Subject: GERMANS ARREST SERB AS BALKAN WAR CRIMINAL - Article by Stephen Kinzer- New York Times - February 1
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6, 1994
The German police have arrested a 38-year-old Serb who they say committed
war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and prosecutors plan to charge him
with "participation in genocide, murder and serious assault".
The suspect, Dusko Tadic, is the first Balkan war crimes suspect to be
arrested out side the war zone. His trial would probably be a forum for
prosecutors to present evidence of war crimes in Bosnia that has never been
presented to a court outside that country.
Federal prosecutors issued a stetement identifying Mr. Tadic as a "fanatic
member" of organizations committed to Serbian expansionism, and as a
partecipant "the process of ethnic cleansing".
The statement said there were "strong grounds" to believe that Mr. Tadic
has mistreated prisoners at the Omarska detention camp in northwestern
Bosnia. It gave no details , but several witnesses have come forward to
make public accusations against him.
"Every day, after Dusko Tadic was finished in the interrogation room, we
had to wash blood from the floor", Tesmija Elezovic, a former Omarska
inmate, told reporters at her home in the German town of Braunschweig.
"He forced prisoners to bite off each other's sexual organs, and sat and
laughed as they bled in the most awful ways. In a garage he himself cut off
men's genitals. He was a butcher".
According to some human rights investigators, between 1,000 and 5,000
Bosnians may have died at the Omarska camp.
Who has jurisdiction?
Some German officials have urged that Mr. Tadic be turned over to the newly
formed United Nations tribunal that is charged with judging Balkan war
crimes suspects. But German prosecutors asserted that they have legal
authority to try him here.
Under international law, the memorandum said, Germany may prosecute people
suspected of war crimes "independent of the law of the place where the
crimes took place and the citizenship of the perpetrator".
If convicted, Mr. Tadic could be sentenced to life in prison.
Mr. Tadic had been living in Munich for several months, reportedly
accompanied by his wife and a young child. He was arrested on a Munich
street in a commando operation on Saturday, but the police did not announce
the arrest immediately. At the of his arrest, he was armed but had no
chance to use his weapon, according to news reports.
The German authorities acted after receiving information from Sudwestfunk,
a television station that has been working to identify war criminals in
Bosnia and trace them to Germany.
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Following the letter (February 10,1994) of "Parliamentarians for Global
Action" addressed from Hon.Emma Bonino (Member of Italian Parliament
Convenor,International Law Programme) and Dr.Kennedy Graham
(Secretary-General) to German Members of Global Action concerning the war
crimes trial of Dusko Tadic
We write to you concerning the recent news reports that the German police
have arrested a 38-year-old Serb who is accused of "participation in
genocide, murder and serious assault" in Bosnia-Herzegovina. As you may
know, the Serb, Mr. Dusko Tadic, is the first Balkan war crimes suspect to
be apprehended outside the war zone.
We have further learned that German authorities are divided on the question
of whether to turn over Mr. Tadic to the newly established United Nations
war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or, alternatively, to
conduct the trial in Germany.
There is no doubt that Germany (or any other country) has the right, under
international law, to prosecute war criminals within its own jurisdiction.
However, we would strongly urge that Germany make a bold statement in
support of the principle of international justice by choosing the option of
trial before the UN institution.
With the active support of Foreign Ministers Genscher and Kinkel, Germany
has led the international effort to establish a permanent international
criminal court under the auspices of the United Nations. The security
Council's 1993 decision to create the ad hoc Yugoslav war crimes tribunal
furnishes a critical "test case" which could significantly influence
political support for the longer-term initiative.
In a meeting last year with Global Action, the German Ambassador to the
United Nations - H.E. Detlev Graf Zu Rantzau - esxpressed Germany's strong
support for the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and offered his belief that
movement on the "Yugoslavia track" would be an important political and
psychological step toward the creation of a permanent court.
Germany now has the opportunity to provide much-needed momentum to the work
of the Yugoslav tribunal - by bringing the first case, and suspected
criminal, before its judges.
We ask tha t you consider taking appropriate action to urge that germany
turn over Mr. Tadic the international war crimes tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia. In thi regarg, we recommend that you raise this issue in the
Bundestag, as well as directly contact your Foreign and Justice Minister to
discuss the matter.
Please do not hesitate to return to us for more information on the
international criminal court initiative. We should be most grateful if you
would inform us of any action undertake on this issue.
