Karadžić given life in prison

This is a turning point in the search for truth, justice and reparation for victims as the highest Bosnian-Serb political leader at the time of the conflict that devastated the Balkans at the beginning of the 1990s has been sentenced for the Srebrenica genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The sentence is especially symbolic because Serbian president Slobodan Milošević, died in The Hague in 2006, evading justice on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The decision to increase the sentence from 40 years to life imprisonment has been echoed in the media and applauded by the victims. However, it was not an easy decision to reach, with two of the five members of the court, Judge Rosa (Portugal) and Judge De Prada (Spain), opposing it.

One judge dissents on grounds for appeal, saying reasonable doubt remains

Although they have not been commented on widely in the press, the grounds of appeal put forward by the Public Prosecutor's Office, and rejected by all judges except Judge De Prada, are of great interest. The first reason to appeal was to consider so-called excluded crimes, including inhumane treatment, deportations, illegal detentions, and restrictive and/or discriminatory measures applied in several municipalities, as part of a common genocidal plan. However, the court has ratified that it cannot determine whether these excluded crimes were part of a common plan or part of Karadžić's own plans. There is also an alternative hypothesis under which these crimes were not part of a common plan or Karadžić's personal plan. Judge De Prada deemed the court's argument insufficient, since the alternative hypothesis is not strong enough to go beyond reasonable doubt. Because of this he alone considered that these crimes were part of a genocidal plan, as Karadžić received constant and detailed information on them and was fully aware of all steps taken to realise the common plan, being the highest level Serbian political and military leader.

Appeal process complexities abound

The second and third grounds of appeal of the Public Prosecutor's Office are closely related to each other. They want the situation suffered by people confined in detention camps around the country (Count 1 Municipalities) to be recognized as genocidal, alleging rulings on the destructive conditions to which the population was subjected and qualifying the genocidal intention of these events. Men, women, children and old people were subjected to inhumane treatment, abuse, torture and rape, and the Attorney General’s Office considers the aim was to destroy the entire ethnic group. However, the court has ratified the first instance-verdict, describing these events as a crime of persecution but determining that Karadžić’s genocidal intent cannot be proved. This also counted on the dissenting opinion of Judge De Prada who, supporting the position of the Public Prosecutor's Office, considers that the legal assessment of the Tribunal is incorrect, and only one reasonable conclusion could be reached: it has been extensively registered that Bosnian-Muslims and Bosnian-Croatians were detained in extremely poor and grave conditions, Karadžić’s deliberate aim was to partly or totally destroy these groups.

Future difficulties seem inevitable

In short, the sentence confirms the first-instance verdict, although with the sentence being extended to life in prison. This extension in no way brings truth and justice to the victims though. On the other hand, these events reveal the complexity of the legacy left by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. It also poses problems for future challenges, including demystifying the crime of genocide, which seems today, more than ever, impossible to prove. At the local level, it will widen the gap between the two communities, as unfortunately Karadžić is still a hero figure for Bosnian Serbs.