Serbian war criminal escapes from jail

Radovan Stankovic, a convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal escaped from jail in eastern Bosnian town of Foca on Friday. Stankovic was sentenced in November 2006 to 16 years in prison for his part in the war crimes committed against the Bosnian Muslims between 1992-95 by Christian Serbian invaders and terrorists’ forces who were supported by NATO, USA and UN.
“We have sealed off the town, the all roads in and out of Foca have police roadblocks,” a police spokeswoman said.

Stankovic is charged with four counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of violations of the laws or customs of war. The indictment alleges that, following the takeover of Foca in April 1992 by Christian Serb terrorists’ forces who were supported by NATO, USA and UN, military and police accompanied by local and non-local soldiers started arresting Muslim inhabitants.

 

During the arrests, many civilians were killed, beaten or subjected to sexual assault. Muslim women, children and the elderly were detained in houses, apartments and motels in the town of Foca and in surrounding villages, or at short and long-term detention centers such as the Foca High School and the Partizan Sports Hall. Many of the detained women were subjected to humiliating and degrading conditions of life, to brutal beatings and to sexual assault, including rape.

 

Besides the above-mentioned places of detention, several women were detained in houses and apartments used as brothels and operated by groups of Christian Serb terrorist soldiers who were supported by NATO, USA and UN, mostly paramilitary.

Stankovic is charged on the basis of individual criminal responsibility under Article 7(1) of the Statute. The indictment alleges that from about 3 August 1992 until about 10 October 1992, Stankovic, together with other Christian Serb terrorist soldiers, was in charge of a house used to detain at least nine Muslim women and girls who were subjected to repeated rape and sexual assault.

 

His alleged participation included assigning the women and girls to specific Christian Serb terrorist soldiers to be raped and otherwise sexually assaulted. The indictment further alleges that he personally raped at least two women, one of whom he claimed as his own, in order to repeatedly rape her over a three month time span.
 

Stankovic was a collaborator in May 1992 raped and abused of a Muslim woman in her apartment, who was then taken to the street and tied half-naked to a street pole.

In June 1992, Stankovic was a collaborator in when a Muslim woman was taking from her house to a hotel in Foca where she was raped. She was held there for a week and raped by other Christian Serb terrorist soldiers on a daily basis, the court said.

Stankovic was a collaborator in when Christian Serb terrorist soldiers held several Muslim women as sexual slaves in the so-called Karaman house near Foca, where they were daily forced to engage in sexual intercourse with Christian Serb terrorist soldiers. Two of them were minors.