A Croatian court has jailed a former army general for 12 years today for the 1991 killings of some 50 Serb civilians.
Judge Ika Saric, who presided over the landmark trial of General Mirko Norac and three other defendants, said the evidence proved they had organised and carried out the executions of civilians, who were not part of rebel Serb forces, without valid reason.
The trial was seen as a test of the credibility of Croatia's judiciary, which had rarely tackled war crimes before.
Gen Norac (35) is the highest-ranking Croatian army officer prosecuted and convicted for war crimes to date and is seen by many as a hero of Croatia's 1991-95 war for independence from Yugoslavia.
He was accused of ordering roundups and summary executions of at least 50 Serb civilians in the frontline town of Gospic in central Croatia at the outset of the war in October 1991 and of shooting one woman.
Another defendant, Tihomir Oreskovic, who held no formal post in the army or police but was said to have wielded influence, was sentenced to 15 years. A third defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison; a fourth was acquitted.