Convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal to appeal his sentence

A former Bosnian Serb leader convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity announced Friday he would appeal his 40year prison sentence imposed by a United Nations court.

The UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had convicted Radovan Karadzic, a former nationalist politician and army commander, on March 24 of 10 counts of war crimes, including the genocide of Srebrenica, extermination, ethnic persecutions, hostagetaking, wilful killing and forcible transfer of civilians.

Karadzic, who was often called by Western media the “Butcher of Bosnia,” filed his notice of appeal through his lawyer, Peter Robinson, who based the document on 50 arguments against the sentence.

Among those arguments is the claim that Karadzic did not receive a “fair trial,” and that the UN court used a “double standard” in its proceedings, as it allegedly favored petitions from prosecutors and denied those formulated by the defense.