Serbs angered by ICTY overturn of Oric conviction

04/07/2008

"Proof that crimes have occurred is not sufficient to sustain a conviction of an individual for these crimes," a UN appeals court said on Thursday, as it overturned the 2006 war crimes conviction of former Bosniak military commander Naser Oric.

(AFP, AP, Reuters, DPA, AKI, BBC, Fena, Beta, B92, UN News Centre, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia - 03/07/08)

Former commander of Bosnian Muslim forces in Srebrenica Naser Oric had his conviction overturned on appeal at the UN tribunal in The Hague. [Getty Images]

A former senior Bosniak commander was acquitted of war crimes Thursday (July 3rd), as appeals judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) overturned his earlier conviction.

Naser Oric, 41, was sentenced to two years in prison in June 2006, after a trial chamber at the UN court in The Hague found him guilty of failing to prevent the murder and torture of Bosnian Serb captives held in Srebrenica between September 1992 and March 1993. But the former Bosniak military chief was acquitted of all other charges, including direct involvement in the killings and responsibility for the "wanton destruction" of Serb homes and property.

The appeals chamber ruled on Thursday that the legal requirements to prove Oric's criminal responsibility had not been met. Therefore, it overturned his verdict and pronounced him not guilty.

"Naser Oric's entire conviction rested on that mode of liability," Presiding Judge Wolfgang Schomburg said. "These errors therefore invalidate the trial chamber's decision to convict Naser Oric for his failure to prevent his subordinate's alleged criminal conduct."

The crimes of which he was accused took place more than two years before the July 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, where an estimated 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were summarily executed by Serb forces.

But Bosnian Serbs, who claim that more than 3,000 members of their community were killed by forces under Oric's command, were disappointed with the new ruling and accused the ICTY of bias against Serbs.

Bruno Vekaric, spokesman for Serbia's war crimes prosecutor's office, said the decision "would not contribute to reconciliation ... but support those who insist on the term 'selective justice'." Vekaric said someone should be held responsible for crimes committed against the Serbs during the wars. President Boris Tadic's Democratic Party said the verdict "undermines" the credibility of the ICTY.

Oric was arrested by SFOR on April 10th, 2003, and was transferred to the ICTY the next day. As he had spent more than three years in custody by the time his sentence was issued, he was released immediately Thursday.

The prosecution, which initially sought an 18-year prison term for Oric, also appealed the 2006 verdict, but none of its grounds for appeal was allowed, as it had failed to provide any additional evidence to that already assessed during the trial.

The appeals chamber also stressed on Thursday it had no doubt that grave crimes were committed against Serbs held in two detention facilities in Srebrenica between September 1992 and March 1993.

"However, proof that crimes have occurred is not sufficient to sustain a conviction of an individual for these crimes," an ICTY statement quoted it as saying. "Criminal proceedings require evidence establishing beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is individually responsible for a crime before a conviction can be entered."

Speaking after the hearing, Oric said he was "happy" with the outcome.

"I've never believed that Muslims committed crimes in Srebrenica. People under total siege were fighting only to survive," he said.