Radislav Krstić

Radislav Krstić (; born 15 February 1948) is a former Bosnian Serb Deputy Commander and later Chief of Staff of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska (the "Bosnian Serb army") from October 1994 until 12 July 1995. He was promoted to the rank of major general in June 1995 and assumed command of the Drina Corps on 13 July 1995.

In 1998 Krstić was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague in connection with the genocide of around 8,000 Bosniak prisoners of war and civilians on 11 July 1995 during the Srebrenica massacre – Europe's first genocide since World War II. On 2 August 2001, Krstić became the first man convicted of genocide by the Tribunal, and was sentenced to 46 years in prison. He was only the third person ever to have been convicted under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The sentence was subsequently shortened to 35 years in prison when an appeal court upheld a lesser charge for aiding and abetting genocide.

In 1968, upon completion of his secondary education, he began his university education by enrolling in the military academy in Belgrade. He graduated in 1972, whereupon he became an active duty officer of the former JNA.

Career According to testimony during his trial, Krstić was first assigned to the Sarajevo garrison from 1972 to 1981, where he attended secondary military school at a hub called "Josip Broz Tito". His first assignment was a platoon commander at this secondary military school. He was also a company commander, and was head of his class during his graduating year. Krstić remembers Sarajevo as being unique in Yugoslavia due to its spirit of unity amongst the ethnically diverse population.

The Bosnian Army offensive Upon returning to his official duties, Krstić was again briefed that activity by Bosnian Muslim forces between Tuzla and the UN protectorates was increasing, and Serb forces were suffering heavy losses to infiltrators. Serb intelligence reported that, despite a no-fly order on much of the area, BiH military helicopters were landing in protected areas daily with munitions and supplies. Noting the buildup toward a major offensive by the BiH Army, the Drina Corps began preparations for a counter-offensive. There were casualties suffered on both sides, but the Drina Corps made territorial gains in the Kalesija and Osmaci municipalities, and after four days of fighting, the 2nd Corps were driven back to their original positions. The Eastern Bosnia Corps then concentrated their forces on the Tuzla-Zvornik axis, however, and after establishing a bridgehead on the Spreča River, they broke through Serb lines and destroyed the villages of Markovica, much of Osmaca, and the entire village of Zelena. The 28th Division of the 2nd Corps then occupied the villages of Višnjica and Rječice, where they attacked the VRS Main Staff from the direction of Banja Lučica and Krivace. This territory was held until 26 June, when the Drina Corps fortified their defenses and managed to halt and then repel the BiH Army back to their initial positions. The directive went on to detail the need to "complete the physical separation of the Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves as soon as possible, preventing even communication between individuals between the two enclaves. By planned and well-thought-out combat operations, create an unbearable situation of total insecurity, with no hope of further survival or life for the inhabitants of Srebrenica or Žepa.

The operational objective was to, "y a surprise attack, to separate and reduce in size military forces in Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves", as well as, "o improve the tactical position of the forces in the depth of the area and to create conditions for the elimination of the enclaves." It is believed that operations to this effect actually began three months before the attack in April 1995.

Reconnaissance was carried out from the forward command post at Pribicevac, Besica Brdo, and the Bracan surface mine. Subsequently, the Drina Corps requested that the VRS provide the cooperation of the 65th Protective Motorised Regiment, as well as that of the 1st and 2nd Podrinje Light Infantry Brigades. A sudden flare-up of fierce resistance by the BiH Army against all VRS axes delayed the commencement of the operation by several days, and resources were concentrated on re-acquiring territory lost in these attacks.

Krstić then allegedly undertook to arrange that men from the Bratunac Brigade assist with the Branjevo Farm and the Pilica Dom executions. They would be attacking along the line of Podravanje-Orlov Kamen, Zlovrh and on to Žepa.

