Tihomir Blaškić
Tihomir Blaškić | |
---|---|
Born | Kiseljak, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia | 2 November 1960
Allegiance |
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Service/ | Croatian Defence Council |
Rank |
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Commands held | Operative Zone Central Bosnia |
Battles/wars | Bosnian War |
Tihomir Blaškić (born 2 November 1960)
Early life
Tihomir Blaškić was born on 2 November 1960
During the period referred to in the indictment, he held the rank of
Bosnian War
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2015) |
Following international recognition of Bosnia on 6 April 1992, armed conflict erupted between the different communities. As a result, on 8 April 1992, the Bosnian Croats created the
This peace plan gave definition to a decentralised Bosnia-Herzegovina, organised into ten provinces, each benefiting from substantial autonomy and each being administered by a democratically elected local government. Under this plan, the Lašva Valley was attached, for the greater part, to a province where the principal responsibilities were attributed to the Croats. Muslims wanted Croatian territories as satisfaction for territories lost from Serbs. The Croats are expelled from Travnik, Bugojno, Kakanj, Vareš, Konjic, Fojnica etc.
War crimes
In 1996 the
In reaction,
On 3 March 2000, The First Trial Chamber of the ICTY handed down its verdict, which condemned Blaškić to 45 years in prison. The First Trial Chamber charged Blaškić, based on his individual personal responsibility (Art. 7 § 1 ICTY Statute) and on his responsibility as hierarchical superior (Art. 7 § 3 ICTY Statute), on the following counts:[2]
- serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (Art. 2 ICTY Statute: wilful murder, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health; widespread destruction of property; inhumane treatment, taking of civilian hostages);
- violations of the laws and customs of war (Art. 3 ICTY Statute: devastation not justified by military necessity; illegal attacks on civilians; illegal attacks on civilian property, murder; infliction of grievous bodily harm; looting of public or private property; destruction or wilful damage to institutions dedicated to religion or education; cruel treatment; hostage taking;
- crimes against humanity (Art. 5 ICTY Statutes: persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds; murder; inhumane acts).
The case was in appeal until July 2004 when the ICTY appeals panel dismissed 16 of 19 counts in the initial indictment, notably the claim that Blaškić had
His defense applied for an early release as he had served eight years and four months already; the request was granted on 29 July 2004 (see ICTY, 'Tihomir Blaškić Granted Early Release', Press Release, 29 July 2004).
Exactly one year later, ICTY prosecutor Carla Del Ponte filed a motion for new trial, citing new evidence. The Appeals Chamber dismissed this motion on 23 November 2006.[4]
See also
Further reading
- Shahram Dana, "Revisiting the Blaškić Sentence: Some Reflections on the Sentencing Jurisprudence of the ICTY", 4 International Criminal Law Review, pp. 321–348 (2004) (subscription required)
- Heiko Meiertöns,"Superior Responsibility and Mens Rea - The Appeals Decision in the Blaškić case"[permanent dead link], 18 Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, 53-58 (2005)
References
- ^ a b c Profile Archived 22 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, ess.uwe.ac.uk; accessed 13 April 2015.
- ^ a b "ICTY: Blaškić verdict" (PDF).
- ^ "Case file" (PDF). www.icty.org. 1996. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Tihomir Blaškić early release, internationalcrimesdatabase.org; accessed 25 December 2015.