Reuters AlertNet Lite - Sweden convicts ex-mercenary for Bosnian war crimes

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Sweden convicts ex-mercenary for Bosnian war crimes

18 Dec 2006 23:23:07 GMT
Source: Reuters

STOCKHOLM, Dec 18 (Reuters) - A Swedish court on Monday convicted a former mercenary for crimes against humanity committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993, the first case of its kind in modern Swedish history, the court said.

Jackie Arklov, who is serving a life sentence in Sweden for the 1999 murder of two police officers in the Nordic country, was convicted of torturing and assaulting eleven Bosnian Muslim prisoners of war and civilians when he served as a mercenary in a Croatian militia, Stockholm's district court said.

"It is the first time in modern times that a person has been sentenced by a Swedish court of law for crimes against humanity," the court said on its Web site.

The court said it did not impose a jail sentence because Arklov is already serving a life term.

"The crimes also included so-called ethnic cleansing, looting, arbitrary detention of people protected by international law," it added.

The Supreme Court of Sarajevo in 1995 convicted Arklov for war crimes, but he was returned to Sweden in 1996 as part of a prisoner exchange, Swedish news agency TT said.

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Last updated:Mon Dec 18 23:24:02 2006