58677 UNITED NATIONS International Tribunal for the Case No. IT-03-67-T Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of Date: 5 February 2012 International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991 IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER Before: Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti, Presiding Judge Frederik Harhoff Judge Flavia Lattanzi Registrar: Mr. John Hocking THE PROSECUTOR v. VOJISLA V SESELJ PUBLIC REDACTED WITH PUBLIC REDACTED ANNEXES PROSECUTION'S CLOSING BRIEF The Office of the Prosecutor: Mathias Marcussen The Accused: Vojislav Seselj 58676 Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 11. EVIDENTIARY ISSUES ......................................................................................................... 3 Ill. SESELJ AND OTHER SERB LEADERS COMMITTED CRIMES IN PURSUIT OF ETHNICALLY·SEP ARA TE SERB TERRITORIES ........................................................... 5 IV. SESELJ INTENDED THE CREATION OF ETHNICALLY SEPARATE SERB TERRITORIES THROUGH THE COMMISSION OF CRIMES ...................................... 9 A. SESELJ OPPOSED YUGOSLAVIA AS INCOMPATIBLE WITH SERB INTERESTS AND HISTORICAL BIRTHRIGHT ........................................................................................................................... 9 B. SESELJ REVIVED THE MILITANT CHETNIK IDEOLOGy ............................................................. 11 C. SESELJ FOUNDED THE SCP AND SRS TO IMPLEMENT PERSECUTORY CHETNIK IDEOLOGY FOR THE IDEAL OF "GREATER SERBIA" ........................................................................................ 13 D. SESELJ USED THE SRS/SCP TO RECRUIT, MOTIVATE AND SEND VOLUNTEERS TO CONFLICT AREAS WHERE THEY PARTICIPATED IN THE CHARGED CRIMES ................................................ 16 E. SESELJ USED PERSECUTORY CHETNIK IDEOLOGY AND RHETORIC TO MOBILIZE AND INSTIGATE SYMPATHIZERS BY STOKING FEAR TO JUSTIFY FORCIBLE ETHNIC SEPARATION ........................ 20 F. SESELJ SPREAD HIS MESSAGE OF VIOLENCE, FEAR AND ETHNIC HATRED TO THE LARGEST POSSIBLE AUDIENCE ACROSS THE TERRITORIES OF THE CRUMBLING YUGOSLAV STATE ........... 23 V. SESELJ SUPPORTED OTHER JCE MEMBERS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH ETHNICALLY·SEPARATE SERB TERRITORIES .................................. 24 A. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 24 B. As CROATIA MOVED TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE, PARALLEL SERB STRUCTURES AND FORCES WERE SET UP IN CROATIA WITH SUPPORT FROM JCE MEMBERS IN BELGRADE, INCLUDING SESELJ .............................................................................................................................. 26 C. FROM MARCH 1991, SERB LEADERS ESTABLISHED FIGHTING FORCES CONTROLLED BY MUP SERBIA AND THE JNA BECAME A SERBIAN ARMy .................................................................. 28 1. MILOSEVIC promised to use MUP Serbia to defend all Serbs and called for all Serb political leaders to fight for Serbian interests ................................................................... 29 2. MILOSEVIC, STANISIC and SIMATOVIC created a MUP force that was deployed outside Serbia and, with BOGDANOVIC, provided material and financial support to Serbs in Croatia .............................................................................................................. 29 3. JCE members integrated various paramilitary groups into the new Serb fighting force ....... 30 4. The JNA became a Serbian army and SESELJ gave material assistance to the new Serbian fighting force ..................................................................................................... 33 D. BEGINNING IN THE SUMMER OF 1991, JCE MEMBERS DEPLOYED THEIR NEW SERB FIGHTING FORCES IN CROATIA ............................................................................................................. 37 1. Now firmly joined in their criminal enterprise, other JCE members began publicly instigating their forces ..................................................................................................... 40 E. BEFORE AUGUST 1991 THERE WAS A COMMON CRIMINAL PURPOSE SHARED BY JCE MEMBERS 42 F. CRIMES COMMITTED IN VUKOVAR WERE PART OF THE JCE ...................................................... 43 1. The Crimes Committed in Vukovar were part of the common purpose to create a Serb dominated territory ......................................................................................................... 43 (a) Vukovar's Strategic Importance to JCE members ................................................................. 43 (b) The Serbs prepared militarily for the Implementation of the JCE in Vukovar ...................... 