This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/24/radovan-karadzic-criminally-responsible-for-genocide-at-srebenica
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Radovan Karadžić sentenced to 40 years for genocide at Srebrenica | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić has been found guilty of genocide over the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica and sentenced to 40 years in jail. | |
| The key verdict from a United Nations tribunal in The Hague was delivered 18 months after a five-year trial of Karadžić, who was accused of being one of the chief architects of atrocities during the 1992-95 Balkans war. | The key verdict from a United Nations tribunal in The Hague was delivered 18 months after a five-year trial of Karadžić, who was accused of being one of the chief architects of atrocities during the 1992-95 Balkans war. |
| The 70-year-old, who insisted his actions were aimed at protecting Serbs during the Bosnian conflict, was found guilty of 10 out of the 11 charges he faced at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). | The 70-year-old, who insisted his actions were aimed at protecting Serbs during the Bosnian conflict, was found guilty of 10 out of the 11 charges he faced at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). |
| Related: Karadžic trial points to advantages of focused criminal tribunals | |
| Prosecutors said that Karadžić, as political leader and commander-in-chief of Serb forces in Bosnia, was responsible for some the worst acts of brutality during the war, including the 44-month deadly siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 massacre of more than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys in the Srebrenica enclave. | |
| The presiding ICTY judge delivering the ruling, O-Gon Kwon, only cleared Karadzic of responsibility for genocide in attacks on other towns and villages where Croats and Bosnians were driven out. | The presiding ICTY judge delivering the ruling, O-Gon Kwon, only cleared Karadzic of responsibility for genocide in attacks on other towns and villages where Croats and Bosnians were driven out. |
| Karadžić’s other convictions were for five counts of crimes against humanity and four of war crimes, including taking UN peacekeepers hostage, deporting civilians, murder and attacks on combatants. | |
| During the 100-minute verdict and sentencing, Karadžić sat impassively, not in the dock but on the defence bench, as he opted throughout the five year trial to act as his own lead counsel. | |
| He smiled and nodded to one or two familiar faces from the Serb press in the gallery, but hardly glanced at the public gallery, which was packed with survivors and victims’ family members, mostly women grieving lost sons and husbands. They obeyed the tribunal instructions to stay quiet throughout the proceedings, though there was a quiet grunt of disappointment when Karadžić was acquitted of one of the genocide charges. | |
| The only time Karadžić appeared nervous was when he stood to receive sentence, his arms stiff by his side. | |
| The verdicts are the most significant moment in the 23-year existence of the ICTY, and among the last it will deliver. Set up in 1993, the court has so far indicted 161 suspects. Of those, 80 were convicted and sentenced, 18 acquitted, 13 sent back to local courts and 36 had the indictments withdrawn or died. | |
| The former psychiatrist and charismatic politician, still with his characteristic bouffant hairstyle, is the most senior Balkans leader to face judgment at the ICTY. The former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević died in his cell in The Hague in 2006 before judges could deliver their verdicts on his trial. | The former psychiatrist and charismatic politician, still with his characteristic bouffant hairstyle, is the most senior Balkans leader to face judgment at the ICTY. The former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević died in his cell in The Hague in 2006 before judges could deliver their verdicts on his trial. |
| Apart from Karadžić, three suspects remain on trial, including his military chief, Ratko Mladić and Serb ultranationalist Vojislav Šešelj. Eight cases are being appealed and two defendants are to face retrials. The judgment in Šešelj’s case is scheduled for next Thursday. | Apart from Karadžić, three suspects remain on trial, including his military chief, Ratko Mladić and Serb ultranationalist Vojislav Šešelj. Eight cases are being appealed and two defendants are to face retrials. The judgment in Šešelj’s case is scheduled for next Thursday. |
| Karadžić was indicted along with Mladić in 1995 but evaded arrest until he was captured in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2008. At the time he was posing as New Age healer Dr Dragan Dabic, and was disguised by a thick beard and shaggy hair. | |
| As soon as the judges had gone, Karadžić called a huddle of his legal advisors to begin planning his appeal. He will have 30 days to file it and it will take three years to hear. The legal marathon will continue and Karadžić will stay in The Hague for the time being. | |
| More than 20 years after the guns fell silent in Bosnia, Karadžić is still considered a hero in Serb-controlled parts of the country, and the verdict is unlikely to help reconcile the enduring deep divisions in Bosnia and the region. | More than 20 years after the guns fell silent in Bosnia, Karadžić is still considered a hero in Serb-controlled parts of the country, and the verdict is unlikely to help reconcile the enduring deep divisions in Bosnia and the region. |