Karadzic sentenced to 40 years for genocide, war crimes

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or ICTY, sentenced on Thursday Serb former leader Radovan Karadzic to 40 years in prison for genocide in Srebrenica and nine other war crimes and crimes against humanity in the war in Bosnia (19921995).

In its verdict, the ICTY convicted Karadzic of one count of genocide, five counts of crimes against humanity (persecution, extermination, murder, deportation and inhumane acts) and four war crimes (murder, terror, unlawful attacks on civilians and taking hostages).

Karadzic, 70, was found not guilty on another charge of genocide.

As for the massacre at Srebrenica, the verdict of the United Nations court maintains that between July 11 and Nov. 1, 1995, Karadzic participated in a joint criminal organization to kill thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and forcefully evacuate women, the elderly and children.

Karadzic was the leader of the Bosnian Serbs when that city was taken by the forces of General Ratko Mladic, who executed 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, the largest massacre in Europe since World War II.

Bosnian Serb troops besieged Sarajevo for three and a half years, in addition to shelling and sniper fire.

A total of 11,541 residents of Sarajevo, including thousands of children, were killed during the siege.