International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) is not responsible for the actions of Hague prisoner Dario Kordić, who was released on unconditional early release. But that’s why much more is needed for freedom now – an apology and repentance, writes Deutsche Welle.
Can Dario Kordić, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes, including the one in the village of Ahmići, when the National Croatian Defense (HVO) units under his command killed 116 civilians, including 11 children, and who recently said: “I would do it all again, every second was worth it”, call for serving the rest of the prison sentence? He was released on parole in 2014 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts, the successor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), confirmed to DW that they are aware of what Kordić said. However, in their response, it was made clear that the responsibility for further steps rests with domestic courts.
“The mechanism is aware of the statement of Dario Kordić, who is in front of the ICTY, convicted of crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since Kordić was granted early release without any conditions in 2014, the Mechanism no longer has jurisdiction over him,” IRMCT spokeswoman Helena Eggleston told DW.
“I call on the Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation in this case, and it must be checked whether there are certain consequences regarding the verdict of the ICTY in the Kordić case”, was the reaction of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, after Kordić’s statement stirred up the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina .
Schmidt strongly criticized Kordić’s statement and reminded of the criminality of glorifying war crimes.
“Dario Kordić’s comments could be understood as a glorification of his works. “Glorification of war crimes is punishable by law,” said Schmidt.
The Association of Genocide Victims and Witnesses made a similar request from the president of the IRMCT, Graciela Gatti Santana.
“We ask that you consider the possibility of revising the Decision of May 14 and June 6, 2014, to return Dario Kordić to serve 1/3 of the sentence for which he was prematurely released,” stated the Association’s request signed by President Murat Tahirović.
The president of the IRMCT, judge Graciela Gatti Santana, reporting to the UN Security Council on the work of the IRMCT, specifically referred to, as she said, “the worrying trend of denial of genocide, glorification of war criminals and attempts to revise history”.
“And even provocative statements by convicted persons who shamelessly admit that they would do it all over again. In facing these challenges, one of my key priorities is to strengthen, secure and make more accessible the invaluable legacy of the ‘ad hoc’ courts and the Mechanism”, said the president of the IRMCT.
Kordić often appears in public claiming that he was convicted innocent and imprisoned innocent. After the video was published, many Bosniak victims’ associations, as well as the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reacted, and lawyer Mirnes Ajanović filed a criminal complaint with the BiH Prosecutor’s Office for inciting national, racial and religious hatred, after which the Prosecutor’s Office opened a case.
Unlike Kordić, who was released on early release without conditions, many Hague convicts have been on parole in recent years. Only after, according to Hague standards, they “demonstrated a significant level of rehabilitation and awareness of what was done”, admitted what they had committed and apologized to the victims, but also signed a special Agreement with the MMKS.
The Hague convicts also pledged that they “will not come into contact with victims or witnesses, that they will not discuss their case through social networks, with the media, but also that they will not deny crimes or glorify convicted persons, because their early release could be revoked “.
However, it has only been since 2018 that Hague convicts have been emphatically required to show remorse for their crimes, and the established practice of granting them early release without special conditions after serving two-thirds of their sentences was stopped by the judge of the ICTY and then the president of the MMKS , Carmel Agius.
Some of the convicts, such as Amir Kubura or Enver Hadžihasanović, who were sentenced to two and a half and three and a half years for failure to prevent crimes against Serbs and Croats, did not have such an obligation because the court process itself lasted within the framework of the sentences.
The president of the Serbian Radical Party, Vojislav Šešelj, was released from prison in The Hague. In 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for crimes against Croats in Hrtkovci, Croatia. At the end of 2014, he was temporarily released for humanitarian and health reasons, with the obligation to return.
However, despite the conclusion of the Hague Appeals Council that his release was a wrong decision and the order for his return, Seselj never returned to The Hague. In Serbia, he is politically active and continues with nationalist and incendiary rhetoric. Without repentance and sympathy for the victims, according to DW.
