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Borislav Herak (born 18 January 1971 in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia-Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia) was a Bosnian Serb soldier who fought with the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in the early days of the Bosnian War. In March 1993, after falling in the hands of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), he was put on trial at the Sarajevo Military District Court, becoming the first person to be convicted of genocide on the basis his of own testimony in which he admitted guilt for crimes charged against him — 32 murders and 16 rapes. Herak's confessions were the subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning article by John F. Burns. ==Crimes and trial== On 7 February 1993 the District Military Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo filed an indictment with the District Military Court in Sarajevo against Herak for genocide, war crimes against a civilian population and war crimes against prisoners of war, committed while he was a member of "Bioča Company" and "Kremeš Company".〔Indictment of District Military Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo, reference: KTV-III-97/92, dated 7 February 1993; Amended indictment of District Military Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo, reference: KTV-III-97/92, dated 14 March 1993. Both indictments cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010〕 Borislav Herak was charged with 32 murders and 16 rapes, including 12 in which the victims were murdered. Sretko Damjanović, indicted with him for genocide and war crimes against a civilian population, was charged with five murders and two rapes, and Nada Tomić was charged with concealment of crime for hiding fugitives (Herak and Damjanović) and stolen goods. The trial of Damjanović and Herak in March 1993 was the first attempt by the Sarajevo legal system to try Bosnian Serbs for genocide and other war crimes. During his trial Herak said he was sent with some soldiers from Serbia to the village of Ahatovići, near Sarajevo, with orders "to kill everybody and burn everything down." About 150 villagers, including children, were herded together and machine-gunned before being dumped, some still alive, in a mass grave. Herak also confessed to rapes and murders of detainees at the Cafe Sonya/Kod Sonje rape camp run by Miro Vuković near the United Nations headquarters in Sarajevo.〔 In March 1993, by a judgment of the District Military Court, Herak and Damjanović were found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death.〔Verdict of District Military Court in Sarajevo, reference: K-I-14/93, dated 12 March 1993, cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010〕 The two were sentenced to death by firing squad. Herak said that he deserved the death penalty. There were no witnesses to the killings and no bodies were recovered. The two men were convicted largely on the basis of Herak's confession after Damjanović retracted his confession, claiming that he had been beaten and tortured into confessing. In July 1993, the second instance court upheld the findings of guilt and the penalties imposed.〔Verdict of the Supreme Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reference: Kž.44/93, dated 30 July 1993, cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010.〕 The third instance court hearing in December 1993 confirmed the judgment of the second instance court.〔Verdict of the Supreme Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reference: Kž.191/93, dated 29 December 1993, cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010〕 It was claimed that the trial was a showcase and the accused had not had a fair hearing. However the court rejected the call for a retrial of Damjanović, saying that "there was plenty of other evidence sufficient for a verdict." Herak recanted his testimony in January 1996, claiming that his testimony before the Bosnian court was beaten out of him. He maintained that he had witnessed killings and heard about rapes but had not done anything himself〔("Symbol of Inhumanity in Bosnia Now Says 'Not Me'", by Kit R. Roane, New York Times, 31 January 1996 ), accessed 17 December 2010〕 In the meanwhile, two Muslim brothers, Kasim and Asim Blekić, whose supposed murders were used as evidence in the trial of Herak and Damjanović had been found living in a Sarajevo suburb.〔("Prosecutor's Mistake Does not Mean that Damjanović will be Released, but it Seriously Affects Credibility of Bosnian Justice", by Edin Subasic and Zehra Alispahic, Ljiljan, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina, 3/11/97 ), accessed 17 December 2010〕 In February 2000 the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered a retrial of Sretko Damjanović,〔Decision of the Canton Court in Sarajevo, reference: Kv-276/00, dated 12 July 2000; Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, ''Sretko Damjanović against the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina'', Case no. (CH/98/638 ), 11 February 2000, cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010〕 who was acquitted.〔Verdict of the Supreme Court of Federation of B&H, reference: Kž-266/03, cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010〕 Requests for Herak's retrial were rejected,〔Decision of the Canton Court in Sarajevo, reference: Kv-294/00, dated 28 August 2000; Decision of the Supreme Court of Federation of B&H, reference: Kž-443/00, dated 26 December 2000, both decisions cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010.〕 leaving Herak the only person convicted of genocide by a local court before the establishment of the state Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina〔Mačkić, Erna (2009-11-19). ("Future of Genocide Trials Hangs on Karadzic Verdict", Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) ). Retrieved on 2009-12-01.〕 and the first person to be convicted of the crime of genocide since the Second World War. His death penalty was altered to 20 years imprisonment.〔Decision of the Sarajevo Canton Court, reference: KI-I-14/93, dated 30 November 1998 (sentence altered to 40 years imprisonment); Decision of the Supreme Court of Federation of B&H, reference: Kž-58/99, dated 16 March 1999 (sentence altered to 20 years imprisonment), cited at List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions, accessed 17 December 2010.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Borislav Herak」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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