Željko Ražnatović

Amid reports of Arkan's possible involvement in Kosovo, the ICTY Prosecutor publicly disclosed the existence of the 1997 indictment and arrest warrant, while keeping their precise contents under seal.

State of the evidence

Documented

In September 1997, an ICTY judge confirmed an indictment against Arkan. The document and arrest warrant remained under seal to maximise the chances of arrest.

The ICTY indictment alleges that the Tigers rounded up non-Serb men in Sanski Most, confined approximately thirty of them in a cramped boiler room at the Sanus Hotel and severely beat them; at least two reportedly died as a result of the violence.

The ICTY accused the Tigers of taking prisoners from Sanski Most to an abandoned house in Trnova and executing at least eleven of them; only one reportedly survived.

The ICTY indictment also included a charge concerning the rape of a non-Serb woman detained in the Sanski Most area by a member of Arkan's forces.

The ICTY accused the Tigers of taking another group of approximately 65 prisoners to Sasina for a mass execution; bodies were subsequently recovered.

The ICTY case files identify Arkan's Tigers among the forces involved in operations in Bijeljina and Zvornik, in a context of killings, persecution and expulsions of non-Serbs.

The ICTY described Ražnatović as having used his position among Red Star Belgrade supporters to establish the Serbian Volunteer Guard, known as 'Arkan's Tigers', of which he was commander.