U.N. judges on Wednesday sentenced two former Serbian spymasters who worked for Yugoslav ex-President Slobodan Milosevic to 15 years in jail as it beefed up their initial convictions in the last case before The Hague tribunal dating from the Balkan wars.
Appeals judges ruled that Jovica Stanisic, former head of Serbia's state security service, and his subordinate Franko "Frenki" Simatovic were responsible for crimes in several parts of Bosnia and Croatia due to their role in helping finance and train Serb militias during the 1990s break-up of Yugoslavia.
The two spymasters "shared the intent to further the common criminal plan to forcibly and permanently remove the majority of non-Serbs from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia", presiding judge Graciela Gatti Santana said in the ruling.
Stanisic and Simatovic were initially convicted in 2021 of narrower charges of aiding and abetting crimes in one Bosnian town but prosecutors appealed to include more municipalities.
The pair denied all the charges against them and had argued that they had no real influence over Serb militias fighting in Bosnia.
They now have no legal recourse left to appeal Wednesday's ruling, marking the first time that Serbian state officials have received a definitive conviction for crimes committed in neighbouring Bosnia during the 1992-95 war.
"This is the only decision we have with officials from Belgrade convicted as part of a joint criminal enterprise," which committed crimes in Bosnia, U.N. prosecutor Serge Brammertz told reporters, referring to the tougher convictions.
Prosecutors had argued the men were a direct link between Milosevic's government in Serbia and crimes committed during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia that left more than 100,000 people dead and displaced a million.
Milosevic died in his cell in 2006 while on trial for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes at The Hague tribunal.
Stanisic, 72, who was present in court, fidgeted with his hands as judges read the verdict. Simatovic, 73, followed the case via video-link from the nearby U.N. detention centre.
Bosnian victims' organisations welcomed the ruling, saying it could inspire others to seek justice.
"This is also a message for mothers in Ukraine, for mothers in Syria to fight for justice and they will have results," Munira Subasic, president of the Srebrenica mothers' association, told reporters outside the court.
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Toby Chopra, Philippa Fletcher and Helen Popper)
