Karadzic Gets Life in Prison for Genocide in Bosnian War
- Appeals court upholds convictions for genocide, other crimes
- Judge rules that initial 40-year jail term was inadequate
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The United Nations’ tribunal for atrocities committed during the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia confirmed convictions of genocide and war crimes against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and extended his initial sentence to life in prison.
Vagn Joensen, the presiding judge of the Appeals Chamber in the Hague, Netherlands, said an earlier prison term of 40 years handed down in 2016 "underestimates the extraordinary gravity of Karadzic’s responsibility and his integral participation" in the crimes and was "unreasonable and plainly unjust". In that ruling, Karadzic was found guilty of genocide and nine other counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his actions in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.