Hague war court acquits Croatian generals amid outrage in Serbia

PanARMENIAN.Net - An appeal court at The Hague war crimes tribunal has overturned the convictions of two Croatian generals for the expulsion of ethnic Serbs in 1995, in a ruling hailed in Croatia as a vindication of its war of independence but denounced in Serbia as evidence of bias, The Guardian reported.

The court ordered the immediate release of Ante Gotovina, a former military commander, and Mladen Markac, a former head of special police, who had been serving jail sentences of 24 and 18 years respectively.

The verdict revealed deep divisions inside the tribunal. It threw out last year's trial verdict on the two men, but only by a 3-2 majority. The two dissenting justices were scathing. One called it "simply grotesque" and contradictory to "any sense of justice".

The two generals remained impassive as the verdicts were read out but the decision was greeted with cheers and applause in the public seats in the chamber and with celebrations around Croatia, where Gotovina is seen as a national hero and an embodiment of the country's fight for independence. Thousands of people took to the streets and children were sent home from schools. After collecting their prison possessions, the two generals were driven in Croatian government cars to Rotterdam airport for the flight back to Zagreb.

The appeal verdict caused outrage in Serbia, where President Tomislav Nikolic condemned the verdict as "political" adding it "will open old wounds."

Early reports suggested Serb officials may boycott an event planned by the Hague tribunal next week in Belgrade.