JURIST - Paper Chase: Bosnian Serb sentenced to life for Srebrenica massacre

[JURIST] Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Wednesday convicted [judgment, PDF; press release] former Bosnian Serb army commander Zdravko Tolimir [ICTY case materials; BBC profile] of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, sentencing him to life in prison. Tolimir, who served under Ratko Mladic [ICTY case materials; JURIST news archive] during the Bosnian civil war, was accused of involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [JURIST news archive]. Tolimir was found guilty of genocide; conspiracy to commit genocide; the crimes against humanity of extermination, persecutions and inhumane acts through forcible transfer; and murder, a violation of the laws or customs of war. He was acquitted on charges of deportation. The majority entered no conviction on the charge of murder, a crime against humanity.

Prosecutors delivered their closing arguments in August, asking the ICTY to impose a life sentence. Tolimir's trial, which began in February 2010 [JURIST report], was delayed several times due to his health. Last December, an intelligence officer was convicted by the court for refusing to testify against Tolimir [JURIST report]. Tolimir was arrested [JURIST report] in May 2007 by Bosnian police and was extradited to The Hague [JURIST report] that June. The indictment against him was confirmed in 2005.