The Judgement in the case of Ljube Boškoski and Johan Tarčulovski will be delivered on Thursday 10 July 2008 at 14:15 hours in Courtroom I.

Boškoski, a former Macedonian Interior Minister, and a security aide of his, Tarčulovski, stood trial on charges of war crimes allegedly committed during August 2001 by forces under their control in the village of Ljuboten, near Skopje.

Ljube Boškoski is charged on the basis of superior criminal responsibility and Johan Tarčulovski is charged with individual criminal responsibility.

According to the indictment, on 12 August 2001 members of a police unit commanded by Tarčulovski conducted an unlawful attack on Ljuboten during which seven ethnic Albanian men died, at least 14 houses were intentionally set alight and more than 100 ethnic Albanian male village residents detained and subjected to beatings, humiliation, harassment and psychological abuse.

It is also alleged that Boškoski, in his capacity as Minister of Interior of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, knew or had reason to know that his subordinates had committed crimes, and he, as superior failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to punish perpetrators.

The trial commenced on 16 April 2007 with the Prosecution’s case ending on 6 December 2007. The Defence cases commenced on 30 January 2008 and were completed on 18 March 2008. The closing arguments took place between 6 and 8 May 2008.

This is the Tribunal’s only case concerning the six-month conflict in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

In the 15 years since its establishment the Tribunal has indicted 161 persons for serious violations of humanitarian law committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 2001. Proceedings against 114 have been concluded.

An information sheet concerning the case can be found on the Tribunal’s website:
http://www.un.org/icty/cases-e/cis/boskoski/cis-boskoskitarculovski.pdf

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Courtroom proceedings can be followed on the Tribunal’s website at www.un.org/icty.