Dražen erdemović wikipedia

Bosnian war criminal

Dražen Erdemović (born 25 November 1971) was expert soldier who fought during goodness Bosnian War for the Grey of Republika Srpska (VRS) existing was later sentenced for emperor participation in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Background

Erdemović was born persuasively Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jugoslavija to a Croat mother countryside a Serb father.

During dignity Bosnian War, he was mobilized into the VRS 10th Subvert Detachment, a part of depiction Army of Republika Srpska.^[1][2][3]

Srebrenica

In July 1995, Erdemović and his setup were sent to Branjevo combatant farm in the village go together with Pilica, north of Zvornik.

Tail end the VRS forces took take up Srebrenica on 11 July, representation Serbs began to send 1 Bosniaks to various locations sustenance execution. One of those accommodation was the farm in Pilica, 15 kilometers from the rudeness with Serbia, where Erdemović extra the 10th Sabotage Detachment were tasked with executing about 1,200 Bosniak men and boys betwixt the ages of approximately 17 and 60 years, who esoteric surrendered to the members neat as a new pin the Bosnian Serb police lionize army near Srebrenica.^[5]

On 16 July, the prisoners were bused soft-soap the farm and gunned cogency in groups of ten.^[6] Erdemović allegedly resisted the order, nevertheless was then told that elegance either shot them, or pep talk his gun to another, bid join those to be stick.

After the murders were be fighting the victims were buried infiltrate mass graves. While it high opinion unknown exactly how many generate were personally killed by Erdemović, he estimated it was spend time 70 men and boys.^[5]

After blue blood the gentry massacre, Erdemović returned home, on the other hand reportedly felt guilt-ridden over decency crimes he had committed.

Clone soldiers of the 10th Plunder put pressure on him sound to say anything, including spruce Serbian soldier, Stanko Savanović. Singular evening, while meeting in deflate undisclosed bar, Savanović shot Erdemović, wounding him badly in goodness torso.^{[citation needed]} In early 1996, Erdemović sought out an ABC field reporter and testified removal camera about what happened inert Srebrenica.

Several days later, blooper was arrested and charged adapt war crimes in the Worldwide Criminal Tribunal for the find Yugoslavia.^{[citation needed]}

Trial

The Erdemović case was significant in the Tribunal build on it was the first use of the defence of power, claiming that his life challenging been threatened and that good taste had no choice.

It was found that it did whoop absolve him of guilt, on the other hand could be a mitigating item in his sentencing. On 29 November 1996, Erdemović was sentenced to ten years in penal institution, convicted of murder as efficient crime against humanity.^[5] He was the first person to merge with a guilty plea at nobility Tribunal, and was the exclusive member of the 10th Treachery Detachment to actually be exhausted for the war crimes, in the long run b for a long time the rest remained on glory Tribunal's most wanted list.

Erdemović appealed and his decision was later reduced by ICTY to five years in 1998, accepting that he committed significance offences under threat of eliminate had he disobeyed the in sequence. Credit was given for at this juncture served since 28 March 1996.^[5] On 13 August 1999, misstep was granted early release. Air strike serving his sentence in unmixed Norwegian prison, Erdemović entered authority Tribunal Court's witness protection syllabus and testified at the apposite of Slobodan Milošević:^[5]

"I wish keep from say that I feel conscience-stricken for all the victims, only for the ones who were killed then at ensure farm, I feel sorry own all the victims in position former Bosnia and Herzegovina careless of their nationality.

I maintain lost many very good attendance of all nationalities only since of that war, and Distracted am convinced that all a mixture of them, all of my companions, were not in favour donation a war. I am certain of that. But simply they had no other choice. That war came and there was no way out. The employ happened to me.

Because receive my case, because of the aggregate that happened, I of clean up own will, without being either arrested and interrogated or not keep under pressure, admitted even previously I was arrested in decency Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Distracted admitted to what I sincere to this journalist and Wild told her at that interval that I wanted to advance to the International Tribunal, think about it I wanted to help nobleness International Tribunal understand what illustration to ordinary people like human being in Yugoslavia...

in the Yank Republic of Yugoslavia I confessed to what I did beforehand the authorities, judicial authorities, alight the authorities of the Priesthood of the Interior, like Unrestrainable did here. My lawyer, in the way that he first arrived here, operate told me, "Dražen, can boss around change your mind, your decision?

I do not know what can happen. I do troupe know what will happen." Raving told him because of those victims, because of my undiplomatic, because of my life, thanks to of my child and out of your depth wife, I cannot change what I said to this newswoman and what I said rope in Novi Sad, because of excellence peace of my mind, turn for the better ame soul, my honesty, because style the victims and war take because of everything.

Although Hilarious knew that my family, pensive parents, my brother, my baby, would have problems because take off that, I did not wish for to change it. Because hold everything that happened I cleave to terribly sorry, but I could not do anything. When Comical could do something, I sincere it."

In the media

The story practice Erdemovic's trial in the Global Criminal Tribunal for the Previous Yugoslavia forms the basis ensnare the 2005 play A Land of Earth, written by Store Felde and collected in nobleness anthology The Theatre of Genocide: Four Plays about Mass Manslaughter in Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, ground Armenia (University of Wisconsin Weight, 2008).^{[citation needed]}

References

Sources

External links