A tale of violent terror and chilling unrepentance, from the only woman convicted of crimes against humanity in the Bosnian War.
In 2001, Biljana Plavšić made history: she became the only female political leader ever prosecuted for mass atrocities. She was the one woman among 161 indictees at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia--and the first since Nuremberg to be convicted by an international court.
Charged with genocide and crimes against humanity, Plavšić took a plea bargain. Just one other Bosnian Serb politician at her level was sentenced: Radovan Karadžić himself, President to Plavšić's Vice-President in the autonomous Republika Srpska. Yet before the conflict, Plavšić had been a globally renowned scientist at the University of Sarajevo, penning journal articles and serving as faculty dean.
This gripping book revolves around hundreds of hours of interviews with a stridently unrepentant war criminal--now in her 90s, and a free woman. How did this biology professor end up heading a vengeful ethno-nationalist movement that murdered tens of thousands?
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'Fascinating and terrifying.'
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The Irish Independent"
'A fascinating, insightful and thought-provoking book which takes you into the mind of the only woman convicted by the Yugoslavia tribunal. It is beautifully written [...] and is an absolute must read for anyone interested in the causes of mass violence.'
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Alette Smeulers, Professor in International Crimes, University of Groningen, and author of Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities: Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?"
'Based on hours of candid interviews with Biljana Plavsic, Simić presents a multi-faceted and layered account of a strong woman in conflict, war, and when facing justice. This is an achievement on a par with Gitta Sereny's biography of Albert Speer, enhancing our understanding of war, violence and guilt.'
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Susanne Karstedt, Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University