Bosnian ex-military chief sentenced to life for genocide

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday sentenced Bosnian Serb military chief Gen. Ratko Mladic to life in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995. The ICTY’s three-judge panel convicted Mladic of 10 of the 11 counts filed against him. The court found the 74-year-old former commander, known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” guilty of leading forces who committed atrocities during the deadly three-year siege of Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital. He was also found guilty of commanding the forces responsible for the 1995 massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the eastern enclave of Srebrenica, the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II. Presiding Judge Alphons Orie said Mladic’s crimes “rank among the most heinous known to humankind and include genocide and extermination.” Defense lawyer Dragan Ivetic said Mladic will appeal his convictions. The verdict comes a year after the court sentenced former Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to 40 years in jail over the Srebrenica massacre. Mladic’s trial is the last to be heard by the ICTY, which is due to be dissolved at the end of the year.