Editing Biljana Plavšić (section)

==ICTY indictment and sentence==
She was indicted by the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia]] together with [[Momčilo Krajišnik]] and [[Radovan Karadžić]] for the "creation of impossible conditions of life, [[persecution]] and [[fear|terror]] tactics in order to encourage non-Serbs to leave the area, [[deportation]] of those reluctant to leave, and the [[liquidation]] of others". The Indictment charged Biljana Plavšić as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/plavsic/tjug/en/pla-tj030227e.pdf|title=Prosecutor v. Biljana Plavšić judgement|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia}}</ref>

*Two counts of genocide (Article 4 of the Statute of the Tribunal{{snd}} genocide; and/or, complicity to commit genocide)
*Five counts of [[crimes against humanity]] (Article 5 thereof{{snd}} extermination; murder; persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; deportation; alternatively, inhumane acts)
*One count of violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 thereof{{snd}} murder)

She voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY on 10 January 2001, and was provisionally released on 6 September.

On 16 December 2002, she plea bargained with the ICTY to enter a guilty plea to one count of [[crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]] for her part in directing the war and targeting civilians and expressed "full remorse" in exchange for prosecutors dropping seven other war crimes charges, including two counts of genocide. Plavšić's statement, read in her native [[Serbian language]], repeated her admission of guilt. It said she had refused to believe stories of atrocities against [[Bosniaks]] and [[Croats]] and accepted without question the claims that Serbs were fighting for survival.

[[File:Biljana Plavšić (cropped).jpg|thumb|238x238px|Plavšić in 2021 after recovering from [[COVID-19]]]]

In an interview she gave in March 2005 to the [[Banja Luka]] Alternativna Television, however, she admitted she had pleaded guilty because she could not prove her innocence, as she was unable to find witnesses who would testify on her behalf.<ref>{{cite news|title=Zatvorski dani B.Plavšić|url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2005&mm=03&dd=12&nav_category=64&nav_id=164146|newspaper=B92|date=12 March 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ne znam šta je s Mladićem, on ne bi nikada radio protiv Srba|url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2005/03/13/srpski/P05031203.shtml|newspaper=Glas javnosti|date=13 March 2005}}</ref> She repeated this in an interview for Swedish ''Vi'' magazine in January 2009.<ref name="Bosnian Institute">{{cite news|last=Goldberg|first=Daniel Uggelberg|title=Plavsic retracts war-crimes confession|url=http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2544|newspaper=Bosnian Institute|date=4 February 2009|access-date=16 May 2011|archive-date=19 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319195058/http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2544|url-status=dead}}</ref> She claimed to have pleaded guilty in order to avoid the remaining charges against her, including genocide.<ref name="Bosnian Institute"/> Her pleading guilty led the Hague tribunal to lower her sentence and drop the remaining charges.<ref name="Bosnian Institute"/>  Plavšić would have likely have been sentenced to 20–25 years in prison if she had not pleaded guilty and all eight charges would have been taken into account.<ref name="Bosnian Institute"/>

She was sentenced to 11 years in prison. She served her sentence at the women's prison [[Hinseberg]] in [[Frövi]], [[Örebro County]], Sweden (since 26 June 2003). In December 2008, the Swedish [[Ministry of Justice (Sweden)|Ministry of Justice]] rejected a request for pardon by Plavšić. She had cited "advancing age, failing health and poor prison conditions" as the reasons for her request.<ref name="pardonplea">{{cite news |title=Sweden rejects Bosnian war crime pardon request |url=http://www.thelocal.se/16140/20081204/ |work=[[Agence France-Presse]] |publisher=TheLocal.se |date=4 December 2008 |access-date=6 December 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081205121753/http://www.thelocal.se/16140/20081204/| archive-date= 5 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> [[Željko Komšić]], a Croat member of the [[Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] had written a letter to the Swedish authorities in September 2008 urging them not to release Plavšić, stating that "any act of mercy would be big mistake and an insult to the victims and families of the victims".<ref name="pardonplea"/>

On 14 September 2009, [[Patrick Lipton Robinson|Patrick Robinson]], President of the [[United Nations]]' [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia]], said Plavšić "appears to have demonstrated substantial evidence of rehabilitation" and had accepted responsibility for her crimes. The Times continued that "Under Swedish law, she becomes eligible for release 27 October, after serving two-thirds of her term, though her release date has not been set."<ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-Bosnian Leader May Be Freed Soon|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/world/europe/16briefs-bosnia.html|newspaper=New York Times|date=16 September 2009 | agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref> She was released on 27 October 2009.<ref>{{cite news
|title= Bosnian Serb 'Iron Lady' released
|work=BBC News
|date=2009-10-27
|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8327714.stm
|access-date=2009-10-27| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091029194527/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8327714.stm| archive-date= 29 October 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> On the same day, [[Milorad Dodik]], Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, provided an RS government jet to pick up Plavšić and welcomed her to [[Belgrade]] after her early release from a Swedish prison.<ref name=balkaninsight>{{cite news|last=Barlovac|first=Bojana|title=Dodik Says Had Moral Reasons to Welcome Plavsic|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/dodik-says-had-moral-reasons-to-welcome-plavsic|newspaper=Balkan Insight|date=28 October 2009}}</ref> Dodik cited "purely moral reasons" for doing so.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dodik speaks about welcoming Plavšić|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=10&dd=28&nav_id=62644|newspaper=B92|date=28 October 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103015206/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=10&dd=28&nav_id=62644|archive-date=3 January 2010}}</ref> On 10 November 2009, Milorad Dodik revealed that he seriously considered giving Plavšić an office in the Senate. He stated "we are working on revising the law on the President of the Republic, which would award Plavšić, and other former presidents, the opportunity to enjoy some privileges like the office, monetary compensation, counselor, secretary, official car with a driver and so forth."<ref name=dalje>{{cite news|title=Dodik will give Plavsic office in the Senate?|url=http://dalje.com/en-world/dodik-will-give-plavsic-office-in-the-senate/281001|newspaper=Dalje|date=10 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020034745/http://dalje.com/en-world/dodik-will-give-plavsic-office-in-the-senate/281001|archive-date=20 October 2012}}</ref>