Radovan Karadzic, former president and commander-in-chief of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has now been sentenced to life in prison.
This comes after Karadzic appealed his original sentence to 40 years in prison, handed down three years ago by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague.
“This conviction on appeal is even clearer than his first conviction,” says PAX’s Dion van den Berg. “The court looked at the convictions his subordinates and determined that a life sentence fits better with the scope and character of the war crimes he committed.”
Women of Srebrenica
About thirty Bosnian women came to The Hague from their homes in Srebrenica for the appeals trial. They were relieved by the new verdict. Van den Berg: “We hope that this latest confirmation of the facts will lead to acceptance by the Bosnian Serbs and to restoring relationships among the various ethnic groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina. PAX is working on that with partner organizations. It´s a pity that it took twenty years to come to this ruling. The effect would have been greater if the law had been applied more quickly.”