THROW AWAY THE KEY
War Crimes Watch statement 6.3.98
On Thursday 5 March 1998, The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), handed down a reduced sentence to Drazen Erdemovic, a Croat soldier in the Serb army. Erdemovic was sentenced to ten years for his part in the slaughter of 1,200 men from Srebrenica in 1995. Erdemovic had admitted to killing seventy five people that day.
His sentence was reduced to five years, and he will be set free in less than three years, as a result of time already served. War Crimes Watch, condemns this decision by ICTY. In handing down the reduced sentence, the judges stated that:
“ The Accused is reformable and should be given a second chance to start his life afresh upon release, whilst still young enough to do so”
Three options faced Drazen Erdemovic, the day he agreed to kill those men, if as he claims he committed these crimes due to fear:
1. Refuse, and maybe influence others to rebel 2. Be shot by the Serbs for trying to do so. He did not take either of these options. 3. Take part, save his life but live with the consequences of murdering hundreds of innocents.
Erdemovic, instead has found himself 'rewarded' for his motives. War Crimes Watch has begun a petition, condemning this judgement as a travesty of justice. It will call on the ICTY to reverse this judgement and ensure that no such travesty happens again. If you would like to add your name to it, then please e-mail us, and write KEY in the sunject box. Please send us your name, e-mail, and the country you are writing from. You may wish to add more contact details, or a message which we will not put on the petition.
To see the text of the petition please click on the link.