The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) upheld genocide convictions against two senior Bosnian Serbs for their roles in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed.
The appeals decision issued Friday affirmed their life sentences, the harshest punishment ever delivered by the court.
“Vujadin Popović and Ljubiša Beara were found guilty of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, violations of the laws or customs of war, and crimes against humanity, through their participation in a Joint Criminal Enterprise,” an ICTY statement said.
Appeals judges also upheld sentences of 35 and 13 years in prison for Drago Nikolic and Vinko Pandurevic respectively. Both are Bosnian Serbs who were convicted of offenses related to crimes against humanity.
The only other person convicted of genocide by the ICTY is General Zdravko Tolimir, a key aide to Bosnian Serb military commander, General Ratko Mladic.
Mladic is currently on trial at the ICTY for his alleged role in atrocities committed during the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995. His wartime president, Radovan Karadzic, also is on trial on the same charges.
