More than fifty individuals have been sentenced to over 700 years in prison, including several life sentences, for crimes committed during the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. Verdicts have been delivered by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and courts in Serbia, although victims and experts continue to stress that many perpetrators have never been brought to justice.
The ICTY issued 20 judgments related to Srebrenica, with genocide against Bosniak Muslims established in seven cases. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has delivered 25 verdicts, 13 of which included convictions for genocide. In Serbia, five judgments related to Srebrenica resulted in convictions for war crimes against civilians and violations of the laws and customs of war, but none qualified the crimes as genocide.
Former Republika Srpska Army Commander Ratko Mladić and former Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadžić were both sentenced to life imprisonment by the ICTY for genocide in Srebrenica and other crimes committed during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The President of the Appeals Chamber, Vagn Prüsse Joensen, stated that the Trial Chamber had determined Karadžić pursued a long-term strategy aimed at the forced removal of Bosniak Muslims from Srebrenica through deliberate restrictions on humanitarian aid and military attacks on the enclave.
Former ICTY prosecutor Laurel Baig emphasized that “Ratko Mladić is not a war hero. He is a war criminal,” adding that he abused his military power by deliberately targeting civilians and devastating families and entire communities.
Life sentences were also imposed on senior Republika Srpska Army officials Ljubiša Beara, Zdravko Tolimir, and Vujadin Popović for their roles in the genocide.
Radislav Krstić became the first individual convicted of genocide by the ICTY, receiving a final sentence of 35 years in prison after initially being sentenced to 46 years. Other convicted officials include Drago Nikolić, while the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted Milorad Trbić, Mendeljev Đurić, Duško Jević, Ostoja Stanišić, and Srećko Aćimović, who together received 70 years in prison.
Several direct perpetrators of the genocide, including Petar Mitrović, Radomir Vuković, Aleksandar Radovanović, Brano Džinić, and Milenko Trifunović, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Despite the significant number of convictions, survivors and experts argue that justice remains incomplete. Transitional justice expert Erna Mačkić said it remains deeply painful that, more than three decades after the genocide, many responsible individuals have still not been prosecuted.
“The problem is that we, as a society, have not been able to ensure accountability even after so many years. That is something that truly hurts,” Mačkić said.
For survivors, genocide denial continues to inflict profound suffering.
“Nobody can tell me it did not happen when I survived it all. I was there,” said genocide survivor Fazila Efendić.
Survivors continue to call on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s judiciary to intensify prosecutions of remaining suspects and to enforce laws against those who deny or dispute the genocide, which has been established beyond reasonable doubt in numerous final international and domestic court judgments.
