THE HAGUE (Reuters) - International judges on Thursday acquitted two former Serbian secret police officials of involvement in war crimes committed in Bosnia and Croatia in the early 1990s wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia.
Judges said it was not proven that Jovica Stanisic, head of Serbia's security service and a close ally of late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, had intended to have paramilitary units commit crimes against humanity. They acquitted Franko Simatovic, a counter-intelligence official, of similar charges.
The pair trained and guided Serb paramilitary units that were active in Bosnia and Croatia, including the Red Berets and the Skorpions. These units murdered civilians and subjected them to forced deportation, but judges found there was no evidence this had been the aim of Stanisic or Simatovic.
"The chamber found the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused planned or ordered the crimes," said Alphons Orie, president of the three-judge panel.
The acquittal, which means no Belgrade government official has been convicted of crimes committed during the war in Bosnia, which claimed more than 100,000 lives over three years to 1995, was welcomed by the Serbian prime minister.
"The Serbian government has always insisted that all suspects before the Hague tribunal should receive a fair trial," Ivica Dacic told Reuters. "This is the only way to establish the truth about the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, for reconciliation and lasting peace throughout the region."
(Reporting By Thomas Escritt and Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/war-crimes-court-acquits-two-former-serbian-officials-152022302.html
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