Verdict for Stanišić and Simatović on May 31

(Patria) - Following the appeal process for former State Security Service (SDB) officials of Serbia, Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović Frenki, who were initially sentenced to 12 years in prison each for aiding and abetting crimes against non-Serbs in Bosanski Šamac in 1992, the verdict will be delivered at the end of May.

The pronouncement is scheduled for May 31.

The case was initiated before the ICTY. The proceedings before the ICTY concluded in December 2015, and the ICTY Appeals Chamber ordered a complete retrial. Accordingly, the case came under the jurisdiction of the Mechanism, which was established by the UN Security Council to continue the jurisdiction, rights, obligations, and residual functions of the ICTY in light of the expected closure of the ICTY.

The retrial before the Mechanism concluded with the delivery of a written first-instance judgment on August 6, 2021.

Stanišić and Simatović were arrested on March 13, 2003, in Serbia and transferred to the ICTY on May 30 and June 11, 2003, respectively. On May 1, 2003, the ICTY Trial Chamber confirmed the indictment, which stated that both accused were co-perpetrators in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) for the forcible and permanent removal of most non-Serbs from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina through the commission of crimes of persecution, murder, deportation, and inhumane acts.

By majority decision, the ICTY Trial Chamber on May 30, 2013, found Stanišić and Simatović responsible for committing the crimes alleged in the indictment through participation in the JCE, as the Trial Chamber concluded that it was not established beyond a reasonable doubt that they possessed the necessary intent to achieve a common criminal purpose. The Trial Chamber also considered that it was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused planned or ordered these crimes.

Furthermore, the Trial Chamber concluded by majority decision that it was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused aided and abetted the crimes. Accordingly, the Trial Chamber by majority decision acquitted Stanišić and Simatović on all counts of the indictment.

Following the prosecution's appeal, the ICTY Appeals Chamber on December 15, 2015, partially granted the appeal and overturned the acquittals. The Appeals Chamber concluded by majority decision that the Trial Chamber had erred in its findings regarding the existence and scope of the common criminal purpose shared by multiple persons before concluding that the intent of Stanišić and Simatović was not established. In doing so, the Appeals Chamber concluded by majority decision that the Trial Chamber had erred in law by failing to make findings and provide reasoning on the essential elements of responsibility for the JCE.

The ICTY Appeals Chamber ordered that Stanišić and Simatović be retried on all counts. The retrial began on June 13, 2017. In the meantime, in 2019, the defense's request for an acquittal for Simatović was rejected.

The first-instance judgment was delivered on June 30, 2021.

The Trial Chamber found Stanišić and Simatović responsible for aiding and abetting the crime of murder, as a violation of the laws or customs of war and crimes against humanity, and the crimes of deportation, forcible transfer, and persecution, as crimes against humanity, committed by Serb forces after the capture of Bosanski Šamac in April 1992. Specifically, the Trial Chamber found that the accused provided practical assistance that had a significant impact on the commission of the crimes, by training and deploying members of the special unit of the Serbian State Security Service and local Serbs from Bosanski Šamac to participate in the takeover of the municipality.

Accordingly, the Trial Chamber found Stanišić and Simatović guilty on all counts of the indictment and sentenced each to 12 years in prison.