---

U.N. War Crimes Tribunal Indicts Drazen Erdemovic By Jennifer Scott THE HAGUE, May 29 (Reuters) - The U.N. criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia on Wednesday charged Bosnian Serb army trooper Drazen Erdemovic with crimes against humanity during the Serb takeover of the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995. Erdemovic, who has confessed his role in the slaughter of 1,200 Bosnian Muslims in a single day, is the first alleged participant in the Srebrenica massacre to stand trial in the Hague-based court, tribunal spokesman Christian Chartier said. The 24-year-old soldier, a Bosnian Croat who was one of the few non-Serbs in the Bosnian Serb army, was transferred to the tribunal in March after his arrest by Serbian authorities for his alleged crimes at Srebrenica. Chartier said Erdemovic was charged with "participating personally in the summary execution of hundreds of unarmed Bosnian Muslim male civilians...on or about July 16, 1995." He said according to the indictment, busloads of Muslim men from Srebrenica aged between 17 and 60 who had already surrendered to the Bosnian Serbs, were transfered to a farm in the village of Pilica. "The men disembarked in groups of about 10 and were taken by members of the Bosnian Serb army to a field adjacent to the farm buildings. There they were lined up in rows and summarily executed," Chartier said. Earlier on Wednesday, the Hague-based court requested that Yugoslavia, which comprises Serbia and Montenegro, hand over its investigation into Erdemovic. Under international law, the Serbian-based court handling the case is now bound to forward all material and investigations connected with the case to the Hague. The tribunal has repeatedly complained of a lack of cooperation from Serb authorities in both Serbia and Bosnia. Erdemovic's involvement in the massacre at Srebrenica makes him a key tribunal witness against, among others, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Karadzic and his military commander General Ratko Mladic have been indicted twice by the tribunal, accused of war crimes during the siege of Sarajevo as well as at the fall of the U.N.-protected enclave at Srebrenica. The tribunal is due to review evidence against Karadzic and Mladic in their absence next month under its "Rule 61" procedure. Rule 61 hearings allow prosecutors to present evidence against those charged but not arrested. They do not amount to a trial in the absence of the accused. Tribunal defence council Jovan Babic told the court on Tuesday that Erdemovic had requested he be tried by the tribunal rather than the Yugoslav authorities, despite a potentially harsher outcome. "My client has expressed his wish to be tried by this tribunal... not because he doesn't trust the authorities in Yugoslavia but for other reasons he disclosed only partly," Babic said. Erdemovic is due to make his first appearance to the court on Friday May 31 to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, Chartier said. His indictment brings the number of suspected war criminals charged by the tribunal to 58. He and five others are currently being held at the tribunal's detention centre in the Hague, including Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic who is currently standing trial.

Berserkistan, May 28 · Erdemovic Moves Closer to Indictment

Key Facts about the War Crimes Tribunal
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The United Nations
Coalition for International Justice
Major War Criminals/Suspects CalTech's Bosnia Site
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia CalTech's Bosnia Site

Berserkistan is a world news service of Michael Linder Productions, Inc.
©1995-1996, All Rights Reserved