Eurasia Press & News
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has sentenced Momcilo Perisic, formerly a general with the Yugoslav Army, VJ, to 27 years in prison for crimes committed in Sarajevo, Srebrenica and Zagreb.
Under the first instance verdict pronounced by the ICTY, Perisic, who was Chief of the VJ General Staff from August 1993 until November 1998, was found guilty of having “assisted in and supported” crimes committed by the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, in Sarajevo and Srebrenica.
The Hague Tribunal acquitted Perisic of charges contained in count number 13, which charged him with having participated in the extermination of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, saying that he “could not have known that VRS forces would undertake the mass and systematic murder of civilians” in July 1995.
The ICTY Chamber did not find that Perisic had a command responsibility over the VRS forces. Hence, it acquitted him of the charges that he failed to prevent or punish the persons who committed crimes in Sarajevo.
Perisic was found guilty of having supported the shelling of Zagreb in May 1995. The parties have the right to file appeals with the Appellate Chamber of ICTY.
