 | |  | | Dragoljub Kunarac | | | context : | Former Yugoslavia  | | judgement place : | ICTY (Yugoslavia) | | status : | Sentenced | | particulars : | Sentenced to 28 years imprisonment by the ICTY; transferred to Germany to serve his sentence | | position : | Commander of a special reconnaissance unit of the Bosnian Serb Army |
|
| | | | Dragoljub Kunarac was born on 15 May 1960 in Foca (Bosnia-Herzegovina).
From April 1992 until at least February 1993, the Foca region was the scene of a conflict which opposed the Serbs and Muslims of Bosnia. The Serb military forces had entirely occupied the town of Foca (South-East of Sarejevo) and the surrounding villages. This area continued to be under siege until mid-July 1992.
Dragoljub Kunarac was at the head of a special unit for reconnaissance which was part of the Foca tactical group of the Bosnian Serb camp. He was a well informed soldier, having access to the highest ranks of the military command in the zone and was in charge of gathering information about the enemy. He was found guilty of the rape of several Muslim woman, of inciting his soldiers to commit collective rape, and of forcing women into slavery. He was thereby judged to be guilty of crimes against humanity (torture, enslavement and rape), and of violations of the laws and customs of war (torture and rape).
Soon after the Serb forces seized Foca, they began to arrest its Muslim and Croatian inhabitants. The Serb authorities are then said to have separated the men from the women and to have illegally detained thousands of Muslims and Croatians in several long or short term detention centres, or to have assigned them to house arrest. During these arrests, several civilians were killed, beaten or subjected to sexual violence.
Dragoljub Kunarac was cited in the indictment as being the commander of a special reconnaissance unit of the Bosnian Serb Army from June 1992 until at least February 1993.
In his capacity as commander of these soldiers, Dragoljub Kunarac was responsible for the acts of the soldiers subordinate to him and knew or had reason to know that his subordinates sexually assaulted Muslim women. He was personally involved in sexual assaults and rape of women.
Kunarac gave himself up voluntarily on 4 March 1998, and was handed over to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) the following day. | |     click for more... | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | nationality : | | | Bosnia and herzegovina | | | date of birth : | | | 15.05.1960 | | | period of charges : | | | 04.1992 - 02.1993 | | | judgement period : | | | 22.02.2001 - 12.06.2002 | | | charges : | | | Crimes against humanity
War crimes | | | profile last modified : | | | 08.01.2008 |
| |
| | |
|
|
