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Zejnil Delalic Denies Murder,
Rape and Torture Charges
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 10 (AP) — The first Muslim taken into custody by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal pleaded not guilty Thursday to murders, rapes and torture allegedly committed against Serb inmates at a prison camp he commanded. Zejnil Delalic waived the right to have the indictment read in court Thursday, saying he had already read and understood it. “I do not agree with any of the counts of the indictment and I plead not guilty,” he said.

Delalic, 48, was handed over to the tribunal Wednesday by German authorities who arrested him in March on tribunal orders. Delalic was brought Thursday before the same three-judge panel hearing the first war crimes trial of the Bosnian war, which opened this week. That trial recessed 90 minutes early so Delalic could be arraigned.

Delalic is charged with responsibility for murders, rapes and torture allegedly committed by the Muslim and Croat guards under his command at the Celebici prison camp in central Bosnia in 1992. The guards are accused of torturing at least 14 Serb inmates to death, using heated pliers and beating them with baseball bats, the indictment said. Although Delalic did not participate in the atrocities, he was in a position to know about them and did nothing to stop them, it said.

Two other Bosnian Muslims have been arrested by Bosnian authorities and will be surrendered to the tribunal. A Bosnian Croat is already in tribunal custody. Delalic’s attorney, Edina Residovic, said she would request that he be tried separately from the other three. No trial date was set.

Earlier Thursday, the tribunal heard a Balkans expert describe the Serbian military’s role in the Bosnian conflict to bolster the prosecution’s claim the conflict was international in scope. Prosecutors have to prove outside involvement in the conflict to press war crimes charges against Dusan Tadic, a Bosnian Serb on trial for allegedly murdering more than 30 Muslims and Croats and torturing dozens more in northwestern Bosnia.

Tadic, 40, fidgeted in his seat on the third day of his trial Thursday and occasionally scanned the sparsely-populated public gallery, apparently for faces he recognized. The only time he showed any emotion was when he smiled after presiding Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald of Texas asked if his translation headphones were working.


May 9 · Historian Takes Stand for Second Day In Trial of Dusan Tadic
May 8 · Historian Sets Context for Atrocities in Day 2 of Tadic Trial
May 8 · Muslims in Sarajevo React to Tribunal Trial
May 7 · Defense: Tadic Had No Role in Murder, Torture
May 7 · On Trial's Eve, Tadic Claims Innocence
May 7 · Childhood Friend Says Tadic was Cruel, Artistic
May 7 · Tribunal Judge Heavy on Texas Style
Key Facts about the War Crimes Tribunal
War Crimes Profile: Dusan Tadic
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
The United Nations
Coalition for International Justice
Reports concerning human rights abuses in Bosnia
Intac Access
Major War Criminals/Suspects
CalTech's Bosnia Site
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia
CalTech's Bosnia Site


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