Srebrenica appeals verdict due at war crimes tribunal

About 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed in Srebrenica over just three days

The UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is set to deliver a final verdict in the case of five men convicted over the Srebrenica massacre. 

About 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed in Srebrenica in just three days inn 1995 - the worst atrocity on European soil since the Holocaust. 

The men are appealing against their convictions in 2010 for a range of crimes including genocide.
The men were high-ranking officials in the Bosnian Serb Army in 1995. 

Two of the men - Vujadin Popovic and Ljubisa Beara - are among just a few to have been found guilty of genocide. 

They were sentenced to life for deliberately targeting and destroying groups of people based on their ethnicity. 

Some of the accused reported directly to Ratko Mladic - the former commander of the Bosnian Serbs who is currently on trial at the tribunal in The Hague, also accused of genocide.

The accused

Vujadin Popovic

Pleaded not guilty to all charges. Convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, violation of the laws or customs of war in June 2010; sentenced to life imprisonment

Ljubisa Beara 

Pleaded not guilty to all charges. Convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, violation of the laws or customs of war; sentenced to life imprisonment

Drago Nikolic 

Pleaded not guilty to all charges. Convicted of aiding and abetting genocide, crimes against humanity, violation of the laws or customs of war; sentenced to 35 years in jail
Radivoge Miletic

Pleaded not guilty to all charges. Convicted of crimes against humanity; sentenced to 19 years in jail
Vinko Pandurevic

Pleaded not guilty to all charges. Convicted of crimes against humanity and violation of the laws or customs of war; sentenced to 13 years in jail
Source: ICTY

Their lawyers argue that there has been a miscarriage of justice and that there were factual errors in the original judgement, reports the BBC's Anna Holligan. 

They claim that that one of the defendants was involved in a plea bargain designed to falsely incriminate the others.

Judges have to decide whether those original sentences should be upheld or overturned when they deliver their verdict at 10:00 (09:00 GMT), our correspondent says. 

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was set up to deal with war crimes in the Balkans. 

The court is due to deliver its verdict at 10:00 (9:00 GMT).

Timeline of Srebrenica siege:

6-8 July 1995: Bosnian Serb forces start shelling Srebrenica enclave

9 July: Bosnian Serbs step up shelling; thousands of Bosnian Muslim refugees flee to Srebrenica

10 July: Dutch peacekeepers request UN air support after Bosnian Serbs shell Dutch positions. Large crowds of refugees gather around Dutch positions

11 July: More than 20,000 refugees flee to main Dutch base at Potocari. Serbs threaten to kill Dutch hostages and shell refugees after Dutch F-16 fighters bomb Serb positions. Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic enters Srebrenica and delivers ultimatum that Muslims must hand over weapons.

12 July: An estimated 23,000 women and children are deported to Muslim territory; men aged 12-77 taken "for interrogation" and held in trucks and warehouses

13 July: First killings of unarmed Muslims take place near village of Kravica. Peacekeepers hand over some 5,000 Muslims sheltering at Dutch base in exchange for the release of 14 Dutch peacekeepers held by Bosnian Serbs

14 July: Reports of massacres start to emerge

Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31053503