Bosnian war crimes fugitive threat to judge - court
29 May 2007 13:24:18 GMT Source: Reuters
By Daria Sito-Sucic SARAJEVO, May 29 (Reuters) - A Bosnian Serb war criminal who escaped jail and may have fled to Montenegro is a serious threat to the judge and prosecutors who convicted him, the president of Bosnia's top court said on Tuesday. Radovan Stankovic, who has been sentenced to 20 years for serial rape, enslavement and torture of civilians in the eastern town of Foca in Bosnia's 1992-95 war, broke away from nine prison guards and ran away from the Foca prison on Friday. During the court proceedings Stankovic sent death threats to the judges and prosecutors, who are now under the protection of a special guard, said Meddzida Kreso, president of the court that incorporates the war crimes chamber. "This shouldn't have happened," Kreso told a news conference. "The security of our judges and prosecutors has been endangered and this sends a very bad message to victims and witnesses." Kreso blamed Foca prison management for his escape. Police found the vehicle in which he escaped near the Serbian border with Montenegro on Monday night. It is believed Stankovic has both Bosnian and Serbian citizenship, allowing him to easily move to neighbouring Serbia or Montenegro. The Bosnian branch of the Interpol has yet to issue an international warrant for him because of procedural delays. But even if Stankovic were detained in a country where he has citizenship, he would not be extradited to Bosnia under existing laws. Bosnian court officials have repeatedly complained about suspects who have dual citizenships, especially after Bosnian Croat official Ante Jelavic fled to Croatia last year after receiving a 10-year prison term. He is still at large. Stankovic was found guilty of keeping nine Muslim women in enslavement in the notorious Karaman House detention centre in Foca in 1992. Two 12-year-old girls were also enslaved there and repeatedly raped, tortured and beaten for months. One of them is still missing. Foca has since become a byword for the use of rape as an instrument of war in the conflict. In April, the appeals panel of Bosnia's war crimes court increased Stankovic's sentence to 20 years from 16. Stankovic's case was the first that was transferred to the Bosnian authorities from the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
