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| |  | | Milan Martic | | | context : | Former Yugoslavia  | | judgement place : | ICTY (Yugoslavia) | | status : | Sentenced | | particulars : | Trial before the ICTY began on December 13, 2005; sentenced to 35 years imprisonment on 12 June 2007; sentence affirmed on appeal on 8 October 2008 | | position : | Held various leadership positions in the so-called Republic of Serb Krajina (Republika Srpska Krajina/RSK) |
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| | | | A “Rule 61 hearing” in the Martic case was held before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on 27 February 1996. In certain instances when the Tribunal had been unable to obtain custody of an accused, it can proceed under Rule 61 of its Rules of Procedure and Evidence. In a Rule 61 hearing, a Trial Chamber examines an indictment and the supporting evidence and can confirm the indictment and issue an international arrest warrant.
In addition to written evidence, the Prosecutor presented live testimony from four witnesses. On 8 March 1996, the Trial Chamber issued a decision confirming the initial indictment and issuing an international arrest warrant for Martic which was sent to all States and to the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) that was in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time.
Milan Martic, on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility (Article 7 § 1 ICTY Statute) and of his responsibility as a superior (Article 7 § 3 ICTY Statute), is charged with:
- Ten counts of crimes against humanity (Article 5 ICTY Statute – persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; extermination; murder; imprisonment; torture; inhumane acts; deportation; inhumane acts (forcible transfers));
- Nine counts of violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 ICTY Statute – murder; torture; cruel treatment; wanton destruction of villages or devastation not justified by military necessity; destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to education or religion; plunder of public or private property; attacks on civilians).
Milan Martic only surrendered in May 2002. He was transferred on 15 May 2002 to the ICTY in The Hague.
On 21 May 2002, during his initial appearance, and then again on 23 January 2003 he pleaded not guilty to all the charges held against him in the indictment.
On 10 November 2005, the Trial Chamber rejected a motion from the Prosecutor to join the procedure against Milan Martic with those against Jovica Stanisic, Franko Simatovic and Vojislav Seselj (see “related cases”).
The trial of Milan Martic commenced before the ICTY on 13 December 2005.
On 12 June 2007 Martic was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment.
He was found guilty of murder, torture and persecution. Martic was found guilty of 16 counts and acquitted of the charge of extermination, saying the number of deaths involved did not justify the charge. Judges dropped two other charges, saying they were covered by another charge in the indictment.
Both parties appealed the first-instance judgement.
The Defence requested a finding of not guilty or a re-trial on the basis of alleged errors of law and fact. The Prosecution presented one ground of appeal, asking for a revision of the sentence due to an alleged error of law.
The Appeal hearing began on 25 June 2008.
On 8 October 2008, the Appeals Chamber affirmed the judgement by the Trial Chamber.
The Appeals Chamber dismissed nine grounds of Martić’s appeal and accepted two sub-grounds of the fifth ground of appeal, reversing Martić’s convictions relating to specific alleged crimes committed in Benkovac, Cerovljani, Vukovići and Poljanak.
The Appeals Chamber rejected Martić’s argument that the Trial Chamber erred in failing to take into account relevant contextual factors, in particular, the political objectives of the Serb leadership.
The Appeals Chamber granted the Prosecution’s sole ground of appeal in which it claimed that the Trial Chamber erred in law when it found that persons hors de combat, i.e. soldiers who are incapable of taking part in the hostilities (for example because injured or detained), could not be victims of crimes against humanity.
The Appeals Chamber concluded that the reversals on appeal did not warrant a revision of sentence.
Milan Martić will remain in the Tribunal’s Detention Unit pending finalisation of arrangements for his transfer to the State where he will serve the rest of his sentence. | |    | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | nationality : | | | Croatia | | | date of birth : | | | 18.11.1954 | | | last time seen : | | | The Hague (Netherlands) | | | period of charges : | | | 04.01.1991 - 08.1995 | | | judgement period : | | | 13.12.2005 - 08.10.2008 | | | charges : | | | Crimes against humanity
War crimes | | | profile last modified : | | | 11.10.2008 |
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