Dario Kordić was the highest-ranking Bosnian Croat politician convicted by the ICTY for his role in planning and instigating the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing campaign against Bosniak civilians. As Vice President of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia (HZ-HB) and President of the HDZ-BiH, he was found to be the principal political leader responsible for the persecution, murder, and forcible expulsion of Bosnian Muslims from the Lašva Valley region of Central Bosnia during the 1992-1994 Bosniak-Croat war [citation:1][citation:4].
The ICTY Trial Chamber concluded that Kordić "enthusiastically participated in the common design of persecution by planning, preparing and ordering those parts of the campaign which fell within his sphere of authority." He was present at meetings where the April 16, 1993 attack on Ahmići was authorized, which resulted in over 100 Bosniak civilians being massacred, including 32 women and 11 children. His political authority combined with substantial military influence made him the key regional leader in implementing the goal of creating a Croat-controlled territory cleansed of its Bosniak population [citation:1][citation:8].
Presiding Judge Richard May stated at sentencing: "The fact you were a politician and took no part in the actual execution of the crimes makes no difference. You played your part as surely as the men who fired the guns. Indeed, the fact you were a leader aggravates the offences" [citation:7][citation:9].
