NGO protests war crimes verdict

The Women in Black NGO today reacted to the sentencing on Monday of two men convicted for committing war crimes in Zvornik in 1992.

Izvor: Beta

Tuesday, 23.11.2010.

19:30

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The Women in Black NGO today reacted to the sentencing on Monday of two men convicted for committing war crimes in Zvornik in 1992. Branko Grujic and Branko Popovic, local wartime municipal and territorial defense officials, were accused of being responsible for imprisonment, inhumane treatment and death of some 700 persons from the Zvornik area in eastern Bosnia. NGO protests war crimes verdict They were also accused of deporting 1,822 Bosniaks from the villages of Kozluk and Skocic, and of failing to prevent paramilitary units from committing crimes. Grujic and Popovic were found guilty and sent to jail for six and 15 years respectively. The prosecution announced that they would appeal the sentences, while Women in Black said the outcome of the trial was "cynical and offensive for the victims". "The verdict ensures that victims do not trust the institutional justice system, which has this time demonstrated that the legal system does not serve justice," the organization said in a statement. "Not only have the crimes not been adequately punished with such a verdict, but there is also the impression that crime pays off," said Women in Black. Branko Grujic was heading the municipal administration during the war, and the NGO says it is unacceptable that he should serve only six years in prison, "considering that the position he held demanded command responsibility, and that he had to have known about the crimes that were being committed". "We believe that it is absolutely unacceptable to, when it comes to war crimes, take into account any mitigating circumstances, such as the family situation of the accused. The families of the victims who attended the trial are shocked and disappointed with the verdict," said the Women in Black statement.

NGO protests war crimes verdict

They were also accused of deporting 1,822 Bosniaks from the villages of Kozluk and Skočić, and of failing to prevent paramilitary units from committing crimes.

Grujić and Popović were found guilty and sent to jail for six and 15 years respectively.

The prosecution announced that they would appeal the sentences, while Women in Black said the outcome of the trial was "cynical and offensive for the victims".

"The verdict ensures that victims do not trust the institutional justice system, which has this time demonstrated that the legal system does not serve justice," the organization said in a statement.

"Not only have the crimes not been adequately punished with such a verdict, but there is also the impression that crime pays off," said Women in Black.

Branko Grujić was heading the municipal administration during the war, and the NGO says it is unacceptable that he should serve only six years in prison, "considering that the position he held demanded command responsibility, and that he had to have known about the crimes that were being committed".

"We believe that it is absolutely unacceptable to, when it comes to war crimes, take into account any mitigating circumstances, such as the family situation of the accused. The families of the victims who attended the trial are shocked and disappointed with the verdict," said the Women in Black statement.

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