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the patriot
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Landmark war-crime ruling bans sex slavery
Bosnian Serbs guilty in ‘rape camp‘ case
ALAN FREEMAN
With reports from the New York Times and Associated Press
Friday, February 23, 2001
LONDON -- The conviction by the UN war-crimes tribunal of three Bosnian Serbs on charges of systematic rape, torture and sexual enslavement was hailed yesterday by human-rights activists as a milestone in the fight for women‘s dignity in war.
"Sexual enslavement in armed conflict is now legally acknowledged as a crime against humanity, and perpetrators can and must be held to account," said Amnesty International, which praised the verdict as "a significant step for women‘s human rights."
"The verdict also recognizes that the sexual violence suffered by these women formed part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population."
The tribunal, sitting in The Hague, found three Serb paramilitary fighters guilty of a horrific catalogue of sexual crimes in the Bosnian town of Foca in 1992 and 1993 against Muslim women and girls, one as young as 12.
The convictions capped an 11-month trial during which 16 women testified that they were repeatedly gang-raped, beaten and tortured after Foca was captured by Bosnian Serb forces in April, 1992. The town‘s Muslim women were detained and many were sent to so-called rape camps, where they were lent or rented to other soldiers for the sole purpose of being abused.
"What the evidence shows is that the rapes were used by members of the Bosnian Serb armed forces as an instrument of terror, an instrument they were given free rein to apply whenever and against whomever they wished," Judge Florence Mumba of Zambia ruled.
The court said the women and girls were "robbed of the last vestiges of human dignity . . . treated like chattels, pieces of property at the arbitrary disposal of the Serb occupation forces."
Dragoljub Kunarac, 40, was sentenced to 28 years after being found guilty of more than a dozen counts of torture and rape as a crime against humanity and as a violation of the laws or customs of war.
The court described how he systematically raped women and organized the rape of women by other soldiers.
In one case in July, 1992, Mr. Kunarac took a woman from her home to the banks of a local river where he and two other soldiers raped her. "You further mocked the victim by telling the other soldiers to wait for their turn while you were raping her, by laughing at her while she was raped by the other soldiers, and finally by saying that she would carry Serb babies and that she would not know the father," the court said.
Radomir Kovac, 39, was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by rape, and sentenced to 20 years.
Victims testified that Mr. Kovac delighted in making Muslim women dance naked on tables while he sat on the sofa, pointing a gun at them. His rape of a 12-year-old girl was cited by Judge Mumba as "the most striking example of your morally depraved and corrupt character." Mr. Kovac sold the girl into sexual bondage. Her mother testified that she has never been heard from again.
The last of the accused, Zoran Vukovic, 39, was sentenced to 12 years for raping and torturing a 15-year-old. The court noted that Mr. Vukovic showed a "total lack of remorse and moral stature" when he told the girl that he would have done far worse things to her if he didn‘t have a daughter the same age.
Some witnesses sobbed and others shrieked with rage as they recalled being assaulted by up to 10 soldiers. Some women said their injuries from the rapes left them infertile.
"I remember he was very forceful. He wanted to hurt me," one witness said, referring to Mr. Kunarac. "But he could never hurt me as much as my soul was hurting me."
Lead prosecutor Dirk Ryneveld praised the bravery of the 16 women who testified -- mothers, daughters and granddaughters.
Kelly Dawn Askin, executive director of the war-crimes unit at the Centre for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, said the United Nations tribunals for both the former Yugoslavia and 1994 genocide in Rwanda have done a wonderful job in developing the law against rape and sexual crimes.
The Rwanda tribunal found rape to be a crime against humanity and an instrument of genocide. But yesterday‘s ruling marked the first time that sexual enslavement has been recognized as a war crime.
After the Second World War, both the Tokyo and Nuremberg war-crimes trials heard testimony that rape crimes were prevalent, but those crimes were generally ignored in the verdicts.
"Rape was linked to crimes of honour and dignity and not treated as a crime of violence generally," Ms. Askin said. "Before, it was just the crimes against men that were looked at. These [rape and sexual enslavement] aren‘t new crimes. They are just newly recognized."
The defendants acknowledged that they had taken part in the attacks, which prosecutors said were part of a campaign intended to drive Muslims from the area. But they denied the charges of torture, rape and enslavement.
Mr. Kunarac commanded a reconnaissance unit of the Bosnian Serb army, and Mr. Kovac and Mr. Vukovic were paramilitary leaders.
The defendants were not "political or military masterminds behind the conflicts and atrocities," Judge Mumba said. "However, they thrived in the dark atmosphere of the dehumanization of those believed to be enemies."
