Eurasia Press & News
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, today delivered the final verdict in the case of former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski and police officer Johan Tarculovski. Boskoski’s acquittal was affirmed, while Tarculovski’s conviction and 12 year prison sentence were upheld.
The Appeals Chamber “dismissed Tarculovski’s appeal in its entirety” and ruled that he is to be held in detention at the Hague until he is transferred to the state where he will serve the remainder of his 12 year prison sentence.
The court also dismissed the Prosecution’s appeal against Boskoski’s acquittal.
Boskoski and Tarculovski are the only people from Macedonia to have been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague for war crimes allegedly committed during the 2001 armed conflict in Macedonia between the state security forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents.
The case has been widely covered by local media, and many Macedonian journalists were expected to travel to the Hague to cover today’s hearing.
Tarculoski’s defense filed seven grounds of appeal, in part arguing that there was not sufficient evidence to show that their client had de facto ordered the atrocities for which he was charged. The defense also pleaded that Tarculovski was following orders from his superiors.
“Johan Tarculovski had the necessary intent and participated in the planning of the attack,” the Appeals Chamber said today, adding that it had found that the previous ruling “does not show any errors in the trial findings”. The Chamber dismissed all grounds of appeal advanced by Tarculovski’s defence and upheld his conviction in its entirety.
In 2008 the court sentenced Tarculovski to 12 years in prison for his involvement in atrocities committed by the police in the ethnic Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje during the conflict. He was convicted on charges of murder, wanton destruction and cruel treatment.
According to the first instance verdict, Tarculovski personally led the police attack on the village where seven ethnic Albanians died and at least 14 houses were set alight, while more than one hundred men were detained and later tortured.
His defense argued that the charges against Tarculovski were not based on evidence, claiming that the action in Ljuboten was a legitimate police action taken against terrorists.
At the same trial the ICTY in 2008 acquitted Boskoski on all charges, but the Prosecution filed an appeal in his case. Boskoski had been indicted for failing to take necessary and reasonable measures to investigate the atrocities and punish crimes committed by his subordinates during the conflict.
In its ruling today, the Appeals Chamber affirmed that Boskoski is a free man, dismissing the Prosecution’s single ground of appeal which concerned alleged errors of law and fact.
The Appeals Chamber concluded that Boskoski had no authority over the judicial authorities in the country who were in charge of conducting the investigation and that there was no evidence that he interrupted their work.
Local media said prior to the hearing that the courtroom in the Hague might prove too small to accommodate all who are interested in attending. More than 130 family members, friends and supporters of Tarculovski were expected to attend.
Aleksandar Kolevski, the head of the Citizens Association for Support of Tarculovski told local media that they had hired a charter plane to carry all who wish to attend to the Netherlands.
“The fight for Tarculovski’s freedom is a just one and that’s why we expect that the court will acquit him. I hope to see him in Skopje in two weeks,” he told local Kirilica news portal earlier this week.
The 2001 armed conflict in Macedonia ended with the signing of the Ohrid Peace Accord, which envisaged greater rights for the ethnic Albanian community that makes up one quarter of Macedonia’s population.
Many of the insurgents later became politicians and the accord became the basis for the building of a multiethnic society in the country.
