Stanislav Galić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Станислав Галић; born 12 March 1943) is a Bosnian Serb

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and former

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was convicted of Terror as a

Crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

, and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

as violations of the laws and customs of War, for his part in the Siege of Sarajevo.

Background

Galić was born in the hamlet of Goleš, in the municipality of

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Prior to the beginning of the war he was an officer in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

. On 7 September 1992 he became the commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps (''Sarajevsko-romanijski korpus''), the unit of the VRS which besieged

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Galić remained commander of the SRK until 10 August 1994 which is when he was replaced by Dragomir Milošević.

War crimes

In 1998 the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

indicted Galić on the basis of individual responsibility on charges of murder, inhumane acts other than murder,

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians, attacks on civilians and violations of the laws and customs of war. The indictment was sealed until Galić was arrested by the British SAS on 20 December 1999. On 5 December 2003, his trial ended in a conviction and a 20-year sentence for the shelling and sniping of

. Galić appealed the judgement. On 30 November 2006, his appeal was rejected and the appeals chamber extended his sentence from 20 years to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

. He was taken to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to serve his sentence.

References

1943 births Living people People from Banja Luka People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted of war crimes Bosnia and Herzegovina prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Serbian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by international courts and tribunals Siege of Sarajevo Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted of crimes against humanity Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Army of Republika Srpska soldiers {{serbia-bio-stub Prisoners and detainees of the British military