REFILE-Hague court upholds sentence for Vukovar officer
05 May 2009 14:33:21 GMT Source: Reuters
(Fixing typo in first paragraph) THE HAGUE, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.N. war crimes tribunal upheld a 20-year prison sentence for former Yugoslav army officer Mile Mrksic for the 1991 execution of 194 prisoners of war in the Croatian town of Vukovar in an appeals ruling on Tuesday. Mrksic had previously been sentenced by the Hague-based court in September 2007 for effectively allowing the massacre by failing to ensure the prisoners were properly protected. The court also increased the sentence for a second ex-officer, Veselin Sljivancanin, to 17 years, reaffirming his guilt for aiding and abetting torture. He had earlier been sentenced to five years for torture, but had been cleared of the most serious charges. Prosecutors had appealed the previous judgments, which were partially allowed by trial judges. All appeals by Mrksic and Sljivancanin were dismissed. A third ex-officer, Miroslav Radic, had been acquitted in 2007 of all eight counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The leniency of the initial sentences caused shock and anger in Croatia, where Vukovar was viewed as one of the most brutal episodes of the Balkans wars, and were described by Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader as "shameful". Prosecutors had tried to prove to the trial chamber the three men were responsible for the killing of at least 264 people who had sought shelter in Vukovar's hospital early in the 1991-95 war, and had sought life sentences for all three. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block and Reed Stevenson)
Croatia's unions hold a rally in centre of Zagreb on International Workers Day, or Labour Day, in May 1, 2009. The banner reads, 'We want work and live from work'. REUTERS/Nikola ...
