Convicted War Criminal Found Dead at Home

Todorovic had a gunshot wound to his temple and a pistol in his hand. Preliminary statements by the Republika Srpska authorities suggested Todorovic committed suicide.



Todorovic, nicknamed “the Monster”, was chief of police in Bosanski Samac from 1992 until 1995. He was charged with “wilful killing” and “causing great suffering” to Bosnian Muslim and Croat prisoners in Bosanski Samac 1992 and 1993, and “torture, humiliating and degrading treatment” of non-Serbs.



In December 2000, Todorovic pleaded guilty to one count of persecution on political, racial and religious grounds – commonly referred to as “ethnic cleansing” – as a crime against humanity.



He agreed to testify in other war crimes trials taking place at the tribunal. In return, the prosecution dropped 26 additional charges against him. Six months later, he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.



Todorovic, who was arrested by NATO troops in Bosnia in 1998, was released in June 2005 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.



He was an important prosecution witness in the case of two former heads of the Serbian State Security Service, Frenki Simatovic and Jovica Stanisic, and in the case of Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj.



The tribunal’s Office of the Prosecutor has asked for a thorough investigation of the case.