Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, the war-time Bosnian Serb leaders, were first indicted by the UN Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1995. The two hid for many years, with their trials starting only in 2009 and 2012, respectively, after they were apprehended in headline-generating operations. Their continued evasion of trial was constantly critiqued. After all, thousands were killed, tortured, detained, raped, expelled, and robbed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and these two men were widely seen as responsible. Pleas were made by survivors and frustration expressed on behalf of the victims, as many said, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. However, as this article shows, the many years the two high-ranking individuals spent hiding were well-used to collect evidence which led to their convictions and life sentences. Contrary to conventional wisdom, delay can actually be beneficial in prosecuting leaders for atrocity crimes.

战时波斯尼亚塞族领导人拉多万·卡拉季奇 (Radovan Karadžić) 和拉特科·姆拉迪奇 (Ratko Mladić) 于 1995 年首次被设在联合国海牙的前南斯拉夫问题国际刑事法庭起诉。 两人藏匿多年，直到 2009 年和 2012 年才开始受审，分别是在他们在头条新闻行动中被捕之后。他们继续逃避审判不断受到批评。毕竟，在波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那的战争中，有数千人被杀害、折磨、拘留、强奸、驱逐和抢劫，而这两个人被广泛认为应对此负责。正如许多人所说，幸存者提出了请求，并代表受害者表达了沮丧，“迟到的正义就是拒绝正义”。然而，正如本文所示，这两个高级人员隐藏的多年被很好地用来收集导致他们被定罪和终身监禁的证据。与传统观点相反，延迟实际上有利于起诉犯有暴行罪的领导人。