Bosnian Serb pleads not guilty before Bosnia war crimes court News
Bosnian Serb pleads not guilty before Bosnia war crimes court

[JURIST Europe] Former Bosnia Serb paramilitary leader Gojko Jankovic pleaded not guilty to war crimes Thursday before the new War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [JURIST report; HRW backgrounder]. Jankovic is the second Bosnian war crimes suspect to be transferred from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] to the new Bosnian war crimes court under the terms of ICTY Rule 11 bis of the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence.

Jankovic is charged [ICTY amended indictment] with overseeing and encouraging the beatings and rape of Muslim women while they were detained in the town of Foca and surrounding villages during the 1992 – 1995 war in Bosnia. He surrendered [JURIST report] to the ICTY in March 2005 upon receiving assurances that his family would be provided for if he is convicted. Reuters has more.

Angela Onikepe is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.