U.N. Court Upholds Life for Two Convicted in Srebrenica Massacre
The U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes court on Friday upheld the life terms of two Bosnian Serbs for their role in the Srebrenica massacre of almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys in 1995.
The Appeals Chamber "affirms the life sentence" against Vujadin Popovic, 57, and Ljubisa Beara, 75, Judge Patrick Robinson said at a hearing at the Hague-based tribunal.
Both men are former senior officers in the Bosnian Serb army, which is blamed for the three-day massacre in July 1995 -- the worst incident of bloodshed on European soil since World War II.
Popovic, wearing a dark suit and black T-shirt shook his head as the verdict was read out, while Beara, also in a dark suit and white shirt, stood motionless.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) sentenced the two men to life imprisonment in 2010 for genocide, conspiring to commit genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The trial judges said Popovic and Beara formed part of a "joint criminal enterprise" to rid certain parts of Bosnia of non-Serbs during the bloody Bosnian conflict that killed 100,000 and left 2.2 million others homeless.
Four other army officers and a police official received terms of between five and 35 years over the Srebenica killings.
The court upheld a 35-year sentence against Bosnian army security chief Drago Nikolic, and a 13-year sentence against brigade commander Vinko Pandurevic.
The 19-year sentence given to Bosnian army operations chief Radivoje Miletic was reduced by one year.
Most of the appellants' other challenges, including their challenges to the admissibility and credibility of witnesses testifying in the case, were rejected.
Relatives of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre "deplored" the appeals verdict, saying they had hoped the judges would imposed life sentences on all the accused.
"This is a catastrophic sentencing," said Hatidza Mehmedovic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica association, who lost two sons and a husband in the massacre.
The five men are still being held at a U.N. detention unit in a seaside suburb of The Hague, pending their transfers to prison.
The case, which opened in The Hague in 2006, is the biggest by the ICTY to be completed to date.
It heard from 315 witnesses over 425 days.
A total of 20 individuals have been indicted for crimes committed at Srebrenica, including former top Bosnian Serb politician Radovan Karadzic and his military partner, general Ratko Mladic.
Both Karadzic, 69 and Mladic, 72 are currently on trial before the court where they face a range of charges including genocide for their roles at Srebrenica.
Set up to try 161 suspects wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the bloody 1990s Balkans wars, the ICTY has concluded 141 proceedings, while 15 others are still ongoing before the court.
Source: Agence France Presse
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