GUILTY

Dražen Erdemović was the first accused to plead guilty and testify as a repentant witness. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison. (Case number: IT-96-22).

Dražen Erdemović was a soldier in the 10th Sabotage Detachment of the Bosnian Serb army. After the capture of Srebrenica by Serbian forces in July 1995, he participated in the execution of hundreds of unarmed Bosnian Muslims from the enclave. He was the first person to plead guilty before the International Tribunal, and later testified in other proceedings before the ICTY, providing significant and detailed evidence about the crimes committed.

"Between 10 a.m. and about 3:30 p.m., between 15 and 20 buses arrived, and members of the detachment shot all the men and boys who came out of them. After that, the killing was taken over by another unit. That day, we shot between 1,000 and 1,200 civilians. I want to say that I am sorry for all the victims, not just those who were killed then at that farm, but all victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina regardless of nationality. I lost many friends of all nationalities in that war, and I am convinced that none of them wanted the war. I am sure of this, but they had no other choice. This war came, and there was no way out of it, and that happened to me too."

"Because of my case, because of everything that happened, I, on my own, without anyone's arrest, without anyone's - how should I say - interrogation or pressure, confessed to a journalist even before I was arrested in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Then, on that occasion, I told her that I wanted to go before the International Court, to help the International Court understand what was done to ordinary people in the former Yugoslavia, people like me. As Mr. Babić said, I also confessed everything in court in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I confessed everything to the state security agencies, just as I have to you here.

"Mr. Babić, the first time he came here, said to me: 'Dražen, can you change your decision? I don't know what can happen, what will be.' I said, for the sake of the victims, for my conscience, for my life, my child, my wife, I cannot annul what I told the journalist and what I said in Novi Sad. So, for the sake of my soul, for my honesty, for the victims, for everything. Even though I knew that my family, my parents, my brother, my sister would have problems because of it, I did not want to cancel it.

Because of everything that happened, I am very sorry, but there was nothing I could do. When I could, I did it."

"I sincerely wish to express before this honorable Court and public opinion, particularly the Bosniak community, my deep and sincere regret and remorse for the crimes that occurred, and to apologize to the victims, their families, and the Bosniak people for my participation in this crime. I am aware that I cannot bring back the dead, and that my confession cannot alleviate the pain of the families, but by this act, I wanted to contribute to finally revealing the complete truth about Srebrenica and its victims. I hope that the state authorities of Republika Srpska and all individuals who participated in the crime will follow my path, acknowledge their participation and guilt, surrender and be held accountable for what they have done. With my confession, I wanted to assist the Court and the Prosecution in uncovering the full truth and to spare the witnesses, the crime's victims, their mothers, brothers, and sisters further suffering and to not remind them of that terrible tragedy."