Prosecutor V.docx

Prosecutor v. Duško Tadić [7 May 1997] FACTS: The area with which this trial is primarily concerned is north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina; more specifically, the town of Prijedor and the town of Kozarac. After the takeover of Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the attack launched against the town of Kozarac (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1992, the non-Serb civilians were detained in several prison facilities, where they were beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured, killed and otherwise mistreated.

After an unsuccessful attempt to regain control of the town of Prijedor on 30 May 1992 by a small group of poorly armed non-Serbs, non-Serbs in Prijedor were ordered to use sheets of white material to mark their homes and indicate that they surrendered. Ultimately they were divided into two groups: one which consisted of men aged between 12 to 15 or 60 to 65, and one of women, children and elderly men. Generally the men were taken to the Keraterm and Omarska camps and the women to the Trnopolje camp. After the cleansing of Prijedor any remaining nonSerbs were required to wear white armbands to distinguish themselves. Non-Serbs lived in fear as former friends reported them to the authorities and the disappearance of non-Serbs became an everyday experience. For those held at camps in the area, the overwhelming majority of whom were non-Serbs, the situation was horrendous, with, as described below, brutal beatings, rapes and torture commonplace and the conditions of life appalling. Whereas before the conflict Prijedor contained approximately 50,000 Muslims and 6,000 Croats, only approximately 6,000 Muslims and 3,000 Croats remained after the cleansing and they endured very harsh conditions. They were required to perform dangerous and difficult work, had difficulties buying food, were harassed, and killings occurred on a continual basis. After the take-over of Prijedor and the outlying areas, the Serb forces confined thousands of Muslim and Croat civilians in the Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje camps. The establishment of these camps was part of the Greater Serbia plan to expel non-Serbs from op{tina Prijedor. Generally the camps were

established and run either at the direction of, or in cooperation with, the Crisis Staffs, the armed forces and the police. During confinement, both male and female prisoners were subjected to severe mistreatment, which included beatings, sexual assaults, torture and executions. They were also subjected to degrading psychological abuse, by being forced to spit on the Muslim flag, sing Serbian nationalist songs or to give the Serbian three-fingered salute. Prisoners were guarded by soldiers, police forces, local Serb military or TO units, or a combination thereof, who were dressed in uniforms and generally had automatic rifles and other weapons on their person. Perhaps the most notorious of the camps, where the most horrific conditions existed, was the Omarska camp. The camp was in operation from 25 May 1992 until late August 1992 when the prisoners were transferred to Trnopolje and other camps. Omarska held as many as 3,000 prisoners at one time, primarily men, but also had at least 36 to 38 women. With little exception, all were Muslims or Croats. The only Serb prisoners sighted by any of the witnesses were said to have been there because they were on the side of the Muslims. Women who were held at Omarska were routinely called out of their rooms at night and raped. One witness testified that she was taken out five times and raped and after each rape she was beaten. After the ethnic cleansing of Kozarac had been accomplished, the accused became the political leader of Kozarac. On 15 August 1992 he was elected President of the Local Board of the SDS and was appointed as Acting Secretary of the Local Commune.