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-the patriot-
Bosnian Serbs guilty in ‘rape camp‘ case
ALAN FREEMAN
With reports from the New York Times and Associated Press
Friday, February 23, 2001
LONDON -- The conviction by the UN war-crimes tribunal of three Bosnian Serbs on charges of systematic rape, torture and sexual enslavement was hailed yesterday by human-rights activists as a milestone in the fight for women‘s dignity in war.
"Sexual enslavement in armed conflict is now legally acknowledged as a crime against humanity, and perpetrators can and must be held to account," said Amnesty International, which praised the verdict as "a significant step for women‘s human rights."
"The verdict also recognizes that the sexual violence suffered by these women formed part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population."
The tribunal, sitting in The Hague, found three Serb paramilitary fighters guilty of a horrific catalogue of sexual crimes in the Bosnian town of Foca in 1992 and 1993 against Muslim women and girls, one as young as 12.
The convictions capped an 11-month trial during which 16 women testified that they were repeatedly gang-raped, beaten and tortured after Foca was captured by Bosnian Serb forces in April, 1992. The town‘s Muslim women were detained and many were sent to so-called rape camps, where they were lent or rented to other soldiers for the sole purpose of being abused.
"What the evidence shows is that the rapes were used by members of the Bosnian Serb armed forces as an instrument of terror, an instrument they were given free rein to apply whenever and against whomever they wished," Judge Florence Mumba of Zambia ruled.
The court said the women and girls were "robbed of the last vestiges of human dignity . . . treated like chattels, pieces of property at the arbitrary disposal of the Serb occupation forces."
Dragoljub Kunarac, 40, was sentenced to 28 years after being found guilty of more than a dozen counts of torture and rape as a crime against humanity and as a violation of the laws or customs of war.
The court described how he systematically raped women and organized the rape of women by other soldiers.
In one case in July, 1992, Mr. Kunarac took a woman from her home to the banks of a local river where he and two other soldiers raped her. "You further mocked the victim by telling the other soldiers to wait for their turn while you were raping her, by laughing at her while she was raped by the other soldiers, and finally by saying that she would carry Serb babies and that she would not know the father," the court said.
Radomir Kovac, 39, was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by rape, and sentenced to 20 years.
Victims testified that Mr. Kovac delighted in making Muslim women dance naked on tables while he sat on the sofa, pointing a gun at them. His rape of a 12-year-old girl was cited by Judge Mumba as "the most striking example of your morally depraved and corrupt character." Mr. Kovac sold the girl into sexual bondage. Her mother testified that she has never been heard from again.
The last of the accused, Zoran Vukovic, 39, was sentenced to 12 years for raping and torturing a 15-year-old. The court noted that Mr. Vukovic showed a "total lack of remorse and moral stature" when he told the girl that he would have done far worse things to her if he didn‘t have a daughter the same age.
Some witnesses sobbed and others shrieked with rage as they recalled being assaulted by up to 10 soldiers. Some women said their injuries from the rapes left them infertile.
"I remember he was very forceful. He wanted to hurt me," one witness said, referring to Mr. Kunarac. "But he could never hurt me as much as my soul was hurting me."
Lead prosecutor Dirk Ryneveld praised the bravery of the 16 women who testified -- mothers, daughters and granddaughters.
Kelly Dawn Askin, executive director of the war-crimes unit at the Centre for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, said the United Nations tribunals for both the former Yugoslavia and 1994 genocide in Rwanda have done a wonderful job in developing the law against rape and sexual crimes.
The Rwanda tribunal found rape to be a crime against humanity and an instrument of genocide. But yesterday‘s ruling marked the first time that sexual enslavement has been recognized as a war crime.
After the Second World War, both the Tokyo and Nuremberg war-crimes trials heard testimony that rape crimes were prevalent, but those crimes were generally ignored in the verdicts.
"Rape was linked to crimes of honour and dignity and not treated as a crime of violence generally," Ms. Askin said. "Before, it was just the crimes against men that were looked at. These [rape and sexual enslavement] aren‘t new crimes. They are just newly recognized."
The defendants acknowledged that they had taken part in the attacks, which prosecutors said were part of a campaign intended to drive Muslims from the area. But they denied the charges of torture, rape and enslavement.
Mr. Kunarac commanded a reconnaissance unit of the Bosnian Serb army, and Mr. Kovac and Mr. Vukovic were paramilitary leaders.
The defendants were not "political or military masterminds behind the conflicts and atrocities," Judge Mumba said. "However, they thrived in the dark atmosphere of the dehumanization of those believed to be enemies."
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-the patriot-
