Convict Serbian Officials of Wartime Criminal Enterprise, UN Court Urged

The prosecution urged the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague on Wednesday to convict Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic of participating in a joint criminal enterprise, along with other Serb political, military and police officials, aimed at forcibly removing non-Serbs from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during wartime.

Prosecutor Laurel Baig argued that evidence presented in the case "considered as a whole, proves beyond reasonable doubt that Stanisic and Simatovic did not just know about the shared intent of other JCE [joint criminal enterprise] members".

"It proves that they too shared the intent to further the common criminal plan and it proves that they were JCE members," Baig said.

As an example, Baig cited lists of Serbian Volunteer Guard paramilitary group members to be paid allowances by State Security. The Serbian Volunteer Guard was led by Zeljko 'Arkan' Raznatovic, also an alleged member of the joint criminal enterprise.

She said the lists "confirm that the SDG [Serbian Volunteer Guard] were paid regularly by the State Security during the time of the Sanski Most operation [in Bosnia in 1995]".

"The evidence of State Security financial support to the SDG through the Sanski Most operation in 1995, during which they brutally persecuted, murdered and forcibly displaced the remaining non-Serbs eliminates all reasonable doubt that Stanisic's and Simatovic's conduct further the common criminal plan," she added.

Stanisic and Simatovic were both powerful and widely-feared figures in the regime of Slobodan Milosevic, who is also an alleged member of the joint criminal enterprise.

Defence lawyer Wayne Jordash responding to the prosecution's appeal....