Transferred from the ICTY to the State Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina on 29 September 2005; sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment on 14 November 2006; escaped from custody on 25 May 2007
Radovan Stankovic was arrested on 9 July 2002 by French and German soldiers of the KFOR in south eastern Bosnia and transferred to the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) the following day.
The original indictment, confirmed on 26 June 1996, included seven other accused. However, after his arrest, a separate Indictment against Radovan Stankovic was filed on 3 March 2003 and confirmed on 24 February 2004.
The Indictment charged Radovan Stankovic on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility (Art 7 § 1 ICTY Statute) for:
- Four counts of violations of the laws or customs of war (Art. 3 - rape; outrages upon personal dignity);
- Four counts of crimes against humanity (Art. 5 - enslavement; rape).
He entered a not guilty plea for all counts on the indictment.
On 17 May 2005, the ICTY decided that the Radovan Stankovic case should be handed over to the State Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina in application of Article 11bis of the ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence. An appeal lodged by Radovan Stankovic against this ruling was rejected on 1 September 2005 by the ICTY Appeals Chamber.
He was transferred to Sarajevo on 29 September 2005.
Based on the Bosnian Criminal Code, he was liable to a prison sentence of 10 to 45 years.
During his initial appearance before the State Court on 24 December 2005, he asserted that the indictment was a sham and had been fabricated by the Bosnian Muslim secret service. The judges concluded that his protest was tantamount to a not guilty plea.
His trial started in Sarajevo on 23 February 2006. On 14 November 2006, Stankovic was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for rape and other crimes against humanity by the State Court.
The verdict was appealed by the accused, his defence counsel and the prosecution.
On 28 March 2007 the Appeals Chamber increased the prison term to 20 years.
On 25 May 2007 Stankovic escaped from a prison in Foca.
