Tartu court considers early release of Serbian war criminal Milan Martić
Tartu District Court is reviewing the conditions for early release of 71-year-old Milan Martić, former president of the unrecognised Serbian Krajina republic. The prosecutor and Tartu prison do not support his release.
Tartu court considers early release of Serbian war criminal Milan Martić
Tartu District Court has initiated proceedings in which the possible conditional early release of 71-year-old Milan Martić is being considered. Martić, who was former president of the unrecognised Serbian Krajina republic, is serving a sentence in Estonia for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
At a hearing held last week, neither the prosecutor nor Tartu prison supported conditional early release for Martić. The deadline for a decision is not yet known.
"The court has scheduled a new hearing for 22 June," the court's press service announced.
Milan Martić was convicted in 2008 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The court found him guilty of persecution of civilians, murder, torture and deportation during the Croatian war in the early 1990s. Martić was sentenced to 35 years in prison, which is due to end in May 2037.
Since June 2009, Martić has been serving his sentence in Tartu prison. Estonia accepted the convicted person on the basis of international agreements. Under this arrangement, the court periodically reviews the possibility of his early release.
The previous attempt to obtain release was rejected in 2021. At that time, Estonian courts found that Martić had shown no signs of remorse and continued to deny his guilt. At hearings, he described himself as a "political prisoner" and claimed he did not consider himself a criminal.
The Estonian court system also took into account the severity of his crimes and assessed the risk of reoffending as too high to justify conditional release.
Martić's lawyers, on the other hand, have pointed to his age and state of health. The advocates stressed that during his time in Tartu prison, he has committed no disciplinary violations, has participated in work activities and has studied Estonian.
At the new hearing, the court must decide whether circumstances have changed in recent years and whether Martić would pose a threat to society if released.
If the court decides in favour of release, Martić would likely be sent to Serbia, as he has no legal basis to remain in Estonia.
Currently, four convicted persons from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia are residing in Estonia. In addition to Martić, serving sentences in Tartu prison are former Bosnian-Serb army commander Dragomir Milošević, paramilitary leader Milan Lukić from the "White Eagles" unit, and former Bosnian-Serb general Radislav Krstić, who was brought to Estonia in 2025.
Source: ERR News – https://news.err.ee/1610043250/prison-and-prosecutor-s-office-do-not-support-parole-for-serbian-war-criminal
Source: ERR News