On 13 July there was a flurry of preparatory measures involving scouring the terrain for remaining members of the 28th Division, organizing mine groups to detect minefields and conduct demining operations, removing obstacles on roads within the protected area as well as roads between units and the staging area for the Žepa operation. Numerous executions of bound prisoners also took place in this region. On 19 July the following conversation between Krstić and Deputy Commander of the 1st Zvornik Infantry Brigade General Dragan Obrenović was intercepted:

RK: Is that you, Obrenović? DO: Yes. RK: Krstić here. DO: How are you General, sir? RK: I'm great, and you? DO: Thanks to you I am too. RK: Way to go, Chief. And how's your health? DO: It's fine, thank God, it's fine. RK: Are you working down there? DO: Of course we're working. RK: Good. DO: We've managed to catch a few more, either by gunpoint or in mines. RK: Kill them all. God damn it. DO: Everything, everything is going according to plan. Yes. RK: Not a single one must be left alive. DO: Everything is going according to plan. Everything. RK: Way to go, Chief. The Turks are probably listening to us. Let them listen, the motherfuckers. DO: Yeah, let them.

Despite losing some of his forces in a transfer to augment operations in the Alibegovac and Kak areas, on the morning of 17 July, the march on Žepa commenced, with the attack building to full swing a few days later. The attack was initially slowed down due to terrain features along the attack axes. Žepa fell to the VRS on 1 August 1995.

Promotion to Drina Corps Commander Generals Mladić and Tolimir joined Krstić at the forward command post in Krivaca on the day the Žepa attack began and informed him that he (Krstić) would be soon taking over duties as Corps Commander. About a week later, after the forward command post had been moved to Godjenje, Mladić ordered Krstić to travel to a restaurant near Han Pijesak to take over Živanović's post as Corps Commander. There was a formal ceremony, after which Krstić performed some transitory duties and visited his family briefly in Kosovska Mitrovica.

Post-war In August 1995, Krstić went to Zvornik and joined Obrenović in a review of the right flank of the 7th battalion trenches. A Srebrenica Massacre survivor was heard on a soldier's transistor radio giving an account over the radio broadcast from Tuzla. Krstić ordered that the radio be switched off, with the admonition that they should not listen to enemy radio. He then asked Obrenović if he had issued orders that enemy radio should not be listened to and Obrenović said that he had not. Krstić refused to discuss the executions further.

Krstić was relieved of his duties as Corps Commander on 21 November 1995 and he was sent to the National Defense School in Belgrade. He returned to the Main Staff of the VRS in September 1996 for further deployment, and was appointed to the post of the Chief of Inspection for Combat Readiness of the VRS. He was appointed the Commander of the 5th Corps in April 1998.

Indictment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia On 1 November 1998 Krstić was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague for genocide, complicity to commit genocide, extermination, two counts of murder, and persecution.

Arrest On Wednesday, 2 December 1998, Krstić was driving through the village of Vršani on the Bijeljina-Brčko road while en route to Banja Luka on business when his car was disabled by road spikes and he was pulled through his car window and taken into custody in a joint SAS-Navy SEAL operation launched by SFOR. He was immediately transported to the Hague for trial. The Republika Srpska and Yugoslav governments expressed outrage, and even Russia protested against the manner in which Krstić was detained, in that it took place in an area of Bosnia patrolled by the Russian SFOR contingent, which was not apprised of the operation.

Trial and sentence Krstić's trial began five days after his arrest on 7 December 1998. Krstić did not deny that war crimes had been committed by the VRS, but he denied that he had issued orders for these actions. He pleaded ignorance and placed the likely responsibility on General Mladić's shoulders. He claimed that he did not participate in either the planning, organizing or ordering of killings and deportations, claiming instead that he concentrated on his attack on Žepa while the bulk of the killings were taking place. He claimed to have known and heard nothing about any atrocities until the event of his own trial. On 2 August 2001 Krstić was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 46 years in prison.

On 15 August 2001, Counsel for Krstić filed a notice of appeal against the Trial Chamber judgement, arguing that the Trial Chamber both misconstrued the legal definition of genocide and erred in applying the definition to several circumstances of the case. The Appeal's Chamber dismissed the appeal with regard to the legal definition of genocide. With regard to factual errors, the Appeal's Chamber on 19 April 2004 dismissed the appeal on some issues, but granted it with regard to other issues. They pronounced him not guilty of genocide, but affirmed his guilt as an aider and abbetor to genocide, thus redefining Krstić's involvement and cutting 11 years from his sentence.

In 2024 Krstić filed an request for early release, having served 26 years in prison. In his filing Krstić admitted for the first time that he had taken part in the genocide and was guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted. His request was denied in February 2025. As of April 2025, he will serve his sentence in Tartu Prison, Estonia.