Gvero Applies for Early Release
Lawyers say he has already served over 80 per cent of his five year prison sentence.
Gvero Applies for Early Release
Lawyers say he has already served over 80 per cent of his five year prison sentence.
One of the so-called Srebrenica Seven convicted last week of crimes associated with the fall of enclave in 1995 has this week applied for an early release.
In the June 10 judgement of the seven Bosnian Serb defendants, Bosnian army commander Milan Gvero was sentenced to five years in prison with credit for time already served.
He was arrested and transferred to The Hague in February 2005, but has been granted provisional release several times since then. In this week’s application for early release, Gvero’s lawyers state that he has served four years and 39 days in prison as of June 15, 2010.
His lawyers further state that while Gvero was convicted of grave crimes, the trial judges themselves noted that Gvero had no previous convictions and they “gave some weight to Gvero’s good character, professionalism and inclination towards cooperation during the war”.
Gvero also had an “inclination towards humanitarian conduct … during the indictment period” which “indicates that [he] has the capacity for rehabilitation”, his lawyers state.
Furthermore, Gvero has demonstrated “model behaviour” while incarcerated in the United Nations Detention Unit, UNDU, and has “shown respect for the UNDU management and staff and has at all times maintained good relations with his fellow detainees”, his lawyers continue.
They also cite Gvero’s advanced age of 72, his deteriorating health and his desire to “reintegrate into society and be reunited with his family”.
At the time of the Srebrenica massacre, Gvero was assistant commander for moral, legal and religious affairs of the Bosnian Serb army main staff.
He was found to have contributed to the joint criminal enterprise to forcibly remove Srebrenica’s population. He was found guilty of persecution and forcible transfer and acquitted of murder and deportation.
Gvero “carried out key functions relating to external propaganda and interaction with international organisations, with the aim to support the plan to forcibly transfer the populations from the enclaves,” Judge Agius said while delivering the judgement.
Furthermore, Gvero issued a statement to the media after the Bosnian Serb army had launched an attack on Srebrenica, in which he stated that the army’s activities were intended to “neutralise Muslim terrorists and not against any civilians or [the UN force]”.
Judge Agius said this “blatantly false statement” was intended to “mislead the international authorities concerned with protecting the enclave, with a view to delaying any action that could frustrate [the Bosnian Serb army’s] plans”.
Gvero’s application for early release will go before the president of the tribunal, Judge Patrick Robinson.
Rachel Irwin is an IWPR reporter in The Hague.
