'Butcher of Bosnia' Going to Prison for Life

Ratko Mladic is convicted of 1990s genocide
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 22, 2017 6:27 AM CST
'Butcher of Bosnia' Convicted of Genocide
Nura Mustafic, one of the Mothers of Srebrenica and other Bosnian organizations, wipes away tears as she reacts to the verdict.   (AP Photo/Phil Nijhuis)

A UN court has convicted former Bosnian Serb military chief Gen. Ratko Mladic of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to life in prison for atrocities perpetrated during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. The court in the Hague convicted Mladic of 10 of 11 counts in a dramatic climax to a groundbreaking effort to seek justice for the wars in the former Yugoslavia, per the AP. Presiding Judge Alphons Orie read out the judgment Wednesday after ordering Mladic out of the courtroom over an angry outburst. Mladic was found guilty of commanding forces responsible for crimes including the worst atrocities of the war—the deadly three-year siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, and the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the eastern enclave of Srebrenica.

Orie said the court found that "genocide, persecution, extermination, murder, and the inhuman act of forcible transfer were committed in or around Srebrenica" in 1995. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein hailed the conviction of the man he called the "epitome of evil" and said Mladic was responsible for some of the "darkest crimes to occur in Europe since World War II." Mladic insists he's innocent, and he still has supporters in the nation. Posters in the eastern Bosnian town of Bratunac carried a photo of Mladic in military attire with the words "you are our hero" written above. (Mladic once taunted survivors in court.)

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