The International Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IMCT) has rejected a request for early release of Stanislav Galić, former commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps (SRK) of the Army of Republika Srpska, sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes committed in Sarajevo.
According to the decision of the President of the Mechanism, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, Galić requested early release, among other things, on the grounds of his exceptional conduct in prison and the fact that his release would not entail any political risks.
The Mechanism recalls that requests for early release from persons sentenced to life imprisonment may be considered, and that in Galić’s case the applicable eligibility threshold is “more than 30 years of sentence”.
“Having served almost 25 years of a life sentence, Galić has not reached the applicable threshold, and therefore does not yet meet the conditions for consideration of early release,” Judge Gatti Santana stated in the decision.
According to the decision, Galić cited his advanced age and poor health, particularly “severe diabetes,” in his request as factors to be taken into account in the context of the decision.
It also alleges that Galić has not provided any documentation to support his claims regarding his health, or otherwise demonstrate that his current age and health constitute an obstacle to his continued detention, or constitute compelling or exceptional circumstances that may justify granting early release before the two-thirds threshold is reached.
Galić was arrested in 1999. In a first-instance verdict in 2003, the Hague Tribunal sentenced him to twenty years in prison, while in a final verdict in 2006 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorizing Sarajevo civilians – through sniping and shelling – including the Markale market massacre on February 5, 1994.
In the Markale massacre in 1994, 68 Sarajevans were killed and over 140 were wounded.
Galić also filed a request for early release last year, which the Mechanism rejected, BIRN BiH reports.
