DID YOU KNOW?  -- Three years before the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide, Serbs torched Bosniak villages and killed at least 3,166 Bosniaks around Srebrenica. In 1993, the UN described the besieged situation in Srebrenica as a "slow-motion process of genocide." In July 1995, Serbs forcibly expelled 25,000 Bosniaks, brutally raped many women and girls, and systematically killed 8,000+ men and boys (DNA confirmed).

11 December, 2005

DRAGAN NIKOLIC - IN PRE-TRIAL

Drago Nikolic - (IT-02-63) "Srebrenica"

Chief of Security of the Zvornik Brigade
Born9 November 1957 in Brana Bacic in the municipality of Bratunac in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Transferred to ICTY
17 March 2005
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Initial Appearance
23 March 2005, plea not entered

Charged on the basis of individual criminal responsibility (Article 7(1)) with:

- Genocide
- Crimes against humanity
- Violations of the laws or customs of war

The Indictment ("Srebrenica")
Factual allegations:
The Indictment that was confirmed on 6 September 2002, alleges that during the attack on the Srebrenica enclave by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, and the subsequent killings and executions of Bosniak men and boys, Drago Nikolic was a 2nd Lieutenant and served as Chief of Security of the Bosnian Serb Army ("VRS") First Light Infantry Brigade in Zvornik ("Zvornik Brigade"). Drago Nikolic was present and on duty in the Zvornik Brigade zone of responsibility from 13 July to November 1995.

In the several days following the attack on Srebrenica, the VRS forces captured, detained, summarily executed, and buried over 7,000 Bosniak men and boys from the Srebrenica enclave, and forcibly transferred the Bosniak women and children out of the enclave. According to the Indictment, Drago Nikolic committed, planned, instigated, ordered and otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation and execution of the charged crimes.

It is alleged that Drago Nikolic, together with other VRS and Ministry of the Interior ("MUP") officers and units as identified in this Indictment, was a member of and knowingly participated in a Joint Criminal Enterprise, the common purpose of which was, inter alia: to forcibly transfer the women and children from the Srebrenica enclave to Kladanj on 12 July and 13 July 1995; and to capture, detain, summarily execute by firing squad, bury, and rebury thousands of Bosniak men and boys aged 16 to 60 from the Srebrenica enclave from 12 July 1995 until and about 19 July 1995. The implementation of this Joint Criminal Enterprise resulted in the summary execution of over 7,000 Bosniak men and boys.

Charges:
The Indictment charges Drago Nikolic on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility (Article 7(1) of the Statute) with:

One count of genocide (Article 4 of the Statute - genocide; alternatively, complicity to commit genocide)
Three counts of crimes against humanity (Article 5 of the Statute - extermination, murder, persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds)
One count of violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 of the Statute - murder)


keywords: Drago Nikolic, Dragan Nikolic, Srebrenica Genocide, Srebrenica Massacre, Bosniaks, Bosnian Muslims, Bosnia-Herzegovina

posted by Srebrenica Genocide at 3:24 PM