UN appeals judges uphold Bosnian Serb’s genocide conviction

Zdravko Tolimir, a Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, crosses himself as he waits for the the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal to deliver its judgment in his appeal case in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, April 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool) Zdravko Tolimir, a Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, crosses himself as he waits for the the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal to deliver its judgment in his appeal case in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, April 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)

By Associated Press April 8, 2015 2 min read

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – United Nations appeals judges on Wednesday upheld most of a Bosnian Serb army general’s convictions and his life sentence for involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

Gen. Zdravko Tolimir smiled and repeatedly crossed himself as Yugoslav war crimes tribunal President Judge Theodor Meron told him that his life sentence was confirmed on appeal.

Tolimir was convicted in December 2012 of genocide and other crimes in the 1995 massacre by Bosnian Serb forces of some 8,000 Muslim men in Srebrenica, eastern Bosnia – Europe’s worst mass killing since World War II.

Tolimir was a trusted aide of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic. Witnesses at trial called him Mladic’s “right hand. His eyes and ears,” judges said in their original judgment.

Mladic is on trial at the same UN tribunal for allegedly masterminding Serb atrocities throughout the 1992-95 Bosnian war, including the Srebrenica massacre.