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| Serbia jails filmed death squad | |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| Serbia's war crimes court has jailed four Serb paramilitaries who were filmed as they shot dead six captured young Bosnian Muslims. | |
| Judge Gordana Bozilovic Petrovic said the murder was a war crime against a civilian population. | Judge Gordana Bozilovic Petrovic said the murder was a war crime against a civilian population. |
| A fifth man was cleared of the murder which took place during the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia in July 1995. | A fifth man was cleared of the murder which took place during the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia in July 1995. |
| This was the first trial in Serbia to deal with the massacre of nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys around Srebrenica. | This was the first trial in Serbia to deal with the massacre of nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys around Srebrenica. |
| It was also the biggest war crimes trial of Serbs by Serbs to date. | It was also the biggest war crimes trial of Serbs by Serbs to date. |
| SENTENCES Slobodan Medic, 20 yearsBranislav Medic, 20 yearsPera Petrasevic, 13 yearsAleksandar Medic, five yearsAleksandar Vukov, acquitted class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/675945.stm">Srebrenica massacre timeline class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/6395791.stm">Serbia cleared of genocide Prosecutors said the five suspects were members of a paramilitary unit called the Scorpions. | |
| On the video, paramilitaries are heard taunting the youths about their virginity before shooting them in the back as they lay in a ditch. | On the video, paramilitaries are heard taunting the youths about their virginity before shooting them in the back as they lay in a ditch. |
| The tape was played at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague (ICTY) in June 2005 at the trial of the late Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. | The tape was played at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague (ICTY) in June 2005 at the trial of the late Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. |
| Confession | Confession |
| Correspondents say the video shook the popular belief in Serbia that any war crimes their side had committed were done in the heat of battle. | |
| The former commander of the Scorpions unit, Slobodan Medic, and his main accomplice, Branislav Medic, were each given 20 years in jail. | |
| Pera Petrasevic, the only defendant to have confessed to the crime, was given 13 years. The fourth defendant, Aleksandar Medic, was given five years while a fifth man, Aleksandar Vukov, was acquitted | |
| The case was heard at a special war crimes court in Serbia, which was established in 2003 to deal with lesser crimes referred to Belgrade by the ICTY. | The case was heard at a special war crimes court in Serbia, which was established in 2003 to deal with lesser crimes referred to Belgrade by the ICTY. |
| The five men were accused of crimes against humanity and of violating the customs of war. | The five men were accused of crimes against humanity and of violating the customs of war. |