- Zdravko Tolimir
Zdravko Tolimir (also known as Chemical Tolimir) (
Cyrillic : Здравко Толимир) (bornNovember 27 ,1948 ,Glamoč ,Bosnia and Herzegovina , thenYugoslavia ) was aBosnian Serb commander during theBosnian War .Zdravko Tolimir was Assistant Commander of Intelligence and Security for the Bosnian Serb army and reported directly to the commander, General
Ratko Mladić .According to the indictment, Tolimir was aware of the program aimed at expelling
Bosniaks fromSrebrenica andZepa , and he willingly participated in the project. OnJuly 9 ,1995 , when PresidentRadovan Karadžić passed down an order to seize Srebrenica, the order was passed directly through Tolimir.On 21 July 1995 by the Serb General Zdravko Tolimir from Zepa sent report to General Radomir Miletic, acting Chief of General Staff of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) . Tolimir was requesting help to crush some Bosnian military strongholds, expressing his view that "the best way to do it would be to use chemical weapons". In the same report, Tolimir went even further, proposing chemical strikes against refugee columns of women, children and elderly leaving Zepa, because that would "force the Muslim fighters to surrender quickly", in his opinion. [cite news |url=http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=8351&kat=3 |title=Tolimir requested Chemical Weapons to be used in Zepa |publisher=SENSE Tribunbal |date=
2007 -08-22 |accessdate=2007-10-06 ]In Zepa, Tolimir was also alleged to have told the Bosniaks that they or the Serbs of Bosnia would launch a military operation. The Bosniaks refused to leave and, early on the morning of
July 14 ,1995 , the Bosnian Serbs launched an attack against the Zepa enclave as said to have been commanded by him.On
2007 -05-31 , Tolimir was detained by the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina after having been on the run for two years.cite news |url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24211&Cr=icty&Cr1= |title=Registrar at UN war crimes tribunal sounds alarm over health of genocide suspect |publisher=UN News Service |date=2007 -10-05 |accessdate=2007-10-06 ]Tolimir had negotiated with the Serbian government concerning his surrender to The Hague tribunal.
He was handed to UN personnel at the
Serbia n-Bosnian border onMay 31 ,2007 after being arrested in Serbia. [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/31/europe/EU-GEN-Serbia-Bosnia-War-Crimes.php Key war crimes fugitive arrested on Serbia-Bosnia border] International Herald Tribune] He arrived at the Tribunal in The Hague the following day. He is charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes.Tolimir is being charged for Srebrenica genocide and acting in conjunction with other Bosnian Serb army and police officers in a joint enterprise. He has been indicted for the forcible removal of women and children from the Srebrenica enclave, and the execution of thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys in July 1995.
On
2007 -10-05 , the registry of the ICTY announced their assesment of Tolimir's health as “grave, fragile and highly alarming”, and that Tolimir was refusingblood pressure treatment for an inoperable brain aneurism. Tolimir had previously stated that he planned to represent himself during the trial.References
External links
* [http://www.state.gov/s/wci/us_releases/fs/27627.htm At Large Persons Publicly Indicted for War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia (Page 5 of 5)]
* [http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/tol-ii050210e.htm Indictment] —International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
* [http://www.un.org/icty/tolimir/registry/071005.pdf Registrar's submission on the accused's submission of 7 September 2007, 5 October 2007] (PDF) ICTY
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