Srebrenica commander acquitted

“We expected this, everyone who followed the trial expected the outcome,” he said with the help of English translation from Vasvija Vidovic, his legal representative.

Asked how he felt about having spent three years in detention only to be acquitted, Oric said: “It is part of my destiny. Life goes on.”

He defended the actions of his forces during the Bosnian war.

“We were under total siege. We were just fighting to survive, fighting for our lives. You cannot compare that with other war events because we lived in special circumstances.”

Insufficient evidence

After Oric’s conviction and two-year jail sentence, both he and the prosecution appealed the finding.

Oric maintained his innocence and the prosecution objected that the sentence was too low, saying it had asked for 18 years.

Schomburg found that the trial court had failed to make a finding on the criminal responsibility of Oric’s only identified subordinate, Atif Krdzic, or on whether Oric had known about the misdeeds.

Both elements were crucial for a conviction of a superior for his subordinates’ deeds, said the judge.

“These errors therefore invalidate the trial chambers decision to convict Naser Oric.”

The chamber said it had no doubt that grave crimes were committed against Serbs held in detention facilities in Srebrenica.

“However, proof that crimes have occurred is not sufficient to sustain a conviction of an individual for these crimes,” said Schomburg.

“Criminal proceedings require evidence establishing beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is individually responsible for a crime before a conviction can be entered.”

It dismissed all of the prosecution’s grounds of appeal.