Press Releases:

June 12, 2008

Serbia: Arrest of Bosnian Serb Commander

BRUSSELS - Serbian authorities' June 11 arrest of Stojan Zupljanin, a former Bosnian Serb police commander charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, is a reminder of Serbia's key role if leading suspected war criminals are to be brought to justice, the International Center for Transitional Justice said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicted Mr. Zupljanin in 1999 for his authority over detention camps and police forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War and for his alleged role in ethnic-cleansing campaigns against non-Serb  civilians. Serbia's failure to fully cooperate with the ICTY by arresting fugitives in its territory has been an ongoing obstacle to progress towards EU membership.

Mr. Zupljanin's arrest highlights the need for the ICTY to remain operational for as long as it takes for all fugitives to be brought to justice.

"This is a welcome development, but the more important test will be the arrest of Ratko Mladic," said Dick Oosting, Europe Director at the ICTJ.

"Mladic remains the litmus test and any real progress on Serbia's integration into the EU must remain dependent on that," Mr. Oosting said.

Gen. Mladic is the former Bosnian Serb commander indicted by the ICTY on charges of genocide and other crimes against humanity. He is accused of being responsible for the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnians from the town of Srebrenica in 1995.

Mr. Zupljanin's arrest was conducted under the supervision of the War Crimes Prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic. The ICTJ analyzed the work of the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor in ICTJ's recent report "Against the Current - War Crimes Prosecutions in Serbia."

In addition to Gen. Mladic, the other remaining fugitives sought by the ICTY are Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader; and Goran Hadzic, a former Croatian Serb leader charged with the murder of hundreds of Croatians. 

To learn more about the ICTJ's work in the Former Yugoslavia, click here.

About the ICTJ

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.

To learn more about the ICTJ, please visit www.ictj.org

CONTACT
Robert Ruby
Communications Director
Tel + 1 646 919 6599
rruby@ictj.org

###