Stanisic and Zupljanin sentencing on June 30: Prosecution seeks 30 to 40 years in prison

The sentencing of the Appeals Chamber of the Hague Tribunal in the case against Mico Stanisic and Stojan Zupljanin, two former high-ranking Bosnian Serb officials, is scheduled for Thursday, June 30 at 3:30 PM in courtroom I, the Hague Tribunal announced, as reported by the Patria news agency.

Mico Stanisic, former Minister of Interior of Republika Srpska, and Stojan Zupljanin, former chief of the regional Security Services Center in Banja Luka, are charged as participants in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) aimed at permanently removing Bosniaks, Croats, and other non-Serb populations from the territory of the planned „Serb state“ in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Trial Chamber concluded that Stanisic and Zupljanin participated in this JCE and could have foreseen many of the crimes committed in several municipalities in BiH.

The Trial Chamber sentenced Stanisic and Zupljanin to 22 years in prison each for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in BiH between April and December 1992.

It is worth recalling that although they received the same prison sentence, the first accused, Stanisic, was acquitted of the count of extermination, while his subordinate, the second accused Zupljanin, was found responsible for that crime as well.

Presiding Judge Burton Hall explained why the first accused, Stanisic, was acquitted of that count of the indictment.

„With regard to the extermination incidents in the municipalities of Kljuc, Kotor Varos, Prijedor, Brcko, Visegrad, Vlasenica, Zvornik, and Banja Luka, the Trial Chamber further analyzed Stanisic's responsibility for extermination under the doctrine of command responsibility and concludes that he either did not know or had no reason to know that extermination would occur, was ongoing, or had been committed,“ Hall said.

Stanisic was also acquitted of command responsibility for the crime at Korican's Cliffs, committed by police forces from Prijedor:

„In the case of Korican's Cliffs, although Stanisic learned of the extermination of over 150 Bosniak men a few days after the crime, the Trial Chamber finds that he bears no criminal responsibility for these acts because the prosecution failed to prove that Stanisic did not take necessary and reasonable measures to punish the perpetrators in connection with this incident.“

On the other hand, the second accused, Zupljanin, who was directly subordinate to Stanisic, was also convicted of the count of extermination. The three-member Trial Chamber concluded that the prosecution provided evidence of Zupljanin's efforts to cover up crimes committed by police officers under his command, and therefore he is responsible for them:

„In at least two incidents where police officers killed a large number of Bosniaks, Zupljanin misled judicial authorities in an attempt to protect the perpetrators from prosecution. The Trial Chamber finds beyond reasonable doubt that through these acts and omissions, Stojan Zupljanin both intended and significantly contributed to the plan to remove Bosniaks and Croats from the territory of the planned „Serb state.“

The Trial Chamber was convinced that Zupljanin even personally participated in the rare investigations of crimes by police forces, and then manipulated the results to ensure the perpetrators went unpunished. This, according to the verdict, contributed to a climate of impunity, contrary to his duty to protect all civilians in the area under the control of his police forces:

„Instead, he allegedly encouraged and facilitated the commission of crimes by Serb forces. Additionally, according to the indictment, he did not take appropriate steps to investigate, arrest, or punish the perpetrators of such crimes.“

The Hague Tribunal's prosecution requested in 2013 that the Appeals Chamber overturn the 22-year prison sentences for former officials Stanisic and Zupljanin and impose sentences ranging from 30 to 40 years.