Vasiljević (IT-98-32) “Višegrad”

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Source: Vasiljević (IT-98-32) “Višegrad”

Trial Judgment: 29 November 2002; Appeal Judgment: 25 February 2004

Mitar Vasiljević, a member of the White Eagles paramilitary group, stood trial for allegedly having participated in the murder of five Bosniak men at the Drina River and the Bosniak civilians in the Pionirska Street Fire in Višegrad. The prosecution accused him of individual criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity for murder, persecution and inhumane acts; violations of the laws or customs of war for cruel treatment; and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions for willful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, and willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health.

In 2002, the Trial Chamber convicted Vasiljević of crimes against humanity for persecution and violations of the laws or customs of war for murder and acquitted him of all other charges, finding that the prosecution had not proven that Vasiljević participated in the Pionirska Street Fire beyond a reasonable doubt; the Trial Chamber found that the White Eagles was not part of the VRS, was not under its control, and did not act on its behalf, and thus was a militia not subject to the laws of war; the Trial Chamber found that the facts did not support a conclusion that Vasiljević participated in a joint criminal enterprise with Milan Lukić.

In 2004, the Appeals Chamber decided the prosecution’s appeal, finding that the Trial Chamber erred when it only found that Vasiljević was guilty of murder because of his participation in the killings at the Drina River when the facts of the Trial Chamber’s own findings established that he was a co-perpetrator and convicted him accordingly; the Appeals Chamber also found that the Trial Chamber erred when it found that Vasiljević’s medical condition and intoxication at the time of the crimes were mitigating factors. The Trial Chamber sentenced Vasiljević to 20 years’ imprisonment; the Appeals Chamber reduced Vasiljević’s sentence to 15 years’ imprisonment.