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Serb leader jailed for war crimes | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The international war crimes tribunal in The Hague has sentenced a former Serb rebel leader to 35 years in jail for atrocities carried out in Croatia. | |
Milan Martic, 52, was found guilty of murder and persecution during his leadership of the self-declared Krajina Serb republic in the early 1990s. | |
He was guilty of ethnic cleansing targeting non-Serbs, the judges said. Martic had denied the charges. | |
He was also convicted for a 1995 rocket attack on the Croatian capital, Zagreb. | |
The Krajina Serb republic lasted from 1991 to 1995, when a Croat offensive brought it under Zagreb's control. | The Krajina Serb republic lasted from 1991 to 1995, when a Croat offensive brought it under Zagreb's control. |
'Greater Serbia' plan | |
The tribunal said Martic had deliberately fuelled the atmosphere of fear by publicly stating that he could not guarantee the safety of non-Serbs in areas under Serbian control. | |
Martic had committed crimes against "elderly people, persons held in detention and civilians" - victims whose "special vulnerability" added to the gravity of the offences, Judge Bakone Moloto said. | |
Martic surrendered to the tribunal in The Hague in 2002. | |
The court heard how Serbian leaders allegedly planned to create a so-called "Greater Serbia", annexing ethnic Serb territory within Bosnia and Croatia. | The court heard how Serbian leaders allegedly planned to create a so-called "Greater Serbia", annexing ethnic Serb territory within Bosnia and Croatia. |
Croat and non-Serb property was destroyed so they would never have a home to return to Alex WhitingProsecutor | Croat and non-Serb property was destroyed so they would never have a home to return to Alex WhitingProsecutor |
Plans to expel Croats and other non-Serbs were at the root of the establishment of the Krajina Serb republic, prosecutor Alex Whiting said. | Plans to expel Croats and other non-Serbs were at the root of the establishment of the Krajina Serb republic, prosecutor Alex Whiting said. |
"Croats and other non-Serbs were targeted by discriminatory measures, forced removal, imprisonment and murder in an effort to drive them away. | "Croats and other non-Serbs were targeted by discriminatory measures, forced removal, imprisonment and murder in an effort to drive them away. |
"Their property was looted and destroyed so they would never have a home to return to," he added. | "Their property was looted and destroyed so they would never have a home to return to," he added. |
'Key figure' | 'Key figure' |
As a former police chief, he is alleged to have helped train and equip police and special forces in the rebel Serb republic. | As a former police chief, he is alleged to have helped train and equip police and special forces in the rebel Serb republic. |
Prosecutors said Martic was a key figure in a "joint criminal enterprise" masterminded by the former Serb leader in Belgrade, Slobodan Milosevic. | |
Martic was the first Krajina leader to go on trial. | |
His predecessor as leader of the rebel republic, Milan Babic, avoided a trial by pleading guilty to ethnic cleansing and persecution and was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2004. | His predecessor as leader of the rebel republic, Milan Babic, avoided a trial by pleading guilty to ethnic cleansing and persecution and was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2004. |
The wartime leaders of the Bosnian Serbs, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, are currently on the run. | The wartime leaders of the Bosnian Serbs, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, are currently on the run. |