The former commander of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), Radislav Krstić, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for aiding the genocide in Srebrenica, again asked the International Criminal Court Mechanism (IMC) for early release after the Mechanism had previously refused it.
In the request filed by his lawyers Tomislav Višnjić and Vladimir Petrović, it is stated, among other things, that Krstić, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for aiding and abetting the genocide in Srebrenica, has already served two-thirds of the sentence, as well as that he accepts and respects the severity crimes for which he was convicted, for which he apologized to the victims.
According to the request, Krstić intends to submit a comprehensive statement of acceptance of responsibility and remorse after information has been collected “from all other sources in accordance with the Practice Instruction.”
“The president determined that Krstić maintained ties with his family and would have housing and financial care if he was released, and would be obliged to maintain an extremely low profile in Serbia, and that this deserved positive weight when considering his rehabilitation,” it is stated , noting that those plans have not changed.
In the request, among other things, the defense pointed out that Krstić is almost 76 years old, that he is in poor health, and requested an assessment of his mental state – behavior and rehabilitation, so that the president of the Mechanism would understand his need for early release.
The lawyers also recalled that in 2010, while serving his sentence in Great Britain, Krstić was attacked, and he served the remainder of his sentence in a prison in Poland.
“Krstić claims that the injuries and trauma he suffered during the attack while in prison in the United Kingdom should be taken into account when considering his early release at this stage. This was a far greater punishment than the one that was foreseen when the Appeals Council pronounced it,” it is stated in the request, reports BIRN BiH.
In its submission to the Mechanism, the Prosecution objected to early release, stating that Krstić is submitting the request again without further explanation. They add, among other things, that the request “is devoid of arguments and submitted without any evidentiary support”.
The Prosecution stated in his statement of acceptance of responsibility and repentance that he had already received information from other sources and made a statement during the consideration of the previous request, and that he now had more than a year “to deal with critical reflection”.
Krstić was sentenced to 35 years in prison at the Hague Tribunal in 2004 for aiding and abetting the genocide in Srebrenica. At the end of that year, he was sent to England to serve his sentence, but was attacked in prison there, after which he was sent back to The Hague, and then sent to Poland to serve the rest of his sentence.
Detektor previously wrote that Krstić’s request for early release was rejected on several occasions.
He has been in the United Nations Detention Unit in The Hague since last fall, after being transferred from a prison in Poland.
