The Investigator

Setting up the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was truly one of the most important cases I ever took to the Security Council. Despite the fact that people doubted it would work, it has been remarkable. The war was a tragedy and those involved needed to be punished. To this day, I say that the ICTY was essential-by assigning individual guilt we could expunge collective guilt. * Madeleine Albright, former United States Secretary of State, former Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations 07/06/2019 * Personal accounts of investigations of war crimes, such as this one by Vladimir Dzuro, breathe life into the abstract project of accountability and show the challenges of operating a criminal justice system in an international environment. * Louise Arbour, United Nations Special Representative for International Migration (2017-present) and chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1996-99) * In a captivating personal account, Vladimir Dzuro brings to life the early days of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and describes in detail how its investigators and prosecutors worked against incredible odds to bring to justice some of the worst war criminals of the twentieth century. It is the story of the birth of the modern era of international justice and of how, despite expectations to the contrary, this undertaking became a success. * Clint Williamson, U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues (2006-9) 07/06/2019 * This was the most difficult war of all-a war between neighbors and friends, a war between people who had lived together in a functioning community for decades. We know that the physical wounds of war often heal faster than the psychological wounds. Bringing to justice those who perpetrated such heinous crimes will go far toward healing the psychological wounds. The efforts of Vladimir Dzuro and his colleagues did mich to facilitate this healing process. * Jacques Paul Klein, former U.S. ambassador and former under-secretary-general of the United Nations 07/06/2019 * To my knowledge Vladimir Dzuro's book is the first to explain the complexities, the frustrations, and finally the satisfaction of conducting investigations into the serious crimes that were committed during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. It is above all the story of the people who suffered from those crimes and the investigators and lawyers who worked tirelessly to try and ensure tha the alleged perpetrators faced trial for their part in those crimes. * Judge Joanna Korner, former prosecution senior trial attorney, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia 07/06/2019 * The Investigator is rife with demons. Vladimir Dzuro details his life as an international criminal investigator, and like many of his colleagues at the Yugoslav and Rwanda Tribunals, he witnessed the unfathomable daily. Skiils, teamwork, wit, and luck (bad and good) allowed him to squeeze justice out of profound depravity. Dzuro's book chronicles the real slog of international investigators and prosecutors. Hollywood fiction would shrink from his searing vies of war crimes from under the wet tarpaulin of a mass grave. Notwithstanding, Dzuro ponders his experience by observing that 'humanity owes it to the scarred and broken people who open up their hearts to you.' It is also true that the best international investigators, like Dzuro, open up their hearts, in turn. * Patricia Viseur Sellers, special advisor for gender to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court 07/06/2019 * The Investigator reminds us that the United Nations is a body that can, at will, search out and hold accountable those individuals who orchestrate and enforce extreme violence on noncombatants... Valdimir Dzuro's years of work with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia are a testament to the tenacity of persons dedicated to the investigations o

Vladimir Dzuro worked as a criminal detective between 1983 and 1995, initially investigating violent crime with the Criminal Investigation Department in Prague and later at the National Central Bureau of Interpol in Prague. He currently works at the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services as chief of the New York Headquarters Office. More info at https://warcrimeinvestigator.com/

List of Illustrations Preface Introduction Chapter One: From Interpol to the Hague Chapter Two: Operation Little Flower Chapter Three: The Tribulations of Slavko Dokmanovic Chapter Four: How a Police Officer, a Dentist and a Warehouseman Became the Presidents of the Republic of Serbian Krajina Chapter Five: The Case of Dubrovnik Chapter Six: Everything is Controlled from Belgrade Chapter Seven: Visit by Carla Del Ponte to Eastern Slavonia Chapter Eight: The International Tribunal in the Eyes of a Czech Prosecutor Chapter Nine: The Reckoning Chapter Ten: Final Word Chapter Eleven: Relevant Literature and Documents Appendix 1 Index of Names Appendix 2 Index of Institutions Acknowledgements