« Radovan Karadžić’s conviction is a victory for victims from Bosnia-Herzegovina who have waited for more than twenty years that the President of Republika Srpska be brought to justice. This decision recalls that heads of States cannot escape international justice, and contributes to the reconstruction of former Yugoslavia States. »
Radovan Karadžić, President of Republika Srpska during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment for 10 out of the 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that were held against him. He was found guilty of the massacre of more than 8000 muslim bosnian boys and men, amounting to crimes of genocide, in Srebrenica in 1995, as well as of the crimes against humanity and war crimes of persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, forcible transfer, terror and other crimes committed against civilians in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995.
« The Karadžić case is one of the last of the ICTY, which is soon closing its doors, but all war criminals were not yet tried. It is therefore important that Bosnia-Herzegovina demonstrates its committment to the effective implementation of national trials. »
Radovan Karadžić was first indicted by the ICTY in 1995, along with Ratko Mladic, both consequently going into hiding. He was one of the most wanted war criminels when he was arrested in July 2008. Arrested in May 2011, Ratko Mladic’s trial is still ongoing at the ICTY.