JURIST - Paper Chase: ICTY partially overturns war crimes convictions of Bosnian Muslims

[JURIST] The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday partially overturned [judgment summary; ICTY press release] the convictions of former Bosnian Muslim General Enver Hadzihasanovic and former Brigadier Amir Kubura, reducing sentences issued for failure to check or punish war atrocities [ICTY case backgrounder] committed against Bosnian Croat and Serb civilians by troops under their command during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war [OnWar backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. The tribunal reversed [judgment text, PDF] Hadzihasanovic's convictions on several counts of failure to discipline his troops in connection with two murders as well as the cruel treatment of prisoners; his sentence was reduced from five years to three years and six months in jail. Kubura, Hadzihasanovic's deputy, was acquitted on charges of failure to prevent plunder in Varešcut; his sentence was reduced from two years and six months to two years.

The ICTY appeals panel said it could not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Hadzihasanovic had effective control over volunteer Mujahedin forces who committed the underlying war crimes. The court also said that prosecutors failed to fully persuade it that the men had complete knowledge of the abuses and retained effective control over all perpetrators, who, in many cases, were non-Bosnian fighters. The UN News Centre has more. AP has additional coverage.

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