Post by Nick on Aug 1, 2003 10:33:25 GMT
An ex-Bosnian Serb mayor has been sentenced to life imprisonment at The Hague war crimes tribunal for crimes against humanity.
It is the first life sentence to be handed down by the court.
Milomir Stakic, who was the top official of the Prijedor municipality in northwest Bosnia during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, was cleared of genocide.
However, he was convicted of persecution, extermination and murder of Bosnian Muslims and Croats in Prijedor.
The court decided that as the top administrator in the region, Stakic was responsible for the atrocities committed there.
Stakic had been accused of establishing a network of brutal prison camps where hundreds of Muslims were killed and thousands were tortured, as well as specific incidents of brutality.
Stakic, who will be eligible for parole in 20 years' time, will have two weeks in which to lodge an appeal.
Despite the conviction, it was the third time the court had handed down an acquittal on genocide charges, the most serious crime to come before the court and the hardest to prove.
One person, Bosnian general Radislav Krstic, has been convicted of genocide in the court's 10-year history.
Krstic's 46-year sentence was the previous longest sentence imposed by the court.
Source:Sky News
It is the first life sentence to be handed down by the court.
Milomir Stakic, who was the top official of the Prijedor municipality in northwest Bosnia during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, was cleared of genocide.
However, he was convicted of persecution, extermination and murder of Bosnian Muslims and Croats in Prijedor.
The court decided that as the top administrator in the region, Stakic was responsible for the atrocities committed there.
Stakic had been accused of establishing a network of brutal prison camps where hundreds of Muslims were killed and thousands were tortured, as well as specific incidents of brutality.
Stakic, who will be eligible for parole in 20 years' time, will have two weeks in which to lodge an appeal.
Despite the conviction, it was the third time the court had handed down an acquittal on genocide charges, the most serious crime to come before the court and the hardest to prove.
One person, Bosnian general Radislav Krstic, has been convicted of genocide in the court's 10-year history.
Krstic's 46-year sentence was the previous longest sentence imposed by the court.
Source:Sky News