Following the final verdict by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Europe Director said:
“Today – a week after landmark sentencing of Ratko Mladic – judges at the ICTY have brought down their gavel for the last time ending an historic endeavour in international justice. It is now vital that the national courts take the baton from the ICTY and step up their efforts to bring remaining perpetrators to justice.
“The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has helped bring a measure of justice to thousands of victims of the armed conflicts in former Yugoslavia and demonstrated what is possible when the international community comes together.
“The court has been a beacon sending out a powerful message around the world that impunity cannot and will not be tolerated.”
For more information please contact Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca
Background:
Today the tribunal confirmed the sentences against six former Bosnian Croat political and military officials is the final verdict before it shuts down in December. The court was established in 1993 and has prosecuted some of the most important war crimes cases in Europe since the Nuremburg trials. It has indicted 161 people, none of whom remain at large today.
