Del Ponte's Blaskic Appeal Rejected

In July, Del Ponte had asked that the verdict, which effectively released Blaskic with time served, be reviewed, citing new evidence that proved he was responsible for the massacre of more than 100 Muslim civilians in the village of Ahmici.



Blaskic had been sentenced to 45 years in prison in March 2000 for allegedly promoting unlawful attacks on civilians, persecution, murder and inhumane acts in the Lasva river valley in Bosnia during 1993. At the time, Blaskic was a leader in the Croatian Defence Council, HVO.



When the sentence was handed down, survivors from the Lasva area protested that it was not punishment enough for the crimes Blaskic and those under his command had committed.



However, his defence team appealed the verdict, presenting new evidence, and in July 2004 the appeals chamber reduced Blaskic’s sentence to nine years. As Blaskic had been in custody since April 1996, he had already nearly served the time.



The reasons for the appeals chamber’s recent decision not to reopen the case are being kept confidential to protect witnesses, said tribunal spokesman Refik Hodzic. He added that a brief explanation of the court’s ruling would be released shortly.



Blaskic’s defence counsel Anto Nobilo told Balkans news agency Hina that justice had prevailed.



Blaskic expressed relief that the case would not be reopened, telling Hina he had already experienced “a full ten years of expectation, anxiety and uncertainty”. He also thanked Nobilo and his defence team for their hard work.



Katherine Boyle is an IWPR reporter in The Hague.