KEY POINTS:
SARAJEVO - Bosnia's war crimes court yesterday sentenced a former Bosnian Serb soldier to 16 years in prison for the serial rape, enslavement and torture of civilians in the 1992-95 Bosnia war.
Radovan Stankovic was the first defendant from the United Nations war crimes court in The Hague to be tried in Bosnia. He was found guilty of running a brutal detention camp near the eastern town of Foca and of encouraging and assisting in the capture, torture, rape and killing of non-Serb civilians.
Stankovic was found to have repeatedly raped, tortured and beaten two girls, 12 at the time, for months, presiding judge Davorin Jukic said. He offered other girls to Bosnian Serb soldiers, who raped and humiliated them.
After Bosnian Serb forces took control of Foca, they detained thousands of Muslim and Croat civilians, locking up women and pre-teen girls. The Hague court has already convicted three former Bosnian Serb commanders for war crimes in Foca.
- REUTERS