44 (i) Serb Military Structure in Vukovar .................................................................................... 44 (ii) Criminal activity and violence were known and accepted methods of removing the Croat population from Vukovar ........................................................................................ 45 Case No. IT-03-67-T 5 February 2012 Public redacted 58675 (iii) Despite knowledge that Seseljevci and other paramilitaries were committing crimes, they were embraced in the Serb forces ............................................................................. 46 (c) The Serb Forces Forcibly Transferred or Deported the Non-Serb civilian population and unleashed physical destruction not justified by military necessity ...................................... 48 (d) "No Ustasa should leave Vukovar alive" and other hate speech ........................................... 50 2. Serb Forces ushered the non-Serb population to Vukovar Hospital .................................... 56 (a) Events at Velepromet collection centre demonstrate that JNA officers knew about the numerous abuses by Seseljevci and accepted their crimes as a means to achieve their common criminal purpose .................................................................................................... 58 (b) On 20 November 1991 the SAO SBWS government meeting resulted in the JNA turning the detainees over to Seseljevci and the TO ......................................................................... 59 (c) Serb forces transfer detainees to Ovcara; abuse and torture follow ....................................... 60 (d) MurdertTorture and Abuse at OvcaralGrabovo ..................................................................... 61 (e) Murder, Torture and Abuse at Velepromet and other facilities after the Ovcara massacre ... 63 (f) The abuse and murder at Velepromet, OvcaralGrabovo and throughout Vukovar was widely known but SESELJ and other JCE Members took no action ................................... 64 G. As BIH MOVED TOWARDS INDIPENDENCE PARRALLEL STRUCTURES AND FORCES WERE SET UP FOLLOWING THE MODEL THE JCE MEMBERS HAD USED IN CROATIA ...................................... 65 1. BiH was strategically important for achieving the common purpose .................................. 65 2. JCE members begin early preparations in BiH ................................................................... 66 3. In December 1991 the JCE members accelerated their efforts to prepare separate Serb institutions ...................................................................................................................... 69 4. Belgrade based JCE members redeployed their forces to BiH ............................................ 71 5. The JNA deployed to secure Serb-claimed areas and armed Serbs in BiH .......................... 73 6. The Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) was supported by the JCE members ................................. 75 7. SESELJ contributed Seselevci to implement the common purpose in BiH ........................ 76 (a) SESELJ deployed Seseljevci to all Indictment Municipalities ............................................. 77 (i) Zvornik ............................................................................................................................... 77 (ii) Greater Sarajevo ................................................................................................................ 79 (iii) Mostar and Nevesinje ....................................................................................................... 81 (b) SESELJ visited and supported his Seseljevci at the frontlines ............................................. 83 VI. THE CRIMES IN ZVORNIK, GREATER SARAJEVO, MOSTAR, NEVESINJE COMMITTED BY THE PARALLEL STRUCTURES AND SERB FORCES WERE PART OF THE COMMON PURPOSE .............................................................................. 85 A. ZVORNIK ............................................................................................................................... 85 1. The crimes committed in Zvornik formed part of common criminal purpose ..................... 86 (a) SESELJ admitted that the Serb take-over of Zvornik was planned in Belgrade ................... 86 (b) The JCE members in BiH supervised the implementation of the JCE in Zvornik before and after the Serb take-over ......................................................................................................... 87 (c) The Serb leadership prepared for the attack on Zvornik ........................................................ 88 2. Serb forces carried out a persecutory criminal campaign against the non-Serb population of Zvornik ......................................................................................................................