The first verdict of genocide by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada
Published: January 17, 2011
The Appeals Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 14, 2022 confirmed the first verdict on genocide in the case Milorad Trbic. He was lawfully sentenced to 30 years in prison for genocide in Srebrenica.
Trial Verdict in Trbić Upheld
17.01.2011.
Following a public hearing, the Appellate Panel rendered the Appellate Verdict, refusing as unfounded the appeals submitted by the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, the Defence Counsel for the Accused Trbić and the victims, and upholding the Trial Verdict of 16 October 2021 in its entirety.
Under the Trial Verdict, the Trial Panel found the Accused Milorad Trbić guilty of the criminal offence of Genocide, as a participant in a joint criminal enterprise, in the period from 12 July to 30 November 1995, together with Colonel Ljubiša Beara, Lieutenant Colonel Vujadin Popović, Lieutenant Drago Nikolić and others, with a common purpose and a plan to capture, detain, summarily execute and bury all able-bodied Muslim men from the Srebrenica enclave, who were brought to the Zvornik Brigade area of responsibility. The Panel found that the alleged common purpose and plan are tantamount to the commission of the crime of Genocide. Therefore, for participating in the joint criminal enterprise, the Accused Trbić was sentenced to the long-term imprisonment of 30 years.
The Accused was acquitted of the counts related to the Bratunac Brigade area of responsibility, considering that the Panel did not find sufficient evidence to convict the Accused for participation in this operation beyond a reasonable doubt.
The maximum penalty for this offence is 45 years. According to the law, the Panel must also consider the extenuating circumstances. In sentencing the Accused, the Panel found that there are both mitigating and aggravating circumstances. In its consideration of the mitigating circumstances, the Panel found that Trbić did not participate in the overall planning of these criminal acts, hence the criminal sanction reflects his level of liability in the overall plan.
The Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, the Defence Counsel for the Accused and a certain number of victims appealed the Trial Verdict in a timely manner.
The Prosecutor appealed on the grounds of the erroneously and incompletely established state of facts and the decision on sentence, and moved the Appellate Panel of the Court to grant the Appeal as well-founded and revoke the contested Verdict in part, specifically in its acquitting part, as well as to order a retrial before the Appellate Panel, and to uphold the Trial Verdict in its sentencing part. As for the sentence, the Prosecutor moved that the Trial Verdict be reversed, and the Accused Milorad Trbić sentenced to the long-term imprisonment of 45 years.
The Defence Counsel for the Accused appealed the Trial verdict on all grounds, including essential violations of the criminal procedure, violations of the Criminal Code, the erroneously established state of facts and the decision on the sentence, and moved the Panel to revoke the contested Verdict in its sentencing part, hold a hearing, after which the Appellate Panel would review the facts and evidence properly and in accordance with the law, eliminate the referenced and other major criminal procedure violations, and acquit the Accused Milorad Trbić of the charges.
Appeals were also filed by a certain number of victims, against the part of the Verdict on the costs and property claims. Namely, given the poor financial standing of the Accused, he was exempted from paying for the costs of criminal proceedings, while the victims were referred to take civil action in view of their property claims.
On 21 October 2010, the Appellate Panel held a public hearing, where the Prosecutor and the Defence Counsel for the Accused briefly presented their appeals and maintained their respective grievances in their entirety. In their view, oral presentations of their adversary were unfounded; hence they moved the Court to refuse them as such. In review of the grievances, the Appellate Panel found their grievances to be meritless, and upheld the Trial Verdict.
Milorad Trbić found guilty
16.10.2009.
On 16 October 2009, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found the accused Milorad Trbić guilty of genocide, for his participation in a joint criminal enterprise, between 12 July and 30 November 1995, together with Colonel Ljubiša Beara, Liutenant Colonel Vujadin Popović, Lieutenant Drago Nikolić and others, which consisted of the common purpose and plan to capture, detain, summarily execute and bury all able bodied Bosniak (Muslim) males from Srebrenica enclave, who were brought into the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility. The Court found that this common purpose and plan amounted to the commission of the crime of genocide. The Court therefore sentenced him for his participation in the joint criminal enterprise to 30 (thirty) years of long-term imprisonment.
The Court found that the Accused took part in a joint criminal enterprise which was the aim of a larger operation conceived by VRS Main Staff Officers including General Ratko Mladić, which extended beyond the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility and the purpose of which was larger than the joint criminal enterprise of which the Accused was a member.
It is estimated that over 7000 Bosniak males were killed between 13 and 19 July 2021 in the Srebrenica area. The majority of these males were killed in the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility.
The Court found that the acts of the Accused between 12 July and 30 November 2021 in the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility were a significant contribution to the common plan to capture, detain, summarily execute and bury all able bodied Bosniak males from Srebrenica enclave, who were brought into the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility. Moreover, the Court found that the Accused perpetrated these acts with genocidal intent.
The Court found that the Accused selected detention sites in the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility where Bosniak males from Srebrenica would later be brought. The Court found that he was significantly involved in detention sites in Orahovac, Ročevići, and Petkovci, as well as in execution sites near Lažete, Kozluk and Petkovci Dam. The victims who were killed at these execution sites were then buried in unmarked mass graves. On 16 and 17 July 1995, Milorad Trbić was the Duty Operations Officer of the Zvornik Brigade and his acts during that period significantly contributed to the implementation of the common plan. During that period, Bosniak males from Srebrenica were detained at Kula School, Branjevo Military Farm and Pilica Dom. They were executed at Branjevo Military Farm and Pilica Dom and later buried in unmarked mass graves.
In September 1995, the Accused was involved in the exhumation and reburial of the victims of the mass executions which took place in July 1995, thereby continuing the mass burial operation which started in July. This reburial operation created substantial obstacles to the identification process because bodies were dismembered and body parts were then reburied in different mass graves. These actions have considerably lengthened the time needed to identify the bodies and has extended the suffering and grief of the victims’ families.
The Accused was acquitted of the charges that related to the Bratunac Brigade zone of responsibility as the Court did not have sufficient evidence to convict beyond reasonable doubt that he was part of that operation.
The maximum sentence for this offence is 45 years. Under the law, the Court must also consider mitigating factors. The Court found both aggravating and mitigating circumstances in determining the sentence for the Accused. The Court, when considering mitigating circumstances, found that Milorad Trbić did not take part in the overall planning of these crimes and the sentence reflects his level of responsibility in the overall crime.
The time the Accused spent in custody, starting from 8 April 2005, shall be credited towards his sentence.
Milorad Trbic - Indicted for genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, extermination, murder, persecutions and forcible transfer by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
http://www.icty.org/x/cases/trbic/cis/en/cis_trbic_en.pdf
Indictments, Trial Decisions, Trial Orders, President’s Decisions, Transcripts, Press Releases, 2005 - 2007
http://www.icty.org/case/trbic/4
The Accused has been in custody in BiH since his transfer from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on 11 June 2021
On 16 October 2009, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found the accused Milorad Trbić guilty of genocide
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