Bosnian Serbs given long sentences for war crimes
Bosnia’s State Court today sentenced a former Bosnian Serb army commander to 26 years in prison and a former Bosnian Serb policeman to 12 years for war crimes committed against Muslim Bosniak civilians in western Bosnia.
Marko Samardzija, the 73 year-old former commander, was found guilty of taking part in the execution of Muslim residents of the village of Biljani in western Bosnia at the beginning of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
The execution of more than 100 men was part of the Bosnian Serb ethnic expulsion campaign.
Many of the men were severely beaten before being killed.
Their bodies were later found in mass graves in the area, the court said.
In a separate procedure, the court jailed Nikola Kovacevic, 42, for crimes against humanity committed on Muslim Bosniaks in the north-western town of Sanski Most.
His victims were taken to a notorious camp called Manjaca, where they were exposed to torture and killed.
