“Bias and Engagement”: the Russian Foreign Ministry commented on the tightening of the sentence to Radovan Karadzic

The decision of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (MOMUT) on life imprisonment of the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic demonstrates bias and bias of the process. This was stated in the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“The evidence base raises serious doubts. Nevertheless, the Mechanism, taking over the evils of the ICTY (International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. - RT ) and blindly following its anti-Serb course, preferred to ignore these circumstances and once again demonstrated the bias and bias of the ICTY tandem - the Residual Mechanism, ”the message of the Foreign Ministry said .

The ministry indicated that the process did not take into account the crimes of other parties to the conflict.

“The Hague“ justice ”did not show a real mood to uncover the numerous atrocities of the“ field commanders ”of the Muslim Bosniaks and Kosovo Albanians. The unlawful actions of the NATO countries during the military operations in the former Yugoslavia were deliberately put out of the brackets, ”the Foreign Ministry stressed.

Recall, on March 20, MOMUT changed the sentence to the first President of the Republika Srpska from 40 years to life. Presiding Judge Van Prusse Johnsen stated that the previous punishment "underestimates" the role of Karadzic in crimes during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The Appeals Chamber believes that the sentence imposed by the Court of Justice and involving 40 years in prison underestimates the crucial role of Karadzic and his direct involvement in the commission of the most serious crimes during the entire conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Appeals Chamber cancels the decision of the court of justice and sentences Karadzic to life imprisonment, ”TASS quoted him.

Karadzic himself called this decision "the revenge of the tribunal, which he, the old man, is not afraid of."

“The Serbian people and I, together with them, have already won. The Serbian Republic is formed, and the Serbian people are free in their own state. The sacrifice I make is smaller than the sacrifices of others, ”RIA Novosti quotes him.

In the opinion of Russian diplomats, the MOMUT decision casts doubt on the entire international criminal justice system.

“It is obvious that such electoral methods not only indicate the bias and inefficiency of the ICTY and the Residual Mechanism, but also discredit the very idea of ​​international criminal justice. Considerable means were invested in the work of these bodies by the standards of the United Nations, they were expected to render substantial assistance in the matter of international reconciliation in the Balkans. As a result, it is not necessary to speak of any contribution in principle, ”the department said.

“Under these conditions, we hope that the countries of the region will be able, through joint efforts and constructive cooperation, to overcome the difficult legacy of the conflict, including real justice in the name of the victims of the Balkan tragedy,” the diplomats added.

In conclusion, the Foreign Ministry expressed the hope that in a short time MOMUT would close the remaining cases and be disbanded.

“You can't expect anything else from them.”

Note that the Hague Tribunal almost did not pursue the leaders of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, the current Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj in 2005 was acquitted immediately on 37 counts. The former commander of the troops of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Naser Orić, was acquitted of the murder of peaceful Serbs, although he received two years of imprisonment for “not taking measures to prevent the killing of several Serb prisoners”. And one of the commanders of the Kosovo Albanians, Hashim Taci, in 2016 became the president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo.

At the same time, the Chief of Staff of the Army of the Republika Srpska, Ratko Mladić, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017. The Vice Prime Minister of the Serbian government, Vojislav Seselj, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018, although earlier, in 2016, he was acquitted.

Karadzic himself headed the Republika Srpska from 1992 to 1996, since its inception. Then, in March 1992, the Bosnian Serbs, in response to the fact that the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina singled them out into the category of national minorities, announced the creation of their own state. After this, a civil war began, in which the Croats also participated.

After the end of the Bosnian war in 1996, Karadzic left politics. Almost immediately, he was wanted by Interpol. In 2008, he was detained by the Serbian authorities, and a year later he was charged with 11 counts. According to them, Karadzic is responsible for the war crimes of the Serbian army.

At the same time, the entire tribunal dedicated to the detection of war crimes during the Bosnian war had the task of finding the “guilty”, and not getting justice, head of the Center for the Study of the Modern Balkan Crisis of the Institute of Slavonic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences is convinced Elena Guskova.

“The majority of those convicted are Serbs, the defendants of the majority of cases under consideration are Serbs, the majority of people who died in the tribunal for various reasons are Serbs. This bias and prejudice runs like a red thread through all the activities of the tribunal. There is no other way to expect from them, ”she told RT.