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.
Popović et al. (IT-05-88) “Srebrenica”
Trial Judgment: 10 June 2010; Appeal Judgment: 30 January 2015
Vujadin Popović and Vinko Pandurević, the Lieutenants Colonel and Chiefs of Security of the Drina Corps of the VRS, Ljubiša Beara, Colonel and Chief of Security of the VRS Main Staff, Drago Nikolić, a Lieutenant who served as Chief of Security of the Zvornik Brigade of the VRS, Radivoje Miletić, the Chief of Operations and Training Administration of the VRS, Ljubomir Borovčanin, the Deputy Commander of the Ministry of the Interior Special Police Brigade and Commander of a joint force of Ministry of the Interior units subordinated to the Drina Corps of the VRS, and Milan Gvero, the Assistant Commander for Morale, Legal and Religious Affairs of the VRS Main Staff, stood trial for allegedly having engaged in criminal acts related to the genocide at Srebrenica; this case was the largest case regarding the Srebrenica events heard at the ICTY, and was the first case at the ICTY to deal with conspiracy to commit genocide. The defendants allegedly having planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation and execution of crimes related to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in the UN safe-zone of Srebrenica and Žepa enclave, including the act of genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide by systematically killing Bosniak men by summary execution including at various locations in and around Potočari and Srebrenica; causing serious bodily harm to the Bosniak population generally; persecutions against the Bosnian Muslim population including through terror and destruction of property; the forced separation of able-bodied Bosniak men from their families; the opportunistic killing of Bosnian Muslim men at and around Žepa, Srebrenica, and Potočari; the reburial of victims of the executions to conceal the extent of the killings and executions; and the forcible transfer of Bosniak women and children. The prosecution accused Popović, Beara, Nikolić, Pandurević, and Borovčanin on the basis of individual criminal responsibility and membership in joint criminal enterprises to murder and to forcibly remove, and Pandurević and Borovčanin on the additional basis of superior criminal responsibility, of genocide; conspiracy to commit genocide; crimes against humanity for extermination, murder, persecutions, inhumane acts of forcible transfer, and deportation; and violations of the laws or customs of war for murder. The prosecution accused Miletić and Gvero, under theories of individual criminal liability and participation in a joint criminal enterprise to forcibly remove, of crimes against humanity for murder, persecutions, inhumane acts of forcible transfer, and deportation; and for violations of the laws or customs of war for murder.
In 2010, the Trial Chamber convicted Popović and Beara of individual criminal responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity for extermination and persecutions, and violations of the laws or customs of war for murder, and due to the principles related to cumulative convictions did not enter a conviction for conspiracy to commit genocide or murder as a crime against humanity; the Trial Chamber convicted Nikolić individual criminal responsibility for aiding and abetting genocide, and for committing crimes against humanity for extermination and persecution and for violations of the laws and customs of war for murder; the Trial Chamber convicted Miletić of individual criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity for murder, persecution, and inhumane acts of forcible transfer; the Trial Chamber convicted Borovčanin of individual criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity for extermination, persecutions, and inhumane acts of forcible transfer and violations of the laws or customs of war for murder; the Trial Chamber convicted Pandurević of individual criminal responsibility for aiding and abetting crimes against humanity for murder, persecution, and inhumane acts of forcible transfer and violations of the laws or customs of war for murder, as well as finding him guilty under superior criminal responsibility for murder as both crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war; the Trial Chamber convicted Gvero of individual criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity of persecution and inhumane acts of forcible transfer.
In 2015, the Appeals Chamber decided the prosecution’s appeal and found that the Trial Chamber erred in law when it declined to enter convictions for Popović and Beara for conspiracy to commit genocide under the argument that the full criminality is accounted for under the conviction for genocide; the Appeals Chamber entered convictions against Popović and Beara for conspiracy to commit genocide. The Appeals Chamber decided the prosecution’s appeal and found that the Trial Chamber erred when it found that there was no evidence to demonstrate that Pandurević aided and abetted the crimes committed within the joint criminal enterprise for murder. The Appeals Chamber decided the prosecution’s appeal and found that the Trial Chamber erred when it acquitted Pandurević for persecution under his superior criminal responsibility, as he failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent his subordinates from participating in persecutions under his duty as a commander. The Appeals Chamber decided Miletić’s appeal and found that the Trial Chamber erred when it found that the column of Bosniak men who crossed the Drina River included civilians, which was a necessary component to Miletić’s conviction for forcible transfer; the Appeals Chamber reversed the charges of persecution and forcible transfer as they related to Bosniak men who crossed the Drina River. The Appeals Chamber dismissed all other appeals by the prosecution and the defendants. The Trial Chamber sentenced Popović and Beara to life imprisonment, Nikolić to 35 years’ imprisonment, Miletić to 19 years’ imprisonment, Borovčanin to 17 years’ imprisonment, Pandurević to 13 years’ imprisonment, and Gvero to five years’ imprisonment; the Appeals Chamber reduced Miletić’s sentence to 18 years and upheld the rest of the defendants’ sentences.