Milivoj Petkovic
Encyclopedia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
, in relation to the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia was an unrecognised entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina that existed between 1991 and 1994 during the Bosnian war. It was proclaimed on November 18, 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, and claimed to be a separate or distinct "political,...
during the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
.
Background
Milivoj Petković was born in ŠibenikŠibenik
Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...
, SR Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia was a sovereign constituent country of the second Yugoslavia. It came to existence during World War II, becoming a socialist state after the war, and was also renamed four times in its existence . It was the second largest republic in Yugoslavia by territory and...
, SFR Yugoslavia. He is a career military officer graduating from the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
("JNA") military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
.
In July, 1991 he left the JNA to join the new Croatian Army
Military of Croatia
Croatian military is officially called Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and it consists of three branches:* Croatian Army * Croatian Navy...
. In 1992 we was ordered by Croatian Army General Janko Bobetko
Janko Bobetko
Janko Bobetko was a Croatian Army general and Chief of the General Staff during the Croatian War of Independence from 1992 until his retirement in 1995. Bobetko had been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia but died before he could be tried...
to take over the Croatian Army
Military of Croatia
Croatian military is officially called Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and it consists of three branches:* Croatian Army * Croatian Navy...
's forward command center in the town of Grude
Grude
Grude is a town and municipality in western Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Geography :Grude is 49 kilometers from Mostar,19 kilometers from Imotski, and 100 km from Split....
, in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, this force would later become the HVO armed forces
HVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
. He held the title of Chief of the HVO
HVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
Main Staff until about 5 August 1994.
Petković had the status of a General in the Croatian Army and also of a partially disabled person, caused by a concussion and a spine injury he sustained in June 1992 while driving a car by the river Neretva, as documented by the authorities of the then-Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia was an unrecognised entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina that existed between 1991 and 1994 during the Bosnian war. It was proclaimed on November 18, 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, and claimed to be a separate or distinct "political,...
.
Milivoj Petković voluntarily surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on 5 April 2004.
He was granted provisional release on 22 April 2008.
Indictment
In the indictment it is alleged that, as the overall HVOHVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
commander, Petković directly commanded the Herceg-Bosna/HVO armed forces and is responsible for its actions. It is alleged that among other things the HVO armed forces:
- ethnically cleansed the districts of Gornji VakufGornji VakufGornji Vakuf-Uskoplje is a town and municipality in Central Bosnia , located between Bugojno, Prozor, Kupres, Novi Travnik and Konjic. It is under the administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, MostarMostarMostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country... - used the Heliodrom CampHeliodrom CampHeliodrom camp was a concentration camp operated between September 1992 and April 1994 by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatian Defence Council to detain Bosniaks and other non-Croats during the Bosnian War, it was located in Rodoc, just south of Mostar town, in Mostar...
as a detention centre where the Bosnian Muslims from Mostar were detained. Conditions at the Heliodrom concentration camp were deemed inhumane.
The charges were:
- nine counts of grave breaches of the Geneva conventions (wilful killing; inhuman treatment (sexual assault); unlawful deportation of a civilian; unlawful transfer of a civilian; unlawful confinement of a civilian; inhuman treatment (conditions of confinement); inhuman treatment; extensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly).
- nine counts of violations of the laws or customs of war (cruel treatment (conditions of confinement); cruel treatment; unlawful labour; wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or destruction not justified by military necessity; destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion or education; plunder of public or private property; unlawful attack on civilians; unlawful infliction of terror on civilians; cruel treatment), and
- eight counts of crimes against humanity (persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; murder; rape; deportation; inhumane acts (forcible transfer); imprisonment; inhumane acts (conditions of confinement); inhumane acts).