This case summary is part of a collection of summaries describing the cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). See the Online Resource Hub pages on the ICTY and International Criminal Law, and the table of ICTY case summaries for additional information.
Milošević (IT-98-29/1) “Sarajevo”
Trial Judgment: 12 December 2007; Appeal Judgment: 12 November 2009
Dragomir Milošević, Chief of Staff to Stanislav Galić and the Commander of the Sarajevo Romanija Corps, stood trial for allegedly having planned, prepared, executed, or otherwise aided and abetted the campaign of shelling and sniping upon civilian areas of Sarajevo with the primary purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population; conducted a coordinated and protracted campaign of sniper attacks upon the civilian population of Sarajevo; and conducted a campaign of artillery, mortar, and modified air bomb shelling of civilian areas of Sarajevo in a deliberate, indiscriminate, excessive and disproportionate manner to the direct military advantage anticipated. The prosecution accused him of individual and superior criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity for murder and inhumane acts; and violations of the laws or customs of war for terror and attacks on civilians.
In 2007, the Trial Chamber convicted Milošević of individual criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity for murder and inhumane acts and violations of the laws or customs of war for terror; the Trial Chamber dismissed the charges of unlawful attacks against civilians as they were covered in the conviction of terror.
In 2009, the Appeals Chamber found that the Trial Chamber erred when it found that the evidence regarding the shelling of the Baščaršija flea market demonstrated Milošević’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and overturned his conviction with regard to the specific incident; the Appeals Chamber also found that the Trial Chamber erred when it found that ordered troops to perform a campaign of sniping and shelling in Sarajevo without demonstrating that there was a specific instruction, and instead relying on the existence of a shelling and sniping campaign alone to prove Milošević’s guilt. The Trial Chamber sentenced Milosevic to 33 years’ imprisonment, which was reduced to 29 years by the Appeals Chamber.