Sexual Crimes in Conflict Database

A collection of relevant literature and case law

Showing all 3 results.

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (War Crimes Chamber) - Boban Simsic

    Year
    2007
    Country
    Bosnia Herzegovina
    Keywords
    Detention Centers Humiliating and Degrading Treatment Persecution on Sexual Grounds Rape Sexual Violence, Persecution Sexual Violence, Torture Aiding

    Reference link
    http://www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org/Case/1187
    Type of mechanism
    Domestic court
    Name of mechanism
    Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (War Crimes Chamber)
    Name of accused
    Boban Simsic
    Charges
    Simsic was charged on 8 July 2005 (indictment confirmed) with persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence (Article 172(1)(h) read with subparagraph (g) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina) for: (i) in the second half of June 1992, at the Fire Brigade premises in Višegrad, together with two Serbian soldiers, taking part in the harassment and rapes of ten girls and women of Bosniak ethnicity; (ii) whenSimsic was a guard at the facility of the Hasan Veletovac elementary school during the second half of June 1992, when Bosniak civilians were detained at the school, Simsic either on his own or together with other members of the Serbian army, police and paramilitary formations took part in the rape of a number of girls and young women.
    Trial chamber verdict
    On 11 July 2006, the Court rendered the first instance verdict finding the accused guilty of persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence and sentencing him to 5 years’ imprisonment. The panel found the accused guilty of aiding in the enforced disappearance and rape of Bosniak civilians in the Hasan Veletovac school premises in Visegrad, which occurred as part of a widespread and systematic attack by the Serb Army, police and paramilitary groups directed against the Bosniac civilian population in the area of Visegrad between April and July 1992. The panel, however, found the accused not guilty of participation in attacks on villages Zljieb, Velji Lug and Kuka (municipality of Visegrad), illegal arrests and confinement, murder, rape, torture and infliction of serious injury or physical suffering to, and seizure of property of confined Bosniak civilians in the area of Visegrad between April and July 1992.
    sentencing
    At first instance Simsic was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment. This, however, was increased to 14 year by the Appellate Panel.
    Appeals chamber verdict
    On 5 January 2007, the Appellate Panel rendered a decision upholding the appeals filed by the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and Defense and revoking the Trial Panel’s verdict. The same decision orders a retrial before the Appellate Panel. On 14 August 2007, the Appellate Panel handed down the final verdict finding Simsic guilty of persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence and sentencing him to 14 years’ imprisonment. The Appellate Panel found that in the second half of June 1992, as a guard securing several hundred detained Bosniak civilians in the Hasan Veletovac Elementary School, together with other members of the Serb army, police, and paramilitary formations, Simsic participated in killings, enforced disappearance, and torture of detainees. He also aided in the coercing of girls and young women to sexual intercourse. In addition, on several occasions, Simsic took girls and younger women to other members of the Serb army who perpetrated multiple rapes, beatings and humiliation on them. Simsic was acquitted of the count which alleged that, on an undetermined date in the second half of June 1992, he took five girls and five younger women from the room in which Bosniak civilians were detained in the Fire Station in Visegrad, moving them to another room where, together with two Serb soldiers, he beat them and took turns raping them.
    Status
    2715
    Case number
    X-KRZ-05/04

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (War Crimes Chamber) - Nedo Samardzic

    Year
    2006
    Issues
    Sentencing and Reparations
    Country
    Bosnia Herzegovina
    Keywords
    Aggravating Factors Nudity, Public Rape Sexual Violence, Persecution Retrial

    Reference link
    http://www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org/Case/228/Samard%C5%BEi%C4%87-/
    Type of mechanism
    Domestic court
    Name of mechanism
    Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (War Crimes Chamber)
    Name of accused
    Nedo Samardzic
    Charges
    Samardzic was charged with persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence (Article 172(1)(h) as read with subparagraph (g) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Samardzic, in the period April 1992 to March 1993 in the Foca Municipality, as a member of the Army of Serb Republic of BiH, together with other soldiers, conducted persecution of the Bosniak civilian population on national, ethnical, religious, and gender grounds. He forced victims into sexual slavery, raped them, and conducted other inhumane acts, intentionally causing them great suffering, serious physical injuries and harm to their health. Some of the incidents concern: (i) In May 1992, in Miljevina, Samardzic raped and abused a female Bosniak in her apartment, subsequently taking her to the street and tying her half-naked to a street pole; (ii) In June 1992, Samardzic took a female Bosniak from her house to hotel Miljevina in the Foca Municipality, where he raped her. Afterwards, she was held for seven days in the hotel where she was raped by other soldiers on a daily basis; (iii) In the period June - September 1992, together with Nikola Brcic and Radovan Stankovic, Samardzic held several Bosniak women (two of whom were minors) as sexual slaves in the so-called Karaman’s house in Miljevina, which was used as a detention camp for women. The women were forced to engage in sexual intercourse with soldiers coming into the house on a daily basis. Samardzic personally forced detained women into sexual intercourse with him.
    Trial chamber verdict
    The Trial Panel found, on 7 April 2006, Samardzic guilty of crimes against humanity, including sexual and sentenced him 13 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.
    sentencing
    While the initial trial sentence was 13 years and 4 months imprisonment, this was increased to 24 years' imprisonment by the Appellate Panel.
    Appeals chamber verdict
    On 29 September 2006, the Appellate Division Panel of Section I for War Crimes of the Court of BiH rendered a decision upholding the appeals filed by the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and Defense, and revoking the first instance verdict in the convicting and acquitting part. The same decision ordered a retrial before the Appellate Panel of Section I for War Crimes. On 13 December 2006, the Appellate Panel found Samardžic guilty of persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence, and sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment.
    Status
    2715
    Case number
    X-KRZ-05/49

  • Jurisprudence judicial mechanism

    Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (War Crimes Chamber) - Predrag Kujundzic

    Year
    2011
    Issues
    Sexual Violence against Children
    Country
    Bosnia Herzegovina
    Keywords
    Sexual Slavery Sexual Threats Rape, Physical and Mental Harm Sexual Violence, Persecution Sexual Abuse Rape/Sexual Violence in Detention Rape, Mistreatment

    Reference link
    http://www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org/Case/1042
    Type of mechanism
    Domestic court
    Name of mechanism
    Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina (War Crimes Chamber)
    Name of accused
    Predrag Kujundzic
    Charges
    Kujundzic was charged on 3 January 2008 (indictment confirmed) with persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence (Article 172(1)(h) read with subparagraph (g) of the Criminal Code of BiH), under Article 180(1) and (2) (individual and command criminal responsibility) of the Criminal Code of BiH, during the period from spring 1992 until autumn 1993, directed against the non-Serb population of the Doboj municipality for coercing sexual slavery and rape of the non-Serb civilian population.
    Trial chamber verdict
    On 30 October 2009, the Trial Panel delivered the first-instance verdict by which Kujundzic was found guilty of persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence under individual criminal responsibility. The Trial Panel held that on an unidentified day in June 1992, armed and accompanied by 4-5 members of his unit, Kujundzic came to the house of a certain woman and then raped her daughter who was underage at that time, and at the same time he incited one soldier to rape her mother. On the same day, at the same place, after he raped the minor female person, he told her that as of that day she would comply with all that he requested from her, or otherwise he would kill her mother and her younger sister. Thus during the period from June to December 1992, he forced her into sexual slavery, because by the use of force and threats he established the exclusive right to dispose of her, the control over her movement, the mental control and the control of her sexuality, by way of requesting her to do all that he ordered her. Using that position, he forced her once to read a statement at the Radio Doboj in which it was stated that Muslims were guilty of the war, that Muslims had killed her brother, and that she was inviting them to convert to Christianity. He ordered her to wear a chain with a cross pendant around her neck and to wear the Serb army camouflage uniform and a red beret on her head; he changed her Muslim name into a Serb name without any consent of hers or her parents, he acquired for her the identification documents in the Serb name, and requested her to always introduce herself by her Serb name. On 28 January 2011, the Court dispatched a second-instance verdict and found Kujundzic guilty of persecution as a crime against humanity, including sexual violence under individual criminal responsibility.
    sentencing
    Kujundzic was sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment for the first instance verdict. He was also sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment for the second instance charges (for some other charges, he was found not guilty and therefore the sentence was lowered).
    Status
    2715
    Case number
    X-KRŽ-07/442

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