges are brought pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility ).

    The Prosecutor alleges that on or about 6 or 7 July 1992, Dragan Zelenovic, DP 1 , and the accused Zoran Vukovic selected FWS-50, FWS-75, FWS-87 and FWS-95 from a group of detainees. Dragan Zelenovic raped FWS-75. The accused Zoran Vukovic raped FWS-87 and DP 1 raped FWS-95. One of the other soldiers raped FWS-50.²¹ Between or about 8 July and about 13 July 1992, on at least five other occasions , Zoran Vukovic was a member of a group of soldiers, who raped FWS-75 and FWS-87 .²²

11. Under COUNTS 33 TO 36, Zoran Vukovic is charged with torture, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(f) of the Statute, and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute and recognised by common Article 3(1)(a) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. He is also charged with rape, as a crime against humanity, under Article 5(g) of the Statute, and as a violation of the laws or customs of war, under Article 3 of the Statute. These charges are brought pursuant to Article  7(1) of the Statute (individual criminal responsibility).

    The Prosecutor alleges that on or around 14 July 1992, FWS-48, FWS-87, and Z.G. were brought to the Brena apartment block near Hotel Zelengora. DP 1 raped witness Z.G., and an unidentified soldier raped FWS-87.²³ On or around 14 July 1992, Zoran Vukovic came to Partizan to remove FWS-50 and FWS -87. As FWS-50 hid, Zoran Vukovic threatened to kill the other detainees; she and FWS-87 were taken to an apartment close to Partizan where Zoran Vukovic raped FWS -50 while an unidentified soldier raped FWS-87.²⁴ On one occasion in July 1992, FWS-87 was raped by four men including Zoran Vukovic .²⁵