A Croatian judge in Zagreb yesterday sentenced Dinko Sakic, commander of a second World War concentration camp known as the "Croatian Auschwitz", to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity. Judge Drazen Tripalo found Sakic (77) guilty of "crimes against humanity, violating international conventions and crimes against civilian populations.
"During that time, that he directed the Jasenovac camp, Sakic mistreated, tortured and killed prisoners by ordering such acts and participating in their execution," the judge said at the end of what is likely to be one of the last trials for crimes committed by pro-Nazi regimes during the war.
"As commander of the camp, he did nothing to prevent such acts committed by Ustasha forces under his command," he said, referring to the pro-Nazi regime which ruled Croatia during the war.
Sakic, wearing a brown suit and white shirt, remained stone-faced during the reading of the verdict. He was indicted for causing the deaths of at least 2,000 inmates in the notorious Jasenovac camp in 1944. He was extradited from Argentina. His trial, the first of its kind in central and eastern Europe, opened last March.
Figures for the overall number of people killed in the camp - Jews, Gypsies, Serbs and antiUstasha Croats - remain disputed. The prosecution estimates that some 50,000 people died under a regime of brutality, which led Jasenovac to be known as the Croatian Auschwitz, a reference to the Nazi death camp in Poland.
The Yugoslav count puts the death toll as high as 700,000.
Sakic denied all charges against him, saying during his trial: "My conscience is clear. I do not have any remorse."