Following a decision by the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunal to overturn in part its original acquittal of Serbian Radical Party leader, Vojislav Seselj, and sentence him to 10 years on three counts of crimes against humanity, including persecution, deportation, and other inhumane acts in Serbia, Amnesty International’s Europe Director Gauri van Gulik, said:
“Today’s decision is a welcome development which delivers long-delayed justice to thousands of victims of the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. Despite the fact that the Appeals Chamber cleared Vojislav Seselj of other war crime crimes, it is significant that it found there was indeed a ‘widespread or systematic attack against the non-Serbian civilian population in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.’”
“It is now vital that the national courts step up their efforts to bring remaining perpetrators to justice. More than 20 years after the war, thousands of war crimes cases remain unresolved and pending before national courts across the region, denying victims and their families a final chance to see justice.”
For more information, please contact Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca
