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01-17-2005, 04:19 PM
January 17, 2005
Bosnian Serbs Jailed for Srebrenica Massacre
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:32 a.m. ET
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Judges at The Hague war crimes tribunal jailed two former Bosnian Serb army commanders for 18 and 9 years respectively Monday for their role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys.
Vidoje Blagojevic was found guilty of complicity in genocide by aiding and abetting the crime and of aiding and abetting murder, persecutions and inhumane acts. He was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
His co-accused Dragan Jokic was convicted of aiding and abetting murder, persecutions and extermination and given a 9-year sentence by judges at the U.N. tribunal. Both were given credit for time already spent in detention.
Thousands of Muslim men and boys were slaughtered after the U.N.'s so-called ``safe area'' of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia fell to Serb forces in July 1995. The killings became one of the most notorious episodes of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
``The horrible crimes committed following the fall of Srebrenica are well known,'' the court said in a summary of the judgment.
``These crimes were committed with a level of brutality and depravity not previously seen in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and are among the darkest days in modern European history.''
Judges said the two had not played a major role in the commission of crimes. Blagojevic had helped with the transfer of Bosnian Muslims from the captured enclave while Jokic had sent men and machinery to execution and burial sites.
In a complex ruling, judges said they had declined to enter a conviction on one count of murder against Jokic. Judges also acquitted Blagojevic of extermination.
MASSACRE
Blagojevic and Jokic were part of a group of four jointly indicted for the Srebrenica killings, Europe's worst massacre since World War II.
Blagojevic was a commander of the Bosnian Serb army's 1st Bratunac Light Infantry Brigade. Jokic was Chief of Engineering in the Zvornik Brigade.
Hague tribunal prosecutor Peter McCloskey had called for a 32-year sentence for Blagojevic and up to 20 years for Jokic. Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The two other defendants in the case had reached plea agreements with prosecutors. Dragan Obrenovic received a 17-year prison sentence and Momir Nikolic a 27-year sentence in 2003 after pleading guilty to persecution.
Senior Bosnian Serb commander Radislav Krstic was sentenced to 46 years in jail for genocide at Srebrenica by the tribunal in a landmark verdict in 2001. His sentence was cut to 35 years on appeal and his genocide conviction reduced to one of aiding and abetting the crime.
The tribunal's two most wanted men, Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic, are also accused of responsibility for the Srebrenica massacre as well as the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.
The Bosnian conflict, pitting Serbs, Croats and Muslims against each other, was one of the 1990s Balkan wars sparked by the collapse of the Yugoslav federation.
The 1995 Dayton peace agreement divided post-war Bosnia into two highly autonomous regions -- a Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb republic -- under a loose umbrella central government.
Bosnian Serbs Jailed for Srebrenica Massacre
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:32 a.m. ET
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Judges at The Hague war crimes tribunal jailed two former Bosnian Serb army commanders for 18 and 9 years respectively Monday for their role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys.
Vidoje Blagojevic was found guilty of complicity in genocide by aiding and abetting the crime and of aiding and abetting murder, persecutions and inhumane acts. He was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
His co-accused Dragan Jokic was convicted of aiding and abetting murder, persecutions and extermination and given a 9-year sentence by judges at the U.N. tribunal. Both were given credit for time already spent in detention.
Thousands of Muslim men and boys were slaughtered after the U.N.'s so-called ``safe area'' of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia fell to Serb forces in July 1995. The killings became one of the most notorious episodes of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
``The horrible crimes committed following the fall of Srebrenica are well known,'' the court said in a summary of the judgment.
``These crimes were committed with a level of brutality and depravity not previously seen in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and are among the darkest days in modern European history.''
Judges said the two had not played a major role in the commission of crimes. Blagojevic had helped with the transfer of Bosnian Muslims from the captured enclave while Jokic had sent men and machinery to execution and burial sites.
In a complex ruling, judges said they had declined to enter a conviction on one count of murder against Jokic. Judges also acquitted Blagojevic of extermination.
MASSACRE
Blagojevic and Jokic were part of a group of four jointly indicted for the Srebrenica killings, Europe's worst massacre since World War II.
Blagojevic was a commander of the Bosnian Serb army's 1st Bratunac Light Infantry Brigade. Jokic was Chief of Engineering in the Zvornik Brigade.
Hague tribunal prosecutor Peter McCloskey had called for a 32-year sentence for Blagojevic and up to 20 years for Jokic. Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The two other defendants in the case had reached plea agreements with prosecutors. Dragan Obrenovic received a 17-year prison sentence and Momir Nikolic a 27-year sentence in 2003 after pleading guilty to persecution.
Senior Bosnian Serb commander Radislav Krstic was sentenced to 46 years in jail for genocide at Srebrenica by the tribunal in a landmark verdict in 2001. His sentence was cut to 35 years on appeal and his genocide conviction reduced to one of aiding and abetting the crime.
The tribunal's two most wanted men, Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic, are also accused of responsibility for the Srebrenica massacre as well as the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.
The Bosnian conflict, pitting Serbs, Croats and Muslims against each other, was one of the 1990s Balkan wars sparked by the collapse of the Yugoslav federation.
The 1995 Dayton peace agreement divided post-war Bosnia into two highly autonomous regions -- a Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb republic -- under a loose umbrella central government.