The international war crimes trial of a Bosnian Serb accused of raping four Muslim women marks the first international prosecution for wartime sexual enslavement. On July 3rd, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal rejected the defense’s motion to dismiss 11 torture counts against two defendants. The prosecution, supported by the courageous testimonies of 16 Muslim women, charged that rape was a military tactic designed to “ethnically cleanse” the region, and intimidate and traumatize women and girls. Witnesses described how dozens of women and girls – one as young as the age of 12 – were captured, beaten and raped nightly. The International War Crimes Tribunal of Yugoslavia mandates a maximum life sentence for crimes of rape and enslavement.
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