Biljana Plavsic, former president of Republika Srpska, dies at 96
Former Republika Srpska president and the only woman convicted by the ICTY has died in Belgrade; funeral expected in Banja Luka.
Biljana Plavsic, a central figure among Bosnian Serb leaders and a former president of Republika Srpska, has died in Belgrade at the age of 96. Her death was reported on Monday; the funeral is expected to be held in Banja Luka.
Conviction at The Hague
Plavsic was the only woman convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). She surrendered voluntarily to the tribunal on 10 January 2001, and, the court record states, “on 7 April in the previous year she was indicted” on charges that included genocide, crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions allegedly committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1991 and 1992.
On 27 February 2003 she pleaded guilty to persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, a crime against humanity, and the remaining counts were dismissed as a consequence of that plea. The tribunal sentenced her to 11 years’ imprisonment.
Plavsic was transferred from The Hague to Sweden on 26 June 2003 to serve her sentence in Hinksberg prison. She was released at the end of October 2009 after serving two-thirds of her term.
Born on 7 July 1930 in Tuzla, Plavsic trained as a botanist, earning her degree and doctorate from the Faculty of Science in Zagreb and completing a Fulbright-funded specialization in the United States. She later served as a professor and dean at the Faculty of Science in Sarajevo.
She entered politics amid the breakup of the former Yugoslavia as a member of the Serbian Democratic Party and left public life around the end of 2000 for health reasons. In later years she lived a withdrawn life in Belgrade, divorced and without children.
Photo: press material from the event
