Bosnian Croats jailed for war crimes

Cerkez (left) and Kordic were found guilty of crimes against humanity by a war crimes court at The Hague

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands -- Two Bosnian Croats have been jailed for a total of 40 years after being found guilty of crimes against humanity at the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

Dario Kordic, once vice president of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Croat state, is the first senior politician to be convicted by the court.

The three-judge panel convicted Kordic along with Bosnian Croat military commander Mario Cerkez for their involvement in a string of savage attacks on Muslims in central Bosnia from 1991 to 1994.

Kordic was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Cerkez received 15 years.

"The fact you were a politician and took no part in the actual execution of the crimes makes no difference; you played your part as surely as the men who fired the guns," Judge Richard May told Kordic. "Indeed, the fact you were a leader aggravates the offences."

AUDIO Dario Kordic verdict 1.43Mb/186 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Mario Cerkez verdict 995K/82 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Kordic was found guilty of ordering the notorious Ahmici village massacre in April 1993, in which Bosnian Croats murdered more than 100 people before torching their homes.

He was convicted on 12 war crimes counts -- including murder, persecution, hostage-taking, inhuman treatment and wanton destruction. Cerkez was found guilty on 15 counts. The pair had faced 22 counts each.

The trial could serve as a model for cases against non-military figures and is also a test of command responsibility as the tribunal seeks to convict those high up the chain of power.

The attacks "were characterised by a ruthlessness and savagery in which no distinction was made as to the age of its victims -- young and old were either murdered or expelled and their houses were burned," the judge said.

The ruling was the 10th judgment made by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia since it began proceedings in 1996 and comes three days after the tribunal's historic decision to treat rape as a crime against humanity .

Earlier in February, Bosnian Serb troops Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac and Zoran Vukovic were sentenced to jail terms of up to 28 years for using rape as "an instrument of terror" during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia.

Prosecutors had called for life sentences on Kordic and Cerkez, saying the planning of atrocities was collective and both defendants were involved.

They described Kordic as the most powerful political figure in central Bosnia at the time, with a key military role.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Bosnia War Crimes Tribunal
Amnesty International
United Nations

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