Croatian Generals Appeal War Crimes Convictions

Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

The United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague says two Croatian generals convicted of war crimes against ethnic Serbs in Croatia in 1995 have appealed their prison sentences.

Lawyers for generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac filed the appeals Monday by electronic mail.

Croatian news media reported Tuesday that Gotovina's defense team is seeking a complete reversal of his conviction, saying the tribunal made erroneous and unreasonable conclusions on all points.

In April, the court sentenced Gotovina to 24 years in prison and Markac to 18 years. They were convicted of aiding and abetting murder, deportation and persecution of Serb civilians in the aftermath of a 1995 military operation.

That “Operation Storm” resulted in the recapture of Croatia's Krajina region, after three years under ethnic Serb control.

Gotovina and Markac stood trial with a third Croatian general, Ivan Cermak, who was acquitted.

Croatian politicians and the general public condemned the convictions of Gotovina and Markac, who are considered national heroes.