UN tribunal sentences former Serb official to prison term for refusal to testify
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 24 February 2012 |
| Cite as | UN News Service, UN tribunal sentences former Serb official to prison term for refusal to testify, 24 February 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4f4cb1302.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Milan Tupajic, former chief of the crisis staff and war-time president of the municipality of Sokolac in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was found guilty of contempt of court by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Announcing its decision, the ICTY trial chamber said that Mr. Tupajic's failure to comply with an order to appear as a witness in the Karadic trial had deprived that case of relevant evidence.
Mr. Tupajic had told the court that his main reason for refusing to appear related to health concerns.
But the judges found that "his health concerns do not constitute a just excuse for his failure to comply with the orders as contained in the subpoenas."
The ICTY which sits in The Hague in the Netherlands said Mr. Tupajic, who was arrested in December last year, was entitled to credit for time already served in detention.
Mr. Karadic is charged with two counts of genocide and a series of other crimes, including murder, extermination, persecution, deportation and hostage taking, related to actions against Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats and other non-Serb civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. His trial began in October 2009.
