UN court convicts seven Bosnian Serbs over Srebrenica massacre

THE HAGUE - A United Nations court here Thursday convicted seven former senior Bosnian Serb soldiers and policemen of taking part in the 1995 massacre of thousands of men in Bosnia’s Muslim enclave of Srebrenica.

Vujadin Popovic and Ljubisa Beara, then chiefs of security of the Drina Corps of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), were both found guilty of genocide, extermination, murder and persecution and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Drago Nikolic, a high-ranking officer in the Zvornik Brigade, was found guilty of aiding and abetting genocide, extermination, murder and persecution, and sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment.

Ljubomir Borovcanin, a senior police officer, and three others were found guilty of a variety of crimes, including inhumane acts and deportation, and were handed prison sentences ranging from 17 to five years.

During the four-year trial, judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) identified 5,336 victims of executions following the fall of the Srebrenica enclave. However, judges said the true number of men and boys killed is likely to be in excess of 7,800.

Thursday’s verdict was expected to damage Radovan Karadzic - who is currently on trial in The Hague - since the trial chamber found that “the widespread and systematic attack” against the enclave’s civilian population “commenced with the issuance” by the former Bosnian Serb leader of a “Supreme Command Directive”, in March 1995.

Thursday’s judgement concerned the largest trial to date held before the ICTY tribunal.