Reuters AlertNet Lite - Bosnian Serb's war crimes sentence cut to 15 years

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Bosnian Serb's war crimes sentence cut to 15 years

28 Nov 2006 11:20:03 GMT
Source: Reuters

AMSTERDAM, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The Hague tribunal cut the sentence of Bosnian Serb politician Blagoje Simic to 15 years from 17 years on Tuesday after it quashed one of his convictions for war crimes during the 1992-95 Bosnia war.

He was convicted in 2003 with two other Bosnian Serbs, Miroslav Tadic and Simo Zaric, of planning and waging a campaign of killing, detention, torture and deportation against Muslims and Croats in the Bosanski Samac area of northern Bosnia.

The appeals chamber ruled on Tuesday the trial had been unfair because Simic was not informed he was accused of participating in a joint criminal enterprise until the prosecution had finished presenting its case.

It reversed his conviction for persecution, but upheld his conviction for aiding and abetting persecution through unlawful arrests, confinement of prisoners in inhumane conditions, forced labour and forced displacement of non-Serbs.

Simic, a doctor by profession born in 1960 who surrendered to the court in 2001, was a leading official in Bosanski Samac.

Fellow-accused Tadic was sentenced to eight years and Zaric to six. Tadic, the first accused to surrender voluntarily to the tribunal in 1998, and Zaric were granted early release in 2004 after they completed most of their sentences.

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Last updated:Tue Nov 28 11:21:45 2006