Hague Appeals Chamber upholds former Croatian Serb leader Martic's sentence

09/10/2008

THE HAGUE, the Netherlands -- The UN tribunal's Appeals Chamber on Wednesday (October 8th) confirmed the 35-year sentence handed to former Croatian Serb rebel leader Milan Martic. Tribunal President Fausto Pocar said the court, in reviewing the convictions, overturned only minor elements that had "a minimal impact on Martic's overall culpability". The appeals court rejected many of his arguments, including his claim that the tribunal was biased and had not given him a presumption of innocence. In June 2007, the tribunal convicted Martic of persecution, murder, the deportation of non-Serbs in Croatia and other crimes against humanity, as well as violations of the laws and customs of war. It also found the former president of the breakaway state of Srpska Krajina guilty of ordering two days of indiscriminate cluster-bomb shelling of Zagreb in May 1995, causing seven deaths and injuring hundreds. (B92, FoNet, RTS, AP - 08/10/